Chapter 347

“Where are you going?” I laughed as she swerved around another car. “The mall.” She swerved again, and I slammed against the door, making me laugh again. “Why the mall?” “Because I have an idea.” She pulled into the mall and parked. “About what?” I looked around, confused. “Mom, I don’t really have a lot of time here.” I checked my watch. “I have a kid to feed.” I paused. “That’s a weird thing to say now.” She laughed. “It’s weird to hear. But I swear we are here for a reason.” “And what’s the reason?” “We are here to get things we need.” She hopped out, and I followed. “Has Toya messaged yet?” I checked my phone, then shook my head. “That’s alright. We can figure it all out.”

I was so confused. “Okay…” I just followed. We headed inside, and she went to the first store. She grabbed a shirt and a pair of jogging pants. She held them up to my body and then nodded. “These will work.” Then she went to the cashier. “Did you find everything you needed?” the girl asked with a bright smile. My mom smiled back. “We did. Can we get your biggest bag, please?” The girl frowned for a second. Then she nodded. “Of course.” She grabbed the biggest bag and put the sweat suit inside and handed it over after I paid. “Have a great day!” She waved the next person over as we walked away. We turned and left, but she started towards another store, a giant bag in tow. “Why did you get such a big bag?” I looked down at the bag, and she smiled. “It’s for groceries.” She wiggled the bag in front of me like what she said made perfect sense. I stopped dead. “What the hell are you talking about?” She laughed. “Morgan and Shannon are obviously watching you for Vince. Shannon specifically. She is trying to get back on his good graces ever since he found out about Morgan pushing people around for her. So she will sell you out faster than you can think. If she sees a ton of food going into your room, she will have questions, and she will whisper everything she sees to Vince. We have to be smart about it.” She jiggled the bag. “This way, we can sneak your groceries past them like it’s clothing. You buying a lot of high-end clothing wouldn’t raise any red flags, just her jealousy.” She opened the bag and wiggled it again. “We can fit a lot of things in here.”

I looked from her to the bag and then laughed. “You’re a genius.” I bumped her hip, and she chuckled. “I know.” She winked as she kept walking. “Let’s shop.” We went through shop after shop, grabbing bags and random things. But I came to a stop in front of one toy store. My mom kept walking for a few steps before she stopped and turned around. “Babe? What’s up?” She came back and turned to the store. “What do you want from a teddy bear building store?” I bit my lip. “Do you think spirits can be heard by technology?” I looked at her, and she frowned. “I don’t honestly know. Why?” “Because I think this place has an insert where you can record a voice…” She frowned, but I saw when she figured out where I was going. “You want to see if you can record Carl’s voice into a teddy bear for Carly?” I nodded. “But I don’t know if it will work.” My mother looked around and pointed down the washroom hallway. “There is only one way to find out.” She grabbed my hand and pulled me down the hallway until we walked past the washrooms and out a back door, where she put a bag to keep the door from locking us out. “Call him.” “But I don’t have the insert.” “Babe… they use phone calls and voicemails all the time. Call him, record him on your phone to see if it works, and then, if it does, we replay it in the store. Bingo, bango, we have a teddy bear for Carly.” I laughed. “Bingo bango? Seriously?” “Just do it.” “Fine.” I laughed again and closed my eyes. “Grandma, I need Carl here to try something for Carly.” “What’s wrong?” Carl sounded a little panicked. I opened my eyes to see him look around. “You called me to an alley?” He looked confused as he focused on me. I shook my head. “I want to try something.” “What?” I pulled out my phone and held it out to him. “I want to see if your voice will register on my phone for a teddy bear for Carly.” His face fell. “I don’t think it will, Amy.” “Can we try?” I clicked on the voice recording app I had. “If it doesn’t work, fine, but if it does…” He closed his eyes, but then nodded. “Of course.” He sighed and stepped closer.