Getting Lost In Books

(The bookstore I work in is in a mall, close to a grocery store. I work in the kids section, in the back. I’m working on my knees, placing some products, when I overhear a conversation between a mother and her kid.)

Mother: *to her kid* “You stay here; I’ll be back later.”

Me: “Excuse me? You can’t leave your kid here.”

Mother: “Why? I have to do my groceries.”

Me: “That doesn’t matter; kids can’t be left unattended.”

(The mother huffs and leaves with her kid directly out of the store. A few minutes later, my coworker approaches me.)

Coworker: “Why did that woman tell her kid you were a big meanie?”