Julien, dad to four-and-a-half-year-old Oscar and two-year-old Alice, had brought home two punnets of raspberries. In his very personal system, one was for today and the other for later. “Later” meant another day of the week, not the next three minutes.
He washed a first portion and put the bowl on the table. Oscar found the biggest one. Alice found all the others.
When Julien came back to put the bread away, the bowl was empty.
Yes. That was precisely the problem.
The berry budget: an unexpected category
Julien had anticipated outgrown clothes, replacement shoes and activities. He had not really expected raspberries to become a whole budget category in his head.
It was not the price of a single punnet that made him raise his eyebrows. It was its lifespan. He had sometimes kept a banana long enough for it to change colour three times. The raspberries did not even have time to reach the fridge.
By lunchtime, the second punnet had met the same fate. Julien turned it over to check whether one was hiding under the cardboard. Oscar helped with great seriousness.
He was glad they liked fruit. He would simply have appreciated them liking the idea of a reserve too.
A punnet is not a promise
At first, Julien had considered buying more. Then he remembered that the amount available and the amount hoped for seemed to grow together.
So he stopped calling them “the week’s raspberries”. They were raspberries for the day he bought them. Once they were gone, he could offer the other fruit available without going shopping again to keep the service running.
He could also save a portion for tomorrow or for himself. Buying something the children liked did not mean handing over the entire bag immediately.
When Oscar asked for a third round, Julien brought out an apple. Oscar considered the proposal. Alice had already left the table and was busy fitting a spoon inside a shoe.
The apple was eventually eaten. Julien had bought six. He preferred not to make any predictions.
He put the two empty punnets in the recycling. The shopping was done for the week.
The raspberries had managed a morning.
