I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK:

[READ: December 12, 2024] “Shopping Cart”

This year my wife ordered me The Short Story Advent Calendar.  This is my seventh time reading the Calendar–it’s a holiday tradition!  Here’s what H&O says about the calendar this year.

Ten years of stories! Yikes, where does the time go?
When the first Short Story Advent Calendar launched, in 2015, we frankly had no clue we’d still be sitting here today, continuing to offer up batches of tasty stories fresh from the oven. To celebrate this milestone, we’ve packed the 10th SSAC with a mix of new and familiar names—ideal company for those chilly winter nights ahead.

The author of this story was Christopher Boucher.  Each day has an online component with the author with a brief interview.  It opens with this:

It’s December 12. Christopher Boucher, author of Big Giant Floating Head, would also have used a basket in a pinch.

I enjoy a story that is absurd and is willing to see it through.

The narrator sees a shopping cart stuck in the mud. When he pulls it out and gets it unstuck, the cart is so grateful that it follows him.  He brings it to two different stores but they say it’s not one of theirs.  He tries to abandon it, but it follows him all the way to his home.

His home is actually his mother’s home–he has been living with his mother for a little while even though his wife wants him to comeback to his proper home.  When his wife and kids come to his mother’s house, they are instantly taken with the cart and it seems to like them as well.

But the narrator is not ready to move back home yet.  Until the shopping cart sees something outside that gets it very excited.

I enjoyed the way this absurd story had a heart.