Target Trauma I grabbed my back-to-school list and rushed to the van. We were finally going school shopping and I was excited. The only thing I enjoyed more than school shopping was actually going to school! The only problem about back-to-school shopping was that my annoying big brother was along. Adam and I got along well when we wanted to, but when we would disagree it was ugly. We are two years apart in age so he was going into fifth grade and I was going into third.
As we buckled our seat belts, Mom lectured, “You kids need to behave and get along today.”
Together Adam and I replied politely, “We promise Mom, we will.” I understood because it was going to be a long day of shopping in St. Cloud. I did not know then that I would experience a misunderstanding between a mother and her children that would have a lasting impact on all our lives. Every year we went to St. Cloud to get our school shopping done. On the ride there I had planned out in my mind all the supplies I was going to get later that day. The whole way there Adam rambled on about how eager he was about spending his lawn mowing money that he earned throughout summer. Finally, we rolled into St. Cloud at about 10:00 a.m. All the stores were swarming with parents and children frantically getting their last minute shopping done before school. We did a little shopping at Kohl’s and Shopko, and then I requested that we go to eat because my tummy was growling, and I did not want to do any more shopping on an empty stomach. Adam, Mom and I decided to grab a bite to eat at Target’s Café. As we walked into Target I felt Mom’s soft hand graze upon mine; she wanted to hold my hand. I pushed her away. I glanced to see if Adam saw because he would have made fun of me, but luckily he did not notice. Holding a mother’s hand is something a first or second grader would do, but I was a third grader now! So we walked side by side not holding hands into Target. The delicious smell of popcorn hit me as soon as we got into Target, so I ordered popcorn and a hotdog. I inhaled my meal because I wanted to get back to shopping as quickly as possible. After we finished eating, we grabbed a cart and made our way through Target getting supplies, shoes, and clothes for school. It was such a zoo in the store that we spent almost an hour getting everything we needed.
As we made our way toward the check-outs Adam begged Mom, “Can we go look at the trading cards?” because he still had money to spend.
Hesitantly she said, “Sure, I will check out at aisle 15. Make sure you stay together.” When I saw the long line at the checkout I decided to tag along with Adam. Together Adam and I walked out of Target to a little trading card shop right next to Target. Adam was obsessed with trading cards; he probably had a billion at home and always wanted more. When we got in the store Adam was in heaven. He was busy looking through thousands of cards. I was never really into that stuff so I filed through some basketball cards but I became bored very quickly. About 20 minutes went by and we were still looking at cards. I wondered why mom had not come to get us. I started to become fretful.
A few minutes later I asked Adam, “Where do you think Mom is?”
“I’m sure she forgot something, don’t worry you little baby!” he replied barely looking up from the cards. It made sense so I looked through some baseball cards. But ten more minutes passed and she still had not come.
I panicked and peaked my head out of the trading card store, but I did not see Mom anywhere. I tried to take my mind off things. I was holding a Kent Hrbeck card in my hand looking at his stats when I felt an unexpected tap on my shoulder. I thought it was Adam fooling around with me, but I was wrong. I turned around to see a tall man, dressed in all blue with a gun and badge.
His eyes met mine and in a raspy voice asked, “Is your name Katelyn Heinze?” Now I felt my heart pounding in my chest. Thinking to myself, “How does he know my name?”
Realizing he was a security guard, I nervously and quietly replied, “Yes.”
The scary lengthy man fired another question, “Is that your brother Adam?”
“Yes.” I stated.
“Then you two come with me!” he insisted. My heart was racing now. “What had we done?” Adam put down the cards he wanted to buy and we walked with this man. Puzzled we went back into Target. I felt as if there were a million eyes on us as we walked with the security guard toward the customer service counter. Then I saw my mom bawling, but why was she crying? She sprinted at Adam and me and gave us the biggest hug I have ever received!
“I love you both so much!” she exclaimed with tears rolling down her face, “I thought I was never going to see you two again.”
“But mom we were just looking at trading cards.” Adam stated.
I added, “Yeah Mom, you said we could.”
“I thought you meant the cards in Target, not the card store next door.” she explained. It all made sense now. I felt my mom’s unconditional love as she held Adam and me in her arms. I could not imagine the millions of feelings that went through her head when she could not find us. I had no clue that that day would change the course of our lives forever. I saw a side of my mom that I had never seen before. Since that day I have admired the twinkle in her dark brown eyes that resembled her love for her children. As we walked out of Target I held my school supplies in one hand and tightly grasped Mom’s hand with the other without caring if Adam saw. It was time to go home.