Elias exhaled, a weight he hadn't realized he was carrying finally shifting. He picked up a cookie and held it out. "No job is too big, no pup is too small, right?"
, it was a mission. He stood in Aisle 4, his eyes scanning the shelves until they landed on the familiar bright blue box: . buy paw patrol cookies
Elias reached for the box, his fingers lingering on the cardboard. He remembered the last time they’d bought these. It was a Saturday morning in their old house, the sun streaming through a kitchen window that no longer belonged to them. Leo had insisted on giving the "Marshall" cookie to his dad because "dads are firefighters for bad days." Elias exhaled, a weight he hadn't realized he
Now, Elias felt less like a firefighter and more like the wreckage. He looked at the price tag, then at the meager balance on his banking app. It was a choice between these cookies and the "fancy" milk Leo liked, or perhaps the good dish soap. He tossed the box into the cart. He stood in Aisle 4, his eyes scanning
Leo crept out from under his covers, his eyes widening. He sat across from his father, his small hand reaching out to touch the "Rocky" cookie.
"Green means go," Leo whispered, his first words in three days.