As soon as I entered, my nephew rushed over and hugged my legs. "Aunt Sherry, Grandma just called and said you were going to buy me some chocolate. Where's the chocolate?" He then reached into my pockets, but when he found nothing, his expression suddenly changed. "Hmph, Aunt Sherry, you're so stingy! You didn't buy me anything!"
"I don't want you to be in my house! Get out!" My nephew pushed me back repeatedly, but my brother, acting as if he hadn't noticed, went about his business. My mother came over, grabbed my nephew's hand, and shoved it into mine.
"Hurry up and take Ramon to buy some snacks. I'll cook later. Just tell me what you want and I'll make it for you!"
Seeing my mother's cheerful expression, I swallowed my frustration and said, "Then I want boiled fish!"
My mother immediately agreed, "No problem!"
On the way to the snack shop with my daughter and nephew, I had a thought.
A fish costs about forty or fifty dollars. My mom just got out of the hospital. What if she doesn't have any money…
Thinking this way, I picked up my phone again and transferred a hundred dollars to my mother's account.
I then sent her a voice message:
"Mom, Sherry wants to eat the chicken legs from your place downstairs. Buy a few while you can. Keep the rest for your spending money."
My mother quickly took the money and said "OK" in return.
Once inside the snack shop, my nephew was like a wild horse, letting go of my hand and starting to shop. Soon, he'd filled a basket to check out. Many of the items were very expensive, but he didn't usually eat them.
"Hello, a total of $170. Do you have a membership?" the clerk asked enthusiastically.
Looking at the only $100 remaining in my account, I squatted down and negotiated with my nephew:
"Ramon, Aunt Sherry’s low on money today. Can we put some back?"
To convince him, I even showed him the remaining balance.
I thought he'd understand, but he immediately threw a tantrum:
"No! These are all my favorites. I want them all!"
"If you don't buy them for me, I'll go back and tell my dad you're mistreating me!"
I was so angry I pulled out a box of macarons from the basket:
"I remember you don't like these. Can you put them back?"
My nephew quickly defended them: "These are my classmates' favorites. I can't put them back!"