“Hey, Austin, want to run an errand into town with me?” I asked, leaning in the archway with my car keys jingling in my hand.

He looked up from his building pieces, his forehead wrinkling with mild curiosity.

“Where are we going, Mom?” he asked me.

“I was thinking we could go over to the big sporting goods store by the shopping plaza,” I suggested with a warm smile.

His eyes went wide with surprise, and his hands stopped in midair over his plastic pieces.

“How come we’re going there?” he asked warily.