Magic Brownies

Oooh, that brownie mix looks good! I say to a bedraggled customer wrestling one of those carts with the red plastic car on the front which is supposed to entertain toddlers.

mmmm. yes. ha ha. Henry? Are we making brownies later on? ~ {Ms. Bedraggled speaks high pitched baby talk to the red faced furious toddler strapped into the red plastic car} ~ Yes? Oh yes, we are! We are making brownies! Yumm! This girl likes brownies too! {pointing at me with exaggerated gestures}

Haha, yes, haha, Heya Henry!  I lean over and wave at Henry,a red faced male toddler with incredible blond curls.  Can I come over and make brownies at your house? – Now I turn to Ms. Bedraggled and talk in a normal voice – You know, this morning I was looking up a recipe for “Magic Brownies” and boy oh boy did I find “recipes” for “MAGIC” brownies! Hahaha!  I am trying to engage Ms. Bedraggled, to see if I can get the slight edge of hysteria in her voice to soften a little.  I hand Henry a Chiquita Banana sticker.

OH MY! Haaahaahaha! Not for Henry! *giggle* {Her tone comes down a notch from hysteria to plain stress}

Oh, no! I meant, well, I was looking for those brownies with the coconut and the different chips and nuts?  You know, like, um - I am cut off midsentence fortunately because I have instantly gone from ‘friendly’ to ‘horribly embarrassed and stuttering’.

Oh! Yes! YUMMM! Yes! What are those called? I used to work for a restaurant and we made them all the time!? Um… oh, my, well… {now it is Ms Bedraggled who is stuttering and needs to be rescued from brain-fart-itis}

Yes, those! But boy was I startled by what I found online… I don’t even know where to get the, um, “ingredients”, for the kind of “magic brownies” that popped up on G**gle, you know?!  Definitely not for Henry!  They are like brownie bars right?

That’s It! Magic Bars! God, now I have to go back into the throngs and get more ingredients, I think I have to make those tonight! {She is so emphatic – I wish, not for the first time, that I worked on commision because I totally just sold more groceries to this customer}

Well, I know that baking supplies are on aisle 5, but as for the “magic” ingredients I think you’ll have to shop somewhere else!  I wink and nod and smile and Ms Bedraggled is transformed into young hip momma who is going to bake some magic tonight, with or without Henry, and she pays for her groceries with a smile and a flip little wave of her manicured hand while Henry chews on a Chiquita Banana sticker.

Hello! I say to the next customer in line, How are you doin’ today?

Plastic he says gruffly, and turns to stare off at the exit doors.

I sigh and begin the process of scanning his order while I think about what kind of magic Henry’s momma will make tonight.

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