It was an ordinary afternoon at Target…at least that's what one would say had chaos not suddenly erupted and caused quite the fuss. Items were broken and thrown, shelves were majorly dented, and Revy was frantically rushing around the store with Rock barely able to keep up. "Revy! Revy, slow down!", he exhaustedly yet worriedly shouted as he tried calling out to his wife but to no avail. Revy was hyperventilating as she desperately searched the furniture aisle before blindly opening then throwing down every table and dresser. "Fuck, she's not here!", Revy anxiously exclaimed, "RILEY!", she panickedly called out, "RILEY, WHERE ARE YOU?!".
Unfortunately for the panicking mother, her daughter didn't heed her call nor was she seen anywhere in her tunnel vision so she kept on looking. Next area Revy checked and was about to destroy was the women's clothing section where she recklessly grabbed multiple shirts at a time and ripped them off their hangers before toppling said hangers over, but no sign of Riley even after laying them all flat and ruined before running off into the dressing rooms. "Revy honey, please! Wait!", Rock said heading behind her.
Without a second thought, Revy mustered all her strength and delivered a kick which broke one of the doors to the dressing rooms off their hinges and startled a woman trying on some new jeans. She then moved onto the next dressing room and busted that door down as well, but nobody was there. Next door revealed a man trying some new shirts who was stopped dead in his tracks then another revealed a woman and her young son then before Revy could bust down another door, Rock grabbed her from behind and pulled her away.
"Revy, you have to stop!", he pleaded. "Riley is missing! I'm not stopping for jackshit till I find her!", Revy snapped back attempting to break free from her husband's grip. "You're destroying the entire store again!", Rock replied with heavy strain as Revy rapidly flailed at him. "I will burn this store TO THE FUCKING GROUND IF WE DON'T FIND OUR BABY! LET GO OF ME!", she threatened much to the dread of the surrounding customers and employees. "She doesn't mean it, everyone!", Rock nervously assured, which did little to help the situation.
Once dragged out of the dressing rooms, Revy stomped on Rock's foot which loosened his grasp and allowed her to break free but Rock quickly recovered and restrained her once more. "RILEY! RILEY! RIL-", Revy repeatedly called out in anguish before getting interrupted by the PA loudspeaker. "Rock and Revy Okajima, please come to the front of the store. Your daughter is waiting for you.", the announcer said. With that said, Rock and Revy made haste to the front of the store where Riley was sitting by the 'Exchanges and Returns' stand with dried up tears. "Riley!", Revy exclaimed with relief before rushing towards her daughter. "Mommy!", Riley exclaimed before the two hugged it out, Revy taking a few deep breaths to relieve herself. Rock also crouched down and rubbed his fingers through Riley's hair.
"Where'd you guys go?", Riley worriedly asked. "We could ask you the same thing.", Rock calmly replied. "I was looking at the toys for a minute and then you were gone!", Riley whiningly answered. "We didn't know you were looking at the toys, sweetie.", Rock replied, "Again, you have to tell us where you're going.", he gently reminded her. "I'm sorry, Daddy…", Riley gloomily apologized whilst looking down. Rock sighed, "You know we always forgive you, but your mother and I were worried sick back there.". "I got worried sick too when you guys were gone!", Riley replied. Before the conversation could continue, a man behind them cleared his throat and grabbed their attention.
The Target manager was there with folded arms and a rather exasperated look on his face. "Look, I am so sorry about this…", Rock said, grabbing his wallet, "How much do you need in repair-". "Ah.", the Target manager interrupted him with an open palm, "You won't need to be paying for repairs anymore.", he firmly said much to Rock's confusion. "...Why's that?", Rock asked with a raised eyebrow but got interrupted again. "You three are now prohibited from ever entering this store again.", the manager coldly replied which caught Revy and Riley's attention as well. "Hey! You can't just do that!", Revy protested. "Actually, I can.", the Target manager retorted, "I understand getting worried when your kid gets lost and you can't find them, but these uh…rampages, I will not tolerate anymore. As a matter of fact, I shouldn't have been so lenient after the last rampage a few years back caused the store to close down for an entire week!", he angrily raised his voice and caused Rock and Revy to briefly exchange glances at each other.
"I don't know what exactly the problem is with this family, but you're all out of control! You three wanna keep causing havoc? By all means go for it! I'm done risking our products, my customers, and my employees because Mama Bear keeps trying to maul everything in sight!", the manager told them off. "Hey, I don't maul anyone!", Revy offendly snapped back. "Revy.", Rock sternly chimed in, making her quiet. "Look, there's gotta be something we can do to make it up to you.", he tried to reason. "Nuh uh.", the manager shook his head, "I'm not letting you smooth-talk your way outta trouble this time.
So right now, I'm giving you a choice: Either leave my store right now and never come back or I'll call the cops and have 'em deal with you!". Stunned by the lack of options he had, Rock grimaced at the manager for a moment before sighing in resignation. "Okay…we'll leave.", Rock replied, "Can…I at least buy some of the things we got one last time?". The manager sighed, "Yes but make it quick.", he answered. With that said, Rock went up to one of the registers and paid for some shampoo and conditioner along with a box of Froot Loops and a carton of milk. He then walked towards the car in a silent angry demeanor with his wife and daughter before driving off without saying a word.
"Sheesh, can ya believe that guy, Rock?", Revy rhetorically asked in an irritated manner, "Straight up banning us from Target of all places! Target!", she complained. "I just hope there isn't some secret retail manager hangout where he'll tell the other store managers like we're some boogeymen out to get 'em.", Revy annoyedly muttered before noticing her husband's deathly quiet demeanor. "Rock?", she confusedly called out to him. "Rock?", she called out again, this time lightly shoving his shoulder a few times then snapping her fingers next to his ear. "Rocky Baby?", Revy said his pet name in an attempt to grab his attention but still nothing before she cleared her throat. "Earth to Rock! Earth to Rock!", Revy snarkingly called out with a raised voice while waving her hand at him, "Come in, Rock! Your wife's tryin' to talk to you-". "Revy, I don't want to talk right now.", Rock interrupted her in a calm yet incensed tone before she reluctantly complied and spent the rest of the car ride home looking out the passenger side's window. Riley also fell asleep at some point which Revy noticed in the rear-view mirror.
Eventually, the three made it home with Revy carrying the sleeping Riley into her room and tucked her in bed before settling down in the living room to watch some TV. Rock, meanwhile, went inside his office and began browsing on the computer after putting the items they bought away. Getting concerned over her husband's silent demeanor over what had just occurred earlier, Revy snuck inside to see what he was doing. Upon taking a closer inspection, she saw Rock was looking up leashes much to her confusion. Revy placed herself on top of Rock's shoulder which his eyes briefly looked at before focusing on the screen in front of him.
"I didn't agree on getting a dog, y'know.", Revy commented. "We're not getting a dog.", Rock responded. "Then what's with the leash then? Ya now gettin' into some kinky shit?", Revy teasingly asked, pointing at him about to process an Amazon order of one. "The leash is for Riley.", Rock annoyedly answered. "What? Why-..The hell does she need a leash for?", Revy asked now in a defensive tone which Rock sighed to. "Listen Revy. Ever since we started taking Riley out shopping with us, you've cost us thousands of dollars in repairs whenever she wanders off and gets lost.", he explained, "It's either you get the leash or she does and frankly, we both know it looks way less awkward on Riley.".
"N-now hold on one second, she's our daughter! Not a fuckin' pet!", Revy protested upon standing back up, "Don't make her wear that cuz of my shit fits!", she demanded. "Well clearly, this is the only solution we have.", Rock retorted, "Riley doesn't wander off and get lost, you don't become stressed and go on a rampage, and we don't get kicked out of any more stores. Win-win!". "'Win-win…'", Revy scoffed, "And what if some other kids sees her, huh? They're all gonna make fun of her if she's wearin' that all the time!", she retorted. "She's not gonna wear it all the time, just when we go out to the mall or to any retail store.", Rock replied which did little to ease Revy's concerns.
"And what about how she would feel, huh?", Revy harshly questioned, "Ya think Riley's just gonna be… okay with wearing it, stuck and unable to go past a certain fuckin' distance at a time?!". "I'll deal with Riley's response later! I just need to find-!", Rock exasperatedly answered but Revy wouldn't let him have it, "'Oh hey sweetie! From now until I say so, you're gonna be wearin' this like a dog cuz I got kicked outta Target!' Yeah, good luck trying to tell her that without dehumanizing the hell outta her-", she semi-mockingly snarked in an aggressive manner. "WELL MAYBE IF YOU LEARNED TO CONTROL YOURSELF, I WOULDN'T HAVE BOUGHT IT!", Rock screamed in frustration. Revy gritted her teeth and seethed at Rock's outburst, but didn't have a clear answer to that response. The room was silent for a moment before Rock calmed down, his eyes showing a glint of regret for having yelled like that but still believing himself correct.
"How about we…try talking to your therapist again.", he suggested, "It's been years, but I'm sure she can help you reduce your anxiety.". Revy simply glared at Rock, now she was deathly quiet before speaking again. "Okay, but you're sleeping on the couch tonight.", she bitterly mumbled before walking out of the office and slamming the door. Rock followed Revy out of his office as she went upstairs, "We'll give the leash a week then I'll return it. How does that sound?", he said, trying to negotiate with his wife but falling on deaf ears as she just walks into their bedroom and locks him out. Rock sighed before walking back downstairs, hoping things would cool down soon.
Revy, meanwhile, looked over her contacts and scrolled through until she saw a name: Lisa Drummond. Just seeing that name listed made her remember the hellish yet relieving journey of healing and self-discovery she went through years ago, coming out a better -if still flawed- person because of it. She took a deep breath then sighed before calling the number.
"You've reached Mrs. Drummond's office, how may I help you?", a receptionist answered. "Yeah, I…wanna make an appointment.", Revy reluctantly replied. "Is this for a new or returning patient?", the receptionist further asked. "Returning.", Revy promptly answered. "May I have a name?", the receptionist asked a third time. Revy gulped then sighed again, "Rebecca….Okajima.", she answered. "Okay Rebecca, how does next Tuesday at 2 PM sound?", the receptionist asked. "Good enough. Don't have work that day.", Revy answered. "Okay sounds great! I have a scheduled appointment for next Tuesday at 12 PM. Have a good day, Rebecca.", the receptionist replied. "Yeah yeah, have a good one…", Revy unenthusiastically said before hanging up.
Revy took a deep breath and let out a groaning sigh. As much as she hates to admit it, Rock was correct in that she needs to learn how to control her anxiety whenever Riley wanders off when they go shopping and not go on a panicked frenzy. But something about putting her daughter on a leash, even for good intentions, just kept jabbing at her the wrong way. Once again, she thought it'll make Riley look like a dog or hinder her in some way. Hopefully, that quick session with her therapist would maybe open her eyes to the bright side of things and help learn some self-soothing tactics. Suddenly, the door handle shifted before a knock on the door came in.
"Am I allowed to go in my own room now?", Rock asked. Revy replied by simply unlocking the door, letting him in. "I'm thinking of ordering pizza later. Does that sound good?", he informed. "Yeah, sure.", Revy shrugged as she sat back on the bed. Rock sat next to her and the two sat in silence as Revy turned on the TV and began flipping through channels. "Riley still asleep?", Revy asked. "Yeah, she should wake up soon though.", Rock answered before his eyes looked slightly down, "About earlier, I'm sorry for ye-". "It's whatever…", Revy interrupted, "Called the therapist's office, said she's available next Tuesday.". "That's good. The child leash should be here sometime next week too.", Rock announced. "So, a week?", Revy reiterated, "A week of the leash and then you'll return it.". "If it doesn't work out. Yeah, I'll return it in a week.", Rock stated.
"And how are you gonna convince Riley to wear it?", Revy judgmentally asked again though now much calmer. "Revy, it's not like I'm giving her a leash around her neck that dogs wear. It's more like a harness, even comes with a backpack attached to it.", Rock explained, "I can tell her she can now carry more stuff around than her school backpack even Mr. Hissy if she wanted to.". "Doesn't she already have the spare snakeskin backpack?", Revy further asked. "She stopped using it a month after we bought it.", Rock answered, "Then you used it and-". "And I broke it after some drunk tried to steal it on the way home.", Revy recalled. "How did that happen again?", Rock asked in a confused tone. "I dunno, the backpack was more fragile than it looked.", Revy shrugged.
"Anyway, it's also gonna be snake themed.", Rock said, "How many sessions do you think you'll need?". "I just need one for advice on how to not lose my fuckin' shit when Riley goes missing. Course I'm still gonna worry about her, but just so I don't just go around trashin' any more stores.", Revy answered. "Hopefully one session is all you need.", Rock said. "Yeah…", Revy nodded, "But what about the part where you're holdin' onto her the whole time? What if she thinks we don't trust her to not wander off again?". "Okay, I'll admit that's the hardest part of all this.", Rock pondered, "Hopefully, I can think of a good reason that won't make her upset when the lea- harness gets here.".
Revy then looked back on the TV and continued flipping through channels with Rock also now turning his attention to it before scooting closer to trace his fingers on his wife's tattooed arm. Revy's eyes glanced at her husband, making him stop for a split second before he ultimately continued with her paying no mind to it. Rock then moved his hand lower until he was rubbing Revy's with his thumb. Before the couple could continue silently watching TV together, their bedroom door opened revealing a now awake Riley.
"Oh hey sweetie. Ya need anything?", Revy asked. "What are you guys doing?", Riley replied. "We're just you know…hanging out, watching TV.", Rock answered. "I'm hungry.", Riley also said. "Perfect timing because I plan to order some pizza.", Rock announced, "What kinda pizza do you want?". "Pepperoni!", Riley enthusiastically answered. "Plain cheese.", Revy nonchalantly answered. "Okay, sounds good…I'll get to calling for delivery.", Rock said as he wrote the order of a half pepperoni medium pie on his notepad before calling the closest pizza place. "I wanna watch TV too.", Riley said before getting on her parents' bed and sitting on her mother's lap.
Revy wrapped her arms around her daughter before grabbing the remote, "Any cartoons you wanna see?", she gently asked. "SpongeBob.", Riley answered. "Okay, hopefully it's on now. If not, we'll get your DVD.", Revy said before turning the channel to Nickelodeon. Fortunately, SpongeBob was indeed airing at the moment with Riley snuggling deeper onto Revy while Rock ordered the food. The pizza would take about thirty minutes before it eventually got to the house with Rock answering the door and paying up before setting it in the kitchen and dining room area.
"Revy, Riley, pizza's here!", he announced before the two made their way down. The pizza was nice and warm like it just came fresh from the oven and tasted just as good; Rock even paid extra for dipping sticks. It also served as a good distraction from what was about to come the week after as well, especially for Revy who wasn't looking forward to going back to therapy after so long nor her own reaction to seeing Riley wear the child leash despite her husband's reassurance.
Eventually, a week passed with an Amazon package getting dropped off at the Okajima residence. Rock didn't have any clients at the moment, allowing him to get a hold of it and open it up. The harness was a soft green in color and came with a cutesy snake head as the backpack complete with black beady eyes and a red forked tongue sticking out on the bottom. Riley is absolutely gonna love it, but the one thing that she's going to inevitably question is the leash part attached to it. And despite his earlier promise, Rock didn't exactly have a good explanation for it at the top of his head now that it arrived. He then grabbed his notepad and sat on the couch to jot down some potential talking points when she comes home from school and Revy comes home from therapy.
Speaking of Revy, she was sitting on a soft cushioned chair across from a hard woodend desk after her therapist had led her inside her office and sat down. "It's great to see you after so many years, Rebecca.", Mrs. Drummond politely greeted her, "How's your job? Your family?". "Job's fine and all. Pays me well. "As for family…they're good too.", Revy answered. "I do believe you came back here for a reason, are you still having nightmares about your childhood?", the therapist further asked. "Nah, those are practically gone by now.", Revy answered, "But… what I came in here for does fall into the category of anxiety and shit.". "What do you mean by 'fall into the category of anxiety and shit', Rebecca?", Mrs. Drummond asked.
Revy took a deep breath and sighed, "My daughter Riley, she's quite the troublemaker to say the least. Of course, Rock and I love her a lot but…one of the things she tends to do is…she likes to wander off sometimes while we're shopping.", she explained as the therapist began jotting down that information in her notepad. "Sometimes, Rock and I catch up to her before she could stray too far but other times she somehow… disappears without a trace.", Revy added, "And I start getting very…like very panicky and as a result, I just lose my fuckin' shit trying to look for her.". "'Lose your fucking shit'?", Mrs. Drummond questioned, "To me that just sounds like a mother getting overly worried about her lost child's whereabouts. It's a very normal reaction.", she commented.
"Yeah but y'know me, I ain't exactly…normal.", Revy replied, "Just ask any retail store manager, their stores end up looking like they got trashed by a pissed off elephant.". "So in other words, you go on a reckless rampage across the stores when your daughter goes missing and you can't find her.", Mrs. Drummond stated. "Yeah…", Revy reluctantly nodded, "We just got banned from ever going to a Target last week too.". "Okay, yes. That does sound incredibly concerning even for someone like you.", Mrs. Drummond said, "Worrying about your daughter's whereabouts and safety doesn't excuse that kind of behavior. However, I do wonder…why exactly is that your first response to her being lost?".
"I…I don't know. I guess it's basically just that maternal instinct goin' into top gear...or maybe even above that.", Revy answered. "Does this happen in any other situation?", Mrs. Drummond asked. "Whenever Riley's in trouble.", Revy replied, "Someone starts fuckin' with her, I just go in...without thinking for a second and give 'em what for.". "I hope that doesn't involve too much violence.", Mrs. Drummond muttered. "Depends on the person.", Revy bluntly said, "Either way, that's not the only problem I'm facing right now". "What else seems to be the problem?", Mrs. Drummond asked. "Rock wants to put Riley on one of those child leash things as a sorta solution. He said it'll prevent Riley from running away again and by extent, prevent me from freakin' out but…I-..I don't know.", Revy explained.
"You don't think your husband's plan would work?", Mrs. Drummond questioned. "It's not that, it's just…I don't want Riley to think we don't trust her enough to not run away again.", Revy explained, "Plus I originally thought she'd look like a pet.". "Rebecca, the leash your husband bought or plans to buy isn't one of those you put on a dog.", Mrs. Drummond replied. "Yeah I know, he told me that. Even comes with a backpack but…I dunno, just doesn't feel right.", Revy explained. "I see.", Mrs. Drummond nodded, "What I can best advise to you is whenever Riley goes missing, be sure to take deep slow breaths before your violent urges-.".
"With all due respect, I tried that and it didn't work.", Revy admitted. "How about a stress ball?", Mrs. Drummond offered as she handed it to Revy, "Any violent impulses you feel, you redirect into squeezing the ball.". Revy went ahead and started squeezing the stress ball and much to her delight, she felt great after a few tight grips. "Does that feel good?", Mrs. Drummond asked. "Yeah, I think I can get the hang of this.", Revy answered with a smile as she kept squeezing the stress ball.
"Now onto the dilemma involving your husband getting the harness, Riley is going to be okay wearing it. It's quite common for children her age to wear them. She won't be looked down upon or made fun of, I promise you.", Mrs. Drummond assured, "If your daughter does end up disliking it though, tell Rock if she hasn't already. Remember what I told you those years ago.". "Communication is key, yeah, yeah.", Revy recalled before an alarm went off on her phone. "Oh, I gotta get goin' now. I promised Rock I'd pick Riley up from school.", Revy said standing up from her chair. "Perfect timing since this session is just about over now.", Mrs. Drummond replied before getting up and leading Revy out of her office.
"Remember Rebecca, when Riley gets lost and you feel violent urges to rampage, use the stress ball.", Mrs. Drummond advised, "It's okay to feel worried about your daughter's whereabouts but don't lose yourself in the moment either.". "Yeah, got it.", Revy replied before walking out of the facility and into her car. She then drove off to Riley's school to go pick her up, the stress ball she was given now sitting in the pocket of her jeans. It didn't take too long to get there with Revy parking the car and heading inside the school where multiple children were awaiting their parents. Revy then made it to the right classroom where Riley was waiting.
"Mommy!", Riley exclaimed before running up to Revy who put her in a tight embrace. "Hey Riley, how was school today?", she asked her daughter. "Good!", Riley answered. "Learn anything cool today?", Revy asked as the two began walking towards the car. "No, it's all a bunch of math stuff!", Riley said with disgust in her voice. "Yeah, I didn't like math a whole lot either.", Revy sympathized, "Got any homework too?". "Math and reading.", Riley answered as the two of them got in the car. "Well, you can always ask your dad if you need help with it.", Revy said. "Because you're too dumb.", Riley guessed. " Hey, that's not nice.", Revy told Riley in a firm yet still playful tone, "It's just he's better at it than me.". "Sorry, Mommy.", Riley apologized which Revy merely gave a lighthearted smirk at. "It's alright, sweetie.", she replied before restarting the ignition and driving back home.
The ride home was rather quiet as Revy focused on the road ahead but also thought back on the conversations with her therapist and Rock regarding Riley and the leash. She got something to help herself with violent urges when Riley gets lost via the stress ball, but a part of her still wasn't fully looking forward to Rock introducing the leash even with the constant reassurance she got in favor of it. Eventually, the two made it back home where Rock was waiting by the couch. "Hey girls.", Rock greeted as Revy and Riley entered the house. "Hi Daddy!", Riley waved. "Hey.", Revy nonchalantly replied.
"What's in that box?", Riley asked, pointing at the opened package next to her father. "Oh this? This is a new harness I got for you.", Rock answered by taking the snake-themed harness out of the box, "Comes with a backpack too so you can carry your stuff around.". Riley rushed in for a closer look, her curiosity spiking while Revy silently watched as Rock tried it on her to adjust the straps to properly fit her. "How does it feel?", Rock asked. "It fits good, but I gotta question.", Riley answered, trying to look at the snake's face with a turned head. "What is it?", Rock asked. "Why's there a long part on it?", Riley asked, which earned Rock a silent glance from Revy with folded arms. Rock pondered for a moment to come up with an answer to appease his wife and daughter after being unable to come up with one all day.
Rock took a deep breath and sighed, "Look, your mother and I got into trouble last time you wandered off... and the five times before it... this is just to keep you close by so we don't lose you, okay?", he explained. "But I said I was sorry all those times!", Riley retorted. "It's not your fault and it's not that we don't trust you. It's just the people at the stores aren't happy with us.", Rock replied. "So they're gonna make me wear this every time we go there?", Riley questioned. "Not every time we go, just for the first couple times we come back.", Rock answered, "If you don't like it, we can take it off after we leave.". "This sucks!", Riley pouted, "What if there's something cool I wanna see?". "Then you tell either of us and we'll take you there.", Rock answered. "Okay.", Riley reluctantly muttered.
"Or ya can just tell me if your dad's too busy with his shoppin'.", Revy chimed in. "Anyway besides that, did you get any homework from school?", Rock asked in hopes of changing the topic. "Reading and math.", Riley answered. "Well, maybe in an hour or two I'll help you do it.", Rock offered, "Is it a lot?". "It's a worksheet with two sides for both reading and math.", Riley answered. "In that case, I'll sit with you and do it later.", Rock said before taking the box into the kitchen to recycle later. Riley stayed where she was with Revy crouching down at her level. "Look, how about this?", Revy whispered as she beckoned Riley to come closer to her, "When we go shopping, tell me where you'd wanna go then I'll take the long part off for a bit. Kay?". Riley quietly yet eagerly nodded. "Don't tell your dad, of course.", Revy added before the two went their separate ways.
Revy walked in on Rock checking the pantry and saw they were running low on food. "Guess I'll head to Costco later…", Rock mumbled before turning to see Revy. "Think ya did a decent job back there.", Revy told him. "Riley now thinks the store owners are making her wear the leash, but at least that's better than her blaming us.", Rock replied while grabbing a list to write down some stuff to get, "How was therapy?", he asked. "Good. I got a stress ball to deal with any violent urges or Riley going missing.", Revy answered, pulling it out of her pocket and squeezing it, "I kinda like it.". "Yeah, I think a stress ball could do wonders.", Rock nodded in agreement, "Anyway, is there anything in particular you want?". "Whatcha list down?", Revy asked. "So far, apple juice, bread, and eggs.", Rock answered. "Get coffee. The gourmet shit.", Revy said before Rock jotted that down, "And some bacon.", she added. "Anything else?", Rock asked. Revy pondered for a moment before speaking, "Nah.", she shook her head.
"I'm adding ice cream on here.", Rock said as he wrote that down along with some other things. "So…is Costco gonna be the first round of the leash then?", Revy asked. "Yeah, we'll get going once I finish helping Riley with homework.", Rock answered. He then finished up the groceries list before heading upstairs. Eventually, an hour or so passed with Rock bringing Riley down to help her with homework with some spelling for reading and some addition and subtraction for math. With her father's help, it took Riley about five minutes to get it done then it was off to Costco.
Once in the parking lot, Rock grabbed the harness and put it on Riley as they got out of the car with Revy watching to reassure her daughter about their secret deal. Even after so many talks and convincing, there's still a hint of disapproval towards the leash that just wouldn't let Revy go. The Okajima family then walked inside the store with Rock grabbing a cart while Revy grabbed the leash. Thankfully, nobody did seem to care or even notice Riley on the leash much to Revy's relief. Rock passed by the refrigerated section and grabbed a decent-sized carton of eggs before going to grab some ice cream in the nearby freezer section. A mix of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry were taken from the aisle.
Next up was getting some bread and coffee which was a breeze to get through then came along the juice. While Rock grabbed the juice, a trio of young men who looked no older than their early 20's looked over at Riley from afar and snickered at the sight of her on the leash with one of them even mimicking a dog. Rock and Riley didn't notice the three young men, but Revy did at the corner of her eye and she gripped the stress ball in her pocket repeatedly to ease her nerves. Thankfully, they soon left the sight before the situation could escalate which gave Revy a chance to calm down.
"I think we're running low on toilet paper, we should get some more just in case.", Rock muttered. "Yeah, it'd be bad if we don't have something to wipe with.", Revy agreed before Riley suddenly tugged on her jacket, grabbing her attention. "Mommy, Mommy!", Riley called out to her. "What's up?", Revy asked. "I wanna go see the toys!", Riley answered. "R-right now?", Revy further asked. "Yeah!", Riley eagerly nodded. "Alright, off to the toy section then.", Revy playfully shrugged, "Rock, we'll be right back.". "Okay. I'll be by the registers after I get toilet paper.", Rock informed his wife before she and their daughter walked off.
Revy and Riley then made it to the toy section where the latter went to look at the toys up high on the shelves but just couldn't reach them. "Wait one second before ya look at 'em.", Revy commanded, making Riley turn her head around. Without a second thought, Revy crouched down and looked over at the part attaching the leash to the backpack and was ready to unhook it until…she heard some mocking chuckles across from her again . Turns out those three men crossed paths with them again while they were looking over some video games nearby though with the closer proximity their taunting was now somewhat louder. And once again, one of the guys mimicked a dog complete with barking and his tongue out. Revy's expression turned into a snarl as she grabbed her stress ball and started rapidly squeezing it again after unhooking the leash.
The sneers and jokes became too much for Revy's brewing anger though and she ended up popping the stress ball with one powerful squeeze, grabbing Riley's attention. "What was that?", Riley confusedly asked. "Uhh…nothing, sweetie. Don't worry.", Revy gently assured despite her boiling blood at the three men, "Say, why don'tcha keep looking over at the toys for a minute. I'll be right back.", she said, watching the three young men walk away again. "Where are you going?", Riley asked. "I think I dropped something on the way here. Lemme go see, you stay looking at the toys.", Revy answered. "Okay!", Riley compiled before looking at the toys that were more in her reach. Revy then made a beeline towards the three guys.
"Thinking of getting the new Call of Duty later this year?", the first guy asked. "Nah, I'm more of a Halo guy myself.", the second guy answered. "Oh please, Doom is where it's at! Call of Duty and Halo are for pussies.", the third guy chimed in. "Hey don't talk shit about Halo!", the second guy snapped back. "Aw, ya wanna get your mama over Halo? Maybe a binky too?", the first guy mockingly asked, laughing at his friend's sudden outburst. "Maybe we'll ask that lady from earlier to borrow the baby leash! Turn you into our dog too!", the third guy jokingly suggested before laughing. Suddenly, the jeers came to an abrupt stop as Revy grabbed the third guy by the shoulder and delivered a punch that immediately sent him reeling on the floor. The other two guys went immediately quiet as fear clouded their senses.
"Oh I'm sorry, uh…I saw you guys laughin' and pointin' at something and just wanted to drop by and know what's so funny.", Revy threateningly said to the trio behind a seemingly friendly front. "N-...nothing.", the first guy sheepishly answered. "'Nothing'.", Revy reiterated with folded arms, "You guys sure were laughing your asses off over 'Nothing'.". "Look lady, we don't want any trouble-", the second guy pleaded. Revy scornfully laughed, "Well if ya boys don't want any trouble then c'mon! Tell me! What the fuck is so funny?!", she harshly asked, her voice increasing in aggression with her smile turning more deranged. The three young men hesitated to answer as they realized mocking this woman's daughter wasn't exactly a great idea and they dreaded what would happen to them if they dared answer the question.
"Yeah, that's what I thought.", Revy snarled. The third guy tried to take her on, but immediately got grabbed by his two friends. "It's not worth it. Let's go.", the first guy said before they walked away. "Fuckin' psycho…", the third guy mumbled. Revy then sighed as she started walking back to the toy section where Riley was.
"Okay Riley…find anything ya like?", Revy asked in a much more relaxed tone. "I found a ball!", Riley answered, holding it up, it was quite big for someone her age and size. "A ball. Maybe we can play catch with it later, but…don'tcha think that one's a little too big? It's bigger than your head!", Revy playfully commented. Riley silently responded by dropping the ball and grabbing a smaller one that's still big enough to wrap her arms around. "How's this one?", Riley asked. "Yeah, that's better.", Revy answered, "Now let's head back to your dad.", she said, hooking the leash back onto Riley's backpack.
"What happened over there?", Riley asked. "Like I said, sweetie, I thought I dropped something…", Revy answered, "Turns out I didn't.". "I heard yelling.", Riley replied, making her mother go briefly silent. "Don't worry about that…just some jerks I ran into.", Revy hesitantly assured. With that said, both Revy and Riley went walking to the front of the store where Rock was in line by one of the registers. "Alright, we're back.", Revy nonchalantly announced before putting the ball into the cart. Rock looked over at Revy's gel and rubber-filled hand with a curious yet concerned expression. "What happened to your stress ball?", he asked. "I broke it.", Revy bluntly answered. "Well good thing I got a few extras.", Rock said putting five extra stress balls on the conveyor belt with the other items.
Rock paid for everything before the three of them got to the car. He also took the leash off of Riley as well before entering the driver's seat and they headed back home. "Okay, that wasn't so bad. Was it?", Rock rhetorically asked. "No.", Riley shook her head. "Revy?", Rock turned to his wife who was staring out the window. "Hm?", Revy snapped from her gaze and turned her head to him. "The leash thing wasn't so bad, right?", Rock asked. "Right…", Revy answered, hiding the fact she assaulted and threatened some people for making fun of her daughter. Besides that though, it truly wasn't as bad as she initially thought. The deal she and Riley made behind Rock's back also helped as well.
A few more trips to the stores and the mall took place over the coming weeks and Riley was well-behaved while Revy grabbed ahold of another stress ball to squeeze if anyone else were to mock her again. While beating and threatening someone is much more satisfying, squeezing the stress ball was the much healthier option when dealing with anger. Eventually, it was decided that Riley didn't need the leash anymore but she still liked her backpack too much to get rid of it.
"Alright sweetie, I think enough time passed with the people at the stores so now you won't be needing this anymore.", Rock announced as he unhooked the leash from Riley's backpack by the entrance to Old Navy. "Yay! The people at the stores aren't mean anymore!", she cheered. "Yeah, you're a free girl now.", Revy playfully added. "Anyway, I just have some shirts to return so this should be quick.", Rock said as he grabbed the bag of clothes and the receipt in hand to return. The line was long as the Okajimas stood together behind various other people who had to return things as well.
While waiting in line, Riley turned her head left and right and looked at the store before spotting something that caught her attention. She then walked out of line and wandered to where some shirts were but got stopped when approached from behind. "And just where do ya think you're going?", Revy asked with folded arms and making her daughter turn around. "There's some cool shirts I wanna see!", Riley answered. "Okay but you still gotta let us know first.", Revy replied, "Anything in particular you wanna see?". "Ah! Ah! I just wanna see the shirts.", Riley answered, shaking her head. "Well, we'll see which one ya like most then.", Revy said before they continued their way to the shirts all while Rock was still in line.
The line then suddenly sped up before it was eventually his turn to return the shirts. "Okay, you should be good to go. Have a good day.", the cashier said after giving Rock his money back. "You too.", Rock replied, "Alright girls, there's a Chili's close by here. You two wanna have that for lunch?", he asked as he turned around only to see neither his wife or his daughter in view. "Revy? Riley?", he confusedly called out for them as he looked around the store. "Revy! Riley!", he peeked out of the exit and called out again, thinking they might've walked outside. "Rock.", Revy replied, standing behind her husband and briefly startling him. "Where'd you two go?", Rock asked. "Riley wanted to see some shirts and we got one of 'em.", Revy answered. "It was a really cool one!", Riley added.
"That's great to hear.", Rock nodded, "Anyway, Chili's is across the street from here. You two want to eat lunch there?". "Yeah sure.", Revy answered before the Okajimas walked out of the store and onto the street across from Chili's. Revy crossed the street and almost got hit by a car that passed right by her. "HEY WATCH IT, DIPSHIT!", Revy cursed out at the car before heading to the other side. Rock and Riley stayed behind and looked both ways before a few more cars passed by before they met up with Revy. "Honey, are you okay?", Rock worriedly asked. "I'm fine but that… jerk almost ran me over.", Revy answered. "Yeah that guy was going too fast, but you should've looked both ways before crossing.", Rock advised. "Hey it was clear as day before that a car showed up!", Revy defensively replied, making Rock quietly shake his head.
"Am I gonna have to put you on the leash now after all?", he semi-teasingly asked.
"Oh shut up.", Revy huffed.