A Young Man Sent His Autistic 15-Year-Old Brother Into a Grocery Store Alone for the First Time – 15 Minutes Later, a Cashier Ran Outside Crying, ‘Come In. Immediately. You Need to See What Your Brother Did’

    “I’ll think about it.”

My mother’s words crawled back into my head. Better somewhere equipped.

For a moment, I wondered whether encouraging his independence was putting him in danger. The world could be a hostile place, and I couldn’t make strangers kind.

***

When I got home, Theo was at the table, lining up his pencils.

“The manager says you didn’t do anything wrong,” I said. “He watched the tape. We’re welcome back at the store.”

    I couldn’t make strangers kind.

He nodded, but I wasn’t sure if it was agreement, or him moving because the thought of going back was stressing him out.

    “But you don’t have to go back if you don’t want to. I can do the shopping myself for a while. Easy.”

Theo looked at the pencils for a long time.

    I wasn’t sure if it was agreement

For two days, I avoided mentioning the store.