The brothers had happily dodged the Korean war. Victor was down for it, but out of respect for his brother's mental health they avoided the draft.
"Might be time to buy more pins, and cloths," Logan told his brother as he fastened the two on the side, "These are pretty worn."
"Alright, I'll go shopping for them when I'm allowed up," Vic chewed his fingers.
"Teeth bothering you again?"
"Yeah. I'll see if there is anything at the market for it. Has orajel been invented yet?"
"No clue. I lost track of the year, honestly," Logan shrugged grabbing the bridge of his nose as one of the pins broke, "This is the third one."
"Fasten me up and I'll go to the store," he waved his hands impatiently.
"Oh fine," he struggled to reposition the side and simply pin it with one, "There you're free."
"Thank you," he pulled his pants on and grabbed his cash.
"Victor," Logan called before his brother left, "Don't spend ten dollars in candy again."
"I have a job too, y'know," he glanced back, getting a glare.
x
"Morning, honey," the shop woman smiled at Victor, "Looking for something in particular?"
"Can I have 3 yards of this fabric?" he pawed at the terrycloth, "Where are your large safety pins?" She gave him a smirk, "What?"
"You have a baby?"
"Oh, no, my aunt just had a baby," he lied through his teeth, "Do have things for tooth pain?"
"Are you going to buy her some gifts?" she perked up, coming around to him and pulling him to the baby items, "You need some bottles, honey. And Pacifiers, that will help with the baby's teething."
Victor just watched as she pulled out some items, "I don't have infinite money," he grabbed the items that he had originally come to buy. Including his candies.
By the time he came over with his items he saw the few baby items she had given him. Teething rings, bottles, the pins he asked for, and the cloth.
"Alright," she smiled and gave him his total, "I only got you a few things for the new baby. Boy or girl?"
"Girl…" he checked his pocket, "Give me the candy and I'll put it back," he took the items and walked over to drop it back in.
x
"I'm home," Vic set the bags on the table.
"How was the trip to the store?" Logan was on the couch, reading his book and enjoying a twinkie.
"Went well," he put the groceries away, "Come put these clothes and cloths in the room."
Logan stretched and dog earred his page before going to assist his brother, "Do I owe you any money?"
"Nah, had it under control," he shook his head and organized the fridge and cupboard.
"Great," he walked over after putting the items away. He strolled back over and noticed a kitkat, taking it, "How much candy did you get?"
"Only five dollars worth," he smiled.
Logan shrugged, well it wasn't bad, "What all did you get," he broke a piece off, shoving one wafer in his mouth and another in his brother's.
"A variety," Victor crunched, setting the pins out.
"Well I need to put another pin on you so when you're done with this I'll fix you up," he glanced inside the bag, "What are these?" he pulled out a bottle.
"Bottles."
"Clearly. Why?"
"Well...I told the shop woman that our Aunt just had a baby girl."
"Why?"
"She assumed because I was getting pins and asked about tooth stuff that I was preparing for a baby."
The younger nodded. Wasn't the first time they lied to busy body shopkeepers about the reason they were buying pins and cornstarch.
"How much did all this cost?" he looked, scanning everything, "How much did you even take?"
"That's not important," Vic muttered, taking the items to wash them.
"Not important?" Logan glowered, "Victor? Victor." the elder glanced, "Did you steal these?"
"No, not the baby stuff…"
The younger narrowed his eyes, "What did you steal?"
"The candy. But I was owed that! She tricked me into buying stuff I didn't want instead of stuff I actually wanted!" he argued, "I only took the equal amount of the cost of those bottles and stuff."
Logan sighed and glared at his brother, "Take these back."
"Why? I'm home already," he scoffed.
"Take it back or I'll beat your ss." he watched as Victor looked to him then took a contemplating gesture, "What are you waiting for?"
"I'm just weighing my options."