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 Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2016 4:45 pm
No currently present adult in this particular family liked grocery shopping. Yet it needed to be done, and it was finally time to start doing. So the small woman walked her babbling spawn to the nearest grocery store, and put him in the grocery cart for safe keeping while he chatted away, mostly to himself. Once the food items started piling around him, Otto decided it was his job to organize them, and put them in their proper places - which was unfortunate considering he hadn't quite grasped the concept that some items were a little more fragile than others. For instance, deciding that a case of pop needed a chip bag pillow was probably not a finer moment, though well-intended.
The vegetables ended up stacked in the child's seat of the cart, which was as far away from him as he could get them. Especially since Mommy didn't seem too thrilled when a bag of celery ended up on the floor instead. Soon enough there wasn't much room for him, and after some whines of distress he was evicted from the cart.
All in all, Eli didn't think that the grocery shopping wasn't going too badly. It was getting done. Otto was being pretty good, either holding onto her skirt or her hand. She didn't know what she had been so scared of, putting it off like she had -
Too late, it dawned on her that the space beside her was quiet.
Too late, she realized there was no pull of fabric at her hip.
Panic gripped her heart like a vice, and she spun around, blue eyes dropping towards the floor, looking frantically for any sign of the small, blonde boy. She did spot a red shoe on a tiny leg disappearing around the corner at the end of the aisle, though.
"Otto!" She cried, cart abandoned as she went chasing after her wayward son.
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Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2016 7:46 pm
Nasir was shopping light today, just a basket on his arm as he was grabbing a few things to restock the house. He ended up pausing a moment, straightening up when he heard a woman call out and turned. The young man was not expecting to see a toddling child to come barreling down the aisle. Not even thinking about it, he pushed his basket onto the self and ducked down to put an arm around the child as he tried to go by. It lead to him spinning on his foot and around with the child and then lifting him up with both arms to hold him slightly in the air. "Hey, little man, you shouldn't run off on your momma," Nasir said with a smile.
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Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2016 6:22 pm
Otto looked over his shoulder when he heard his Mama call for him, but he didn't stop. He was running, then suddenly he wasn't running anymore. The ground fell away under him, and after a moment of stunned silence, he let out a shriek of delight as he defied the laws of physics. His feet didn't touch the ground, and so he must have been flying.
Which was a cry that went straight to Eli's heart, first mistaking the shriek for pain or fear. She rounded the corner, eyes wide with the terror of what she might find, hands already extended to rescue her baby from whatever horrors he had gotten himself in to… Then she recognized the noises as delight. Then she noticed the stranger, holding him just far enough off of the ground to prevent him from fleeing again. She stopped in her tracks, and took a second to assess the situation.
All the air left her lungs and all the tension eased from her so quickly her posture practically melted. Otto was fine. The person who had him seemed friendly enough. Otto was fine, her mind repeated for her, lest she return to her earlier panic. In fact, he was so fine he was content to ignore her, and instead was demanding to go higher.
"He's right, Otto. Running off makes me very, very scared." Her eyes were on the boy, her voice steeling with mild annoyance due to the sheer worry she had experienced in the span of a few seconds. Otto's attempts to fly were paused with a guilty stare, which was now focused on Eli. Those devilish blue eyes that would always melt her heart. "Come on, you." She encouraged, kneeling down to more their level, hands out as though she expected Otto to come toddling back to her. He wasn't entirely convinced he should.
Eli sighed, and finally looked up at the child-wrangler.
"Thanks for catching him." She said, sounding only a little sheepish though certainly very relieved. "He's a slippery little brat."
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Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2016 7:18 pm
Nasir was setting Otto down on the ground once his mother was there and calling for him. He knew a worried mother look when he saw it (had seen it often enough with his own family and his cousins). "You should go back to your mother but perhaps if you are good for the rest of your trip I might be able to help you fly again before you leave." He smiled reassuringly at Otto, fingers nudging gently at his back and urging him back to his mother. A little bribery of the right kind was always helpful, especially if rewarding positive behavior. Standing properly, he offered Eli an easy smil. "No problem. I actually was a champion child wrangler with my cousins so I've got practice with some of the slipperiest kiddos you've ever seen." Nasir was easy with his smile. He was dressed in a pair of well worn jeans and a shirt that read Darlene's with his bangs carefully managed out of his face today with what looked like Pokemon hairclips (it was the original 151 starters). "I'm Nasir," he offered.
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Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2016 7:45 pm
"Sounds like you've been kept busy, then!" Child-wrangling wasn't really something she considered a god-given gift. Children were tricky little imp demons. The best kind of demons, really…but they still required some form of training or experience. Neither of which she really had much of. "I always thought I was pretty sneaky, but this little escape artist puts me to shame." Eli chuckled nervously, still trying to calm her frantic heart. The apparent danger was over, but the affects were still quite present. "Don't suppose you're in the babysitting market, eh?" She was half-joking, at best. Especially since Nasir's prompting had definitely helped her cause, and Otto, after giving some serious thought to the whole thing, let himself be picked up.
"Eli. And this is Otto." She returned the introductions, nodding to the happy little boy on her hip when introducing him. "It's very nice to meet you." It was. Really. Now, she looked at him a little more closely, and smiled at both his pokemon hair clips and his shirt. By contrast, she wore a beige cable-knit turtle neck sweater and a simple brown skirt, nothing too terribly fancy. Her lighter brown hair was braided over her left shoulder, more out of the ease of habit than anything else. Otto had insisted on jeans and a dinosaur hoody, complete with a couple little fabric spines along the back of the hood.
"Darlene's, like the food place in town?" She questioned, now nodding towards his shirt. It was more a formality, really; she recognized the logo. "We practically lived off of their food since we moved in. Amazing place." She praised, with a sleepy looking smile. "Otto is a sucker for their nuggets."
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Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2016 8:51 pm
"Take a breath, you look like you need it," Nasir offered with an easy smile. If only because Eli looked flustered to no end because Otto had run off on her. "... and I could be certain days when I'm not at school or working." This was a man who would always help and adorable children in dinosaur hoodies (that made him think of Wil) and a mother who looked frazzled could definitely use some help. She probably didn't get much of a break, not with Otto as old as he was. "It's good to meet you," another smile, as he held a hand out for Otto to shake and then the same for his mother, "and, yes, like the place in town." This time it was Nasir ducking his head slightly, scratching at the back of his head a moment before he was looking at Eli once more. "That means you're likely to be eating my food frequently. Not every day but I am the head chef." Borr called him that as opposed to just a cook with everything he did around the bar. "I'm glad you're both enjoying the food there." He really was. It made him happy to know people enjoyed his cooking.
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Posted: Mon May 02, 2016 6:56 pm
Breath? She didn't need to breathe.
Wait. Right. Yes she did.
Eli paused, then sighed a bit, offering a small laugh. Right. Yes. Breathing. Everything was fine. One thing about being a parent she wasn't entirely fond of was the panic. Before this, she had been content enough to drift with a lazy calm from one thing to another. Now that she had learned real and true panic, life was all the more difficult.
"…Really?" He could? Certain days made sense, of course. "I could really, really use the help. I'd pay you for your time, of course! As long as you're not stretching yourself too thin. I know how juggling school and work is." Adding a toddler on top of that, even for a few hours? The poor guy. "I work from home, you see. I have some projects that I can't have him around for, so…" She trailed off helplessly, waving her free hand vaguely. Then, she shook his when offered, and Otto loved the novelty of it enough he put up a struggle when it came time to let go.
"Your food is amazing! Like I said, we've practically lived off of it. Haven't we?" She pitched the last question to Otto, who giggled and agreed, despite not quite paying attention. "Unfortunately, it was time to go grocery shopping. Gotta start saving some money, right?" Adulting was hard. Very difficult. Her gaze went out of focus for a moment, and when she snapped back, it was with perfect, though alarmed, clarity.
"---aaaand I left my cart and purse." She groaned. "Err, sorry, I should get back." She jerked her thumb over her shoulder.
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Posted: Thu May 05, 2016 7:42 pm
"Glad to know that you've at least been eating well even if it's eating out all the time," he gave her a smile. "... there's plenty of quick easy things you could make that would be fast to make even when you've got your little man there with you." "I'm almost done with mine, do you want some help now?" Nasir did not need to grab much at all because they kept the house fairly well stocked. He would likely ignore attempts at paying him for various reasons and it was enough that she went on about his food. "I can at least help you finish up your shopping trip if you want the help?" There was that Nasir smile and his brown eyes crinkled at the edges behind his glasses.
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Posted: Fri May 06, 2016 7:59 am
"Oh yes, very well." Eli agreed, her smile fading sheepishly. "Yeeeah…the problem is, half of my house is still in boxes, and my time is split between the little man and work." Her head tilted to rest against Otto's as she heaved a sigh. "I'm hoping that actually buying the groceries will force me to at least get the kitchen together." A small nervous laugh followed.
"I would love the help, really! We're almost done too, I think. Just a few more things." Her bright eyes shifted, looking up as she recalled her mental list. She turned and started to head back to the aisle where her cart and purse were - both thankfully still there, untouched. "I'm still astounded by how nice everyone is here. I mean, it's great, don't get me wrong - it's just not what I expected from small town U.S.A." Kneeling, she set Otto down on his own feet, much to his chagrin. He put up a fight, but it was clearly a half hearted one - easily ended when she asked him to get a bag of goldfish crackers from the adjacent shelf. This time, she watched him carefully, should he attempt a second jail break.
"What else did you need to get? We might as well finish this up together."
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Posted: Sat May 07, 2016 3:47 pm
With Nasir around he would help make sure there was not another jailbreak. He had sharp eyes for wayward children. "Ashdown is something of a surprise for most. You would have thought it would be completely different than it is. I ended up here with my family a few years back and ... just couldn't bring myself to leave." The smile was only a touch sad because he did miss his family. "So I have a place and go to college. Almost done with that, though ... It just really is surprising how much everyone is open and progressive. The new mayor is amazing." Even if it wasn't Scott because Nasir totally voted for Scott. "I just need to get a bottle of olive oil and a couple other things." Mostly because Wil actually kept an eye on what they needed to stock up on and purchase so that Nasir could grab them. Not that anyone would think the blond would do that. "Also, yes, ... buying groceries means you've got to use the kitchen." Nasir chuckled. "Honestly, when we moved into the house that was one of the first things we did besides actually getting the kitchen remodelled. The stove was ancient and ..." The young man wrinkled up his nose, glasses pushing up his face some. A kitchen not behaving was the only thing that could get him to make a face. Okay, it wasn't the only thing but it was one of the few things.
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Posted: Tue May 10, 2016 1:26 pm
"Oh yeah? Whereabouts did you move from?" Eli took note of the curious way he seemed, even for a second, to look a little sad. It didn't seem to last, and she had to wonder if she had even seen it at all. As much as she wanted to ask, she didn't really feel it was her place to do so, at least not yet. Especially since she wasn't entirely sure what she had seen. "It's been fantastic here, I'll give you that. I met a kid in the park who offered Otto jolly ranchers out of the blue…but turned out he wasn't so bad." In fact, he had been very helpful…once he figured out that toddlers and choking hazards were a thing.
"Olive oil, could probably use some of that, too." Eli hummed, and resolved to just follow him for now. Otto toddled back to her with two bags of goldfish crackers, both of which ended up in the cart. With his hand in one of hers and the handle of the cart in the other, she started moving down the aisle again.
"Dang, sounds like it needed the upgrade! Ours isn't terrible. Everything's new enough. Down the line I'll probably update it a bit more, but it's good for now." Eli did get a kick out of the expression he made, and snorted along with his clear disdain. "Well, if you're the dedicated sort of chef I imagine you are, an outdated kitchen would be your nightmare!"
"Our move was a lot more rushed than we thought. Otto's room was the first, then Hubby's music equipment, and we got my workshop done…then everyone got sick, Dev had to leave, and I've got some projects to finish…and here we are now. It's just been one chaotic moment after the next, you know?" Eli laughed, as if she were discussing something adorable instead of stressfully busy. "The kitchen is unpacked enough to be functional, but if we want anything that isn't a sandwich or easily microwaveable, we're S-O-L."
At least until she unpacked, anyway.
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Posted: Tue May 10, 2016 10:08 pm
"Everywhere?" Nasir replied immediately with a smile. "Family never really stayed in one city for long. I've not lived in every state but I have lived in like half of them ..." At the mention of a kid in the park and jolly ranchers, he was half tempted to ask if that was Wil. Nasir was the one that packed his bag with snacks and made sure he had enough things while he was out in the park doing his art installations. "Let me see your list?" If she had one. "I can get us out of here quicker because I know where mostly everything is." His grocery list was actually organized from the back of the store to the front. He really, really was that organized for that. The young man was grabbing some flour as they went by (some particular because it was what he preferred to cook with and it was not terribly expensive). "It really kind of was! I thought it would have been okay but it was terrible." Nasir's nose wrinkled up before he was listening to Eli talk about her move. "You're married?" he asked with a smile. "... sounds like you've been pretty rushed around and probably do need an extra set of arms around. Especially with your little man." Nasir laughed himself because, really, it did sound super stressful but he also understood why you laughed those things off. "Well ... do you know you can microwave eggs in a cup? For an easy breakfast. Just scramble the egg in a cup, add some precooked sausage and veggies, stick it in for a few minutes and instant breakfast! On the go even."
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Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 5:20 pm
"That must have been hard, growing up and moving constantly." The thought alone was enough to make Eli feel anxious and strangely homesick, and she had only moved four times in her whole life - granted, one move was to a different country, and the rest were different states. She couldn't imagine having moved more than that. Her thoughts continued to wander, but his question brought her back. She blinked at him for a moment, and once it clicked with her, she picked up a paper that had slipped between some items, and offered it out to him.
"Here." Most of it was crossed off, but there were still a few things there - mostly produce and meats. "I try to get the fresh stuff last." She explained with a small hum.
"It's okay, Nasir." She pat his arm sympathetically, not unlike trying to comfort someone when stressed. "No more evil kitchen from the dark ages. It's over now." Yes, his terrible hardship was over. At least, that terrible hardship was over, anyway.
"Yeah! It'll be four years this October. I miss him. He usually keeps me out of trouble." Not that she could get in much trouble nowadays, anyway. "I think I'd be pretty happy if I were part octopus." She waved her arms at her sides for a moment, then swooped down to scoop up a laughing Otto, plunking him down on the handle of the cart. "Instead, I'm apparently petitioning child-wrangling mostly-strangers to help me babysit." Another thing she laughed off, and was already jabbing herself for.
"You know, I heard about it, but never wanted to try it? For some reason, microwaveable eggs just don't sound very appetizing…" She admitted sheepishly. "I'll have to try it though, if you suggest it."
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2016 11:33 pm
"Thanks," Nasir's eyes scanned the shopping list. "Alright, let's go to the back and work our way forward. I can have us done in a few minutes." It was a promise and he meant it. "I do the same thing. Don't want stuff to spoil or unfreeze or anything." He blushed just a bit about the dark age kitchen. "It was pretty bad but ... my first anniversary present from my boyfriend was, ah ... He got me a stove." The pleased smile on his face was pretty ridiculous. It was terribly cute. "That sounds like what I do," Nasir admitted to Eli. "I mean I don't really have to wrangle him but ... I do my best to make sure he doesn't get into too much trouble." He gave Eli a warm, friendly smile. "There's nothing wrong with asking for help and I offered, so ... I kind of miss looking after kids anyway. I have a lot of little cousins I don't get to see very often anymore." At the mention of eggs he just chuckled. "I'll give you a recipe. There's a certain way you can do it that makes them tasty pretty good. I had to figure out all sorts of ways to be creative with a microwave until we moved out of the dorms and into our own house."
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Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2016 5:48 am
"Aw, that's adorable! He must know you very, very well. That's a very thoughtful gift." Eli approved whole-heartedly; her husband, on their first dating anniversary, got her horror movies and a necklace she still wore to this day. Thoughtful, personal gifts were always some of her favourite things. As they went around the aisles, Eli picked out what she needed (if she got to it before he did), and a few things that weren't on the list that she knew she could use, for one thing or another.
"I'll introduce you to Dev when he gets back. I'm sure you two would get along, especially in the long suffering way." Eli chuckled, amused as anything else that she'd managed to find someone who looked after their other like Devin looked after her. It put her a little more at ease about the whole babysitting thing, now that he reminded her of her beloved hubby.
"You are a godsend, Nasir." She sighed, relieved, over everything he was doing for her. Helping her get her groceries faster, giving her recipes for easy microwave breakfasts, and of course, the whole Otto thing. "Let me pay for your groceries today? In thanks." He didn't have very much, and it was the least she could do.
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