Dean's Life

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Dean's pov

We all piled into Sammy's SUV, towing the trailer and boat behind us. Our first stop is the super center to get us some bait and to get Alex a fishing license and Drew a life jacket and fishing pole. I have extra poles and life jackets meant for adults so Alex can use those but neither will work for Drew. Katie still fits in the life jacket she wore when she was four so we don't have another child-sized one that will fit Drew.

As soon as we walked in the store, I was reminded why I hate comin' here on the weekends. It's too damn crowded, you can never find an employee to help you and it takes forever to check out. Sammy grabbed a shopping cart so we could get some beer, soda, juice, snacks and sandwiches too.

"You're up here little man," I said to Drew, as I picked him up and sat him in the front of the cart.

"No, I wanna walk," Drew whined in response.

"Not today, buddy," I replied, ruffling his hair. "We're in a hurry and we don't want to waste time cuz we gotta pick out your fishing pole. Ok?"

"Maybe they'll have a Paw Patrol one," Drew replied excitedly.

"Maybe," Sammy said, taking control of the cart while I talked to Katie. "You never know."

Instructing my daughter to grab onto the side of the cart, I stated, "You take your hand off this cart without me or your Uncle's permission and I'll take you into the family bathroom and spank your little butt. Understand me?" I'm in no mood to sugarcoat it. Katie knows this is not an idle threat. I've done it before and I won't hesitate to do it again. I'd like to get outta here as quickly as possible so we can get to the lake at a decent hour and that's only gonna happen if everyone cooperates.

Katie nodded so we went on our way. No Paw Patrol fishing poles but they did have a yellow Sponge Boy one, or whatever the Hell that cartoon is that Katie likes, so Drew was happy with that. As predicted, we waited forever for somebody to come to the sporting desk so we could get Alex's fishing license. The kids were getting antsy and I was becoming more irritated by the second. Finally an associate came over so I explained what we needed. He of course had no clue how to get us the fishing license so he disappeared in the backroom to supposedly find us somebody who would know.

"Dean, Katie took her hand off the cart," Alex tattled, as soon as my back was turned and I was busy getting our live bait.

"Dadddd, he pushed my hand off. He's just trying to get me in trouble," Katie quickly interjected.

"You know that bathroom is big enough to spank two kids in, no problem," I politely informed Amy's oldest.

"As if," Alex scoffed. "I'd like to see you try, Boomer," he mumbled under his breath, but I still heard him.

"Keep it up and you will, smart guy," I replied, smirking at him. Truthfully, it's nice to hear them acting like siblings, bickering and annoying each other. Sammy was always good at getting me in trouble with Dad when we were kids.

Katie stuck her tongue out at Alex, sneering, "Ha ha, Dad's gonna spank you."

"That's enough you two," I chuckled, shaking my head. After locating the only employee in the company, apparently, who could get us the fishing license, we were ready to move on. "Let's go, we gotta meet Sammy in the liquor department. Hopefully they're giving out samples." Wishful thinking, but it would be nice.

We met up with Sammy and then stood in line forever to checkout. Katie earned herself a smack on the butt for begging repeatedly for a candy bar. Drew fell asleep in the cart before we left the store. Thankfully, he didn't even wake up when I put him in his booster seat. Sammy and I got everything and everyone else loaded into the car and we were finally off to the lake.