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“Ma and handed her his train and one slio” He sh and she swooped him up in her arms

“Thank you, buddy” She pressed big wet kisses to his neck and he wiggled and squealed “But you knohat Mama really needs?”

He shook his head and shrugged with the beautiful exaggeration of a two-year-old

“Mama needs chocolate, Benny boy Lots and lots of chocolate”

She put Ben down on the ground and he ran over to the black pad that controlled the auto the door to open and clapped his hands at the small consistentthe repaired stroller into the air-conditioned store

It wasn’t just chocolate she needed She needed the heavy-duty, the sugar and fat equivalent to being hugged by her mother She needed a broalnuts and about an inch of chocolate frosting

“This way, bud,” she called out to her son, who’d been distracted by the cereal display, and they took off for the bakery counter

She got a brownie for her and a s for bites of her treat, and joined the express line

A pretty brunette stood in front of her, buying es

“Hi, Rita,” she said to the cashier with a merry smile

“Good , Rachel”

“What’s new?”

“No, Ben,” Julia said, stopping her son fro all the candy bars in the display on the floor, while Rita told Rachel all about her niece’s third birthday

“How are things at the high school?” Rita asked

“Busy” Rachel s for the county, but being a guidance counselor is keeping me on my toes”

Julia knew she shouldn’t listen in, but there was so in the easy back and forth of the conversation that lulled her in

Irocery store was your friend

She got chills just thinking about it

Maybe her ht She could create what she wanted out of what she’d been given She was in New Springs, for better or worse, and it was time to make the most of it Create her own support system