The supermarket doctor

Marjory Jackson had a plan.

This was her first mistake.

The plan was beautifully simple.

She would spend the morning working from home, ruthlessly deleting emails, attending meetings and pretending not to notice Marmaduke’s growing collection of sticks in the garden.

At 3pm, she would collect Marmaduke and Barry from preschool.

They would walk back to her house.

She would stop at the supermarket for a few essentials.

The boys would have dinner.

Then she would take them to the Brands’ house, where Marmaduke would sleep over because Marjory had unexpectedly been asked to cover an evening consultant shift at the hospital.

Simple.

Efficient.

Reasonable.

The sort of plan that only works if you don’t include Barry.

By lunchtime, Marjory had deleted 427 emails.

Unfortunately, 513 new ones had arrived.

This felt unfair.

At 3pm, she arrived at preschool.

Miss Patel greeted her with the cautious expression of somebody handing over two live fireworks.

“Good afternoon.”

“Good afternoon.”

There was a pause.

“Was it a good day?” Marjory asked.

Miss Patel considered the question carefully.

“It was… energetic.”

This answer told Marjory everything she needed to know.

Barry burst through the classroom door first.

“MARJORY!”

Marmaduke followed closely behind.

“WE MADE PAPER VOLCANOES!”

“Excellent,” said Marjory.

“Mine erupted.”

“Wonderful.”

“It wasn’t supposed to.”

“Less wonderful.”

The walk began peacefully enough.

The boys raced ahead.

Marjory followed carrying bags, coats, water bottles and what felt like responsibility for most of North London.

Halfway down the road Barry asked:

“What’s for dinner?”

“Pasta.”

“What kind?”

“The edible kind.”

Marmaduke nodded approvingly.

“Pasta is reliable.”

The supermarket appeared ahead.

Marjory smiled.

Just ten minutes.

Bread.

Milk.

Pasta sauce.

Bananas.

Done.

This was her second mistake.

The boys immediately grabbed a child-sized trolley.

The tiny trolley looked innocent.

It was not.

Within thirty seconds Barry had turned it into a racing car.

Marmaduke became co-driver.

“Slow down!”

“We are shopping efficiently!” Barry called.

The trolley narrowly missed a display of biscuits.

An employee flinched.

Marjory intercepted them beside the fruit section.

“Stay with me.”

“We are.”

“You are three aisles ahead.”

The shopping continued.

Bread.

Milk.

Yoghurts.

Vegetables.

Reasonably successful.

Then Barry discovered the bakery.

The smell of fresh doughnuts drifted through the air.

The boys stopped walking.

Stopped blinking.

Possibly stopped breathing.

“Marjory.”

“No.”

“You don’t know what I was going to ask.”

“Yes I do.”

Marmaduke pointed dramatically.

“The pink one has sprinkles.”

“No.”

“The chocolate one has more chocolate.”

“Still no.”

The boys followed her through the supermarket looking deeply betrayed.

Like tiny Victorian orphans denied happiness.

Near the frozen food aisle, Barry spotted a lobster in a tank.

“HELLO!”

The lobster remained unmoved.

“I think he likes me.”

The lobster’s expression suggested otherwise.

Eventually Marjory gathered everything she needed.

Success was close.

Very close.

She headed towards the checkouts.

The boys were unusually quiet.

This should have worried her more.

Barry was trying to count ceiling lights.

Marmaduke was balancing a banana on his shoulder.

Both activities were apparently fascinating.

Then everything changed.

An elderly lady standing near the pharmacy aisle suddenly swayed.

Her shopping basket slipped from her hand.

A packet of tea bags hit the floor.

Then she collapsed.

People nearby gasped.

Someone shouted for help.

A supermarket employee rushed over.

Marjory reacted instantly.

Years of hospital work took over before conscious thought arrived.

“Barry. Marmaduke. Stay here.”

Both boys nodded.

For once.

Marjory hurried across the aisle.

Other shoppers were already helping.

The lady was unconscious.

Several employees looked frightened.

One staff member grabbed a phone.

Another began clearing space.

Then the public address system crackled into life.

“Attention please. If there is a doctor in the store, please make yourself known immediately.”

Barry’s eyes widened.

Marmaduke gasped.

“THAT’S MARJORY!”

Before anyone could stop them, both boys began pointing enthusiastically.

“DOCTOR!”

“WE HAVE A DOCTOR!”

“THAT’S OUR DOCTOR!”

Several shoppers turned simultaneously.

Marjory briefly considered pretending not to know them.

Unfortunately, she was already kneeling beside the patient.

The next few minutes moved quickly.

Staff helped.

An ambulance was called.

The lady began receiving care.

People worked calmly together.

Barry and Marmaduke watched from a respectful distance.

For once.

“Is Marjory fixing her?” Barry whispered.

“Doctors fix everything,” Marmaduke whispered back.

Nearby, a supermarket employee overheard.

“Not everything.”

Barry thought carefully.

“She fixed my ear once.”

The employee smiled.

“Well that’s something.”

Time passed.

The ambulance was on its way.

The situation became more stable.

But Marjory was clearly not leaving anytime soon.

Unfortunately, Barry and Marmaduke remained hungry.

Very hungry.

Dangerously hungry.

A manager approached.

A kind woman named Helen.

“Are these your boys?”

Marjory looked over.

“Sort of.”

Helen nodded.

“They look hungry.”

At that exact moment Barry’s stomach growled loudly enough to alarm nearby shoppers.

Helen smiled.

“I think we can solve that.”

Five minutes later, the boys sat at a small staff table near customer services.

Each had:

• A cheese sandwich 
• A banana 
• A juice carton 

Barry looked delighted.

“This is the best supermarket ever.”

Marmaduke nodded.

“We got emergency lunch.”

“It’s dinner.”

“Emergency dinner.”

The boys happily ate while watching events unfold.

The ambulance crew arrived.

The elderly lady received further treatment.

Staff remained calm and professional.

Barry watched thoughtfully.

“Marjory’s helping.”

“Yep.”

“That’s pretty cool.”

Marmaduke nodded.

“My mum helps people all day.”

There was a rare moment of genuine pride.

Then Barry asked:

“Do you think they’ll let us live in the supermarket now?”

The moment passed.

Eventually the situation stabilised.

The lady was conscious again and receiving proper care.

The ambulance crew prepared to take her to hospital.

Marjory finally returned.

Tired.

Slightly flustered.

Still carrying her shopping list.

“Have you boys behaved?”

There was silence.

Helen smiled.

“They’ve actually been very good.”

Marjory looked suspicious.

“Really?”

Barry nodded.

“We ate professionally.”

“Professionally?”

“We represented the family.”

Marmaduke wiped juice from his chin.

“I think we did excellent public relations.”

Even Marjory laughed.

The shopping eventually got paid for.

Only forty-five minutes later than planned.

As they left the supermarket, Barry waved at Helen.

“Thank you for emergency dinner!”

“You’re welcome.”

“And thank you for not making us buy it.”

Marjory quickly steered him towards the door.

Back at her house, she checked her phone.

Twenty-seven new emails.

Three missed calls.

One hospital message asking if she could start her shift slightly earlier.

Marjory sighed.

Medicine, she reflected, was remarkably bad for inbox management.

An hour later she delivered both boys to the Brand household.

Mrs Brand opened the door.

“Everything alright?”

Marjory laughed.

The sort of laugh people make when the alternative is crying.

“There was a medical emergency in the supermarket.”

Mrs Brand blinked.

“Of course there was.”

Barry bounced into the hallway.

“Marjory became the supermarket doctor!”

“I already was a doctor.”

“Yes but now you’re a supermarket doctor too.”

Dad appeared from the living room.

“Was the lady alright?”

“Yes,” said Marjory.

“Thankfully.”

Everyone relaxed.

Barry looked thoughtful.

“Do doctors ever get boring days?”

Marjory laughed.

“No, Barry.”

“I thought not.”

As she headed off to her evening shift, she looked back at the two boys waving enthusiastically from the doorstep.

One thing was certain.

Sorting emails had been an ambitious goal.

Saving a life in the supermarket had not been on the schedule.

And somehow, despite everything,

Barry and Marmaduke still considered the free sandwiches to be the most exciting part of the entire day.