LaToya S smith

I  move slowly. I’ve been meaning to go to Barnes and Noble since last week. A Friday morning ago, I looked out on the balcony and asked Levi where he wanted to go. He answered with a screech, and I said, “Okay, bubba,” as if his response was intelligible. My first thought was the Museum of Natural History. I got the idea from watching PBS a couple days earlier. There was a short commercial on during Dinosaur Train about the fossils there. Levi needs to see those, right?, When I used Google maps to get directions, it said there was an accident on the 101, and it would take 40 minutes. I quickly decided against it. Barnes and Noble popped into my head shortly after. I allowed that idea to bounce around my head while I waited for the water to heat up in the shower. Levi sat and unraveled the toilet paper, and I think the idea rolled right away with each of the squares.

I didn’t get to Barnes and Noble until today. It’s my mother-in-law’s birthday. We will see her tomorrow at a seafood buffet. At 11:30 in the morning. I think that’s way too early for hordes of crab legs and buttery shrimp, but it seems I am in the minority with that opinion. I went to the book store to get her a gift. I haven’t purchased my own mother a birthday gift in years. To me, she has everything, and the money to buy what she wants. As I grow older, the less I believe in gift giving just for occasion’s sake. My mother-in-law always buys me presents for Christmas, and for my own personal holiday, so I decided to get her something as well. While my MIL and I have a pretty standard, formal relationship, there are glimmers of commonality between us that allow shared moments of contemplation. Our discussions about literature make us take our respective masks off, and we are just people then. It follows that I would purchase her books, or book-related items. Enter Barnes and Noble. The closest store is in Burbank, about four miles from our home. I happen to love Burbank, and this particular branch has a wide array of toys for children Levi’s age. It was an easy choice.

I used the stroller because I didn’t know where else I might wander off to. Levi weighs 22 pounds. I almost dropped him today while trying to hold onto our lunch. I wasn’t about to take any chances this trip. You know I love books. If I had to choose whether to hold him or a stack of books, I am not sure who would win. Anyway, after I purchased the gifts, and one half-off book for Levi, I went out a side door that allowed me to get to the car without too much walking. There were stairs. I told Levi to brace himself, and attempted to pull the stroller over the stairs. Levi looked pretty scared. He is usually down for mommy hijinks, but I think the fact he’s teething may be causing him to change up a bit. Luckily for me, a stranger came along. He was a frail, older man and when he walked up to me, I thought, “Oh goodness, how is he going to help.” I was desperate though, since Levi was starting to squeal and wiggle. When he said, “You need help?” I nodded and allowed him to lift the stroller just high enough to get it over the stairs, so Levi’s new teeth didn’t click together and start bleeding. We got to the bottom of the steps. I let out an energetic “THANK YOU!!!” He looked at me like he had never heard those words before, and threw his hand up before skittering away. Another successful stranger interaction in the books.