Dayton

By the time they drifted toward the front of the store, Little Mart had shifted into its late afternoon mood. The rush was thinning. The music got louder by default.…

They rounded the corner and the store changed.  Not the lighting, Little Mart always did lighting like it was trying to sell you heaven. But the feeling changed. The air got warmer by…

Dayton stayed glued to the cart like she could physically steer the conversation away from “you are casually receiving corporate perks.”  They moved past a glossy endcap of LittleNet tablets and “Guardian…

Nicole had the cart angled like she meant business, steering them down a wide aisle that opened toward the electronics wing. Little Mart did that thing where the store wasn’t just aisles, it was zones, like…

Dayton stood in front of the pellet wall like it was a scholarship decision.  The aisle smelled like new cardboard and sanitizer, with a faint sweet bready undertone from the…

Kinsley didn’t let Nicole’s cart get more than three feet past the endcap before she twisted around in the child seat of the cart and pointed a tiny finger at Dayton like she was issuing a…