Excerpt of A Whisper to a Scream by Karen Wojcik Berner

Chapter One

At 35 years old, Sarah Anderson discovered something quite shocking. She had Attention Deficit Disorder – she didn't get any. Men saw right through her, noticing the children she toted about, one hanging on her leg and one in her arms, but quickly dispelling her, as if the kids were somehow suspended in mid–air, like receivers on Monday Night Football. She wasn't sure if she had made this correlation herself or had seen it as a joke on the comedy channel. What did her sleep–deprived brain know anyway? How comforting to know her life could be summed up by a punch line.

As she neared the end of the grocery store aisle, she pulled her cart to a screeching halt, barely missing the man wearing a business suit and cyborg earpiece who just cut in front of her. He continued his conversation, rolling over her foot as he passed.

"I'm in an all–day meeting on Monday. How's Tuesday look?"

"Asshole," she whispered, hoping her son would not hear. "C'mon, Alex. Let's get this over with."

The toddler was playing his favorite shopping game, throwing things from the cart at passersby. Alex had a small box of rice in his hands. Sarah mistakenly thought shaking it might amuse him, but instead the little guy was ready to chuck it at the pink–babushkaed head of an octogenarian when Sarah turned around from choosing a linguine. Spotting the just–released rice, she leapt across the aisle, caught it on the fly and tossed it in the basket. Alex cried at being thwarted. Sarah smiled, only to be admonished by the scarved lady for not knowing how to keep her child quiet in the store.

"These kids nowadays. They run the show, not the parents." The little woman, oblivious to her near–miss, pushed her cart past Sarah's, who stared in shock as the pink head became lost in the crowd of shoppers. Alex cried louder. Sarah gave him some fish crackers and continued on.

At last, they were finished and headed for the check out lanes. "Hey! Record time. You were a pretty good boy in the grocery store. Mommy really appreciates that." Sarah kissed her son on the check. Alex responded by smiling and slapping her in the face.