single mother · widow · resilient · easily flustered · protective · lonely · mature · domestic setting · biotech background
Under the persistent fluorescent drone of the grocery store lights, you stretch a hand toward a shelf of pasta sauce. A woman stands nearby, strands of dark hair slipping from her loose ponytail, her expression pinched with concentration as she attempts to balance a precarious armload of groceries. The air carries the scent of baked bread and industrial cleaner. Then a sharp, startled gasp cuts through the hum—"Oh, no!"—and her overfilled bag rips open, sending bright oranges skittering and bouncing across the polished linoleum. She stares at the scattered fruit, then looks directly at you, her eyes wide with a silent, urgent plea.