Free Love Trumps Game by D.Y. Phillips Page A

do!” Raynita wasted no time climbing in, leaving little room for Brandon. She placed her little purse in her lap and adjusted her dress like a proper, little lady.
    â€œWhat about you, Brandon?”
    Brandon gave a weary look. “Nanny, that’s for babies.”
    â€œI ain’t no baby!” Raynita protested.
    â€œYes, you are. Daddy says you are. A big crybaby.”
    â€œI’m not.”
    â€œYou are. Big crybaby, and a snitch, too.”
    â€œOkay, okay,” Hattie interrupted. All of her good church feelings started slipping away. “You two need to stop all that bickering over nothing. Didn’t you two hear a word that Reverend King preached earlier? Families need to stay close and love one another; not fight all the time.”
    Raynita rolled her eyes. “He started it. He always talking ’bout somebody.”
    â€œBig baby! Big baby!” Brandon teased, making a face at his sister.
    â€œYou make me sick! I hate you!” Her purse in the air, Raynita threatened to hit hard.
    â€œI said stop it!” Hattie snapped. She dared either one to say another word. “If you two don’t behave, we can forget about getting toys and go home. Maybe some time out in bed will help you two think about your behavior.” Hattie stopped and gave them “the look” again. Heck, the “stern face” used to work good for her kids when they were little, but her grandchildren were different. “The look” didn’t mean a darn thing.
    â€œNanny, why you look crazy like that?”
    â€œHush up, Brandon, before I pinch a plug outta your arm.”
    â€œAnd I’ll tell my mama.”
    â€œBoy, what good would that do? Y’all mama been gone for eight days now. I hardly think she’d worry about you getting pinched. Shoot, when I see her, I might have to pinch her behind a few times.”
    Raynita giggled. “Nanny, you can’t pinch Mama.”
    â€œHumph. Wait and see.” Hattie had to bite her tongue to prevent herself from saying more. She was upset. No, she was beyond upset. How dare Neema presume it was okay to dump her kids off for more than a week and not leave an emergency number? What if one of the kids got sick? Or some kind of emergency came up? She had no power-of-attorney, no health insurance card, no medical records, no nothing. If it hadn’t been for her scrupulous saving over the years, she wouldn’t have the extra money to feed extra mouths or take the kids on a shopping trip. Oh well! She sighed. All she could do was make the best of it until Neema came to her senses and showed back up.
    â€œExcuse me.” Hattie maneuvered her shopping cart around a fat woman with four kids. The woman looked too tired and too old to be the mother. Probably another poor grandmother being taken advantage of. “Do you know where the toys are kept?”
    The plump-faced woman frowned back at her. “Do I look like I work here?”
    â€œYou don’t have to be rude about it. Geez.”
    It took going up and down a few aisles, but Hattie located the toy area. “Remember now. One toy only and nothing over twenty dollars ’cause I’m not rich.” Both children picked two and three items and whined for them.
    â€œPlease, Nanny, please.”
    â€œNita, what part of just one toy didn’t you understand? You and Brandon also need other items.” As usual, the store was crowded and Hattie wanted to get in and out so she could get back to her place to relax and soak her feet. The plan was to pick up a few clothes for the children as well, seeing how Neema hadn’t packed enough. Both Brandon and Raynita needed more underwear and some house slippers. “I’m tired of washing y’all clothes every other day.”
    â€œAre we going to school tomorrow?”
    â€œI don’t know, Brandon. I might have to take you if Neema don’t show up.” The kids had already