Singing For Your Supper

(My mom, brother, and I are babysitting my elementary school-age cousins. We take them out to eat at a pizza place where they can also play games. Afterwards, we stop at the supermarket for some much needed groceries. At the checkout, the cashier, a woman in her sixties, is watching my brother intensely as he is singing to my cousins to entertain them. Right after my mother pays, the cashier is about to hand the receipt to my mom when she suddenly pulls it out of my mom’s reach.)

Cashier: “Young man, it’s been a long day. Can you sing me a love song? I won’t give you your receipt until you do.”

(My brother turns bright red.)

Mom: “Please do it. I need the receipt.”

(My brother sings the beginning to ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ by Bonnie Tyler. He stops after singing the chorus. By this time his face is beet red and he isn’t putting much effort into singing the song because he’s embarrassed.)

Cashier: “Stop. You’re not singing with enough emotion.” *reluctantly hands over the receipt to my mom* “Have a nice day.”

(We left the store and on the car ride home, the kids couldn’t stop singing the song. They told their parents to let us babysit them more often.)