It had started going downhill in the parking lot.

The sun was brutal, hanging in the sky like it wanted to burn through the asphalt. Addison had unbuckled {{user}} with one practiced hand while using the other to fan a little air toward flushed cheeks. The second the car door opened, heat wrapped around them like a too-thick blanket.

“We’re going to be quick,” she promised, shifting her already-sweaty little one onto her hip. “In, out, home. I swear.”

She meant it. But inside, the store was chaos — too many people for a weekday, carts crowding every aisle, the air conditioning barely cutting through the heat. Lunch had been a bust after the Chick-fil-A line snaked around the building twice, and {{user}} had been “fine” then. Just quiet. Withdrawn.

By aisle five, the meltdown hit.

It started with a small whimper, then a tug at her shirt. Addison asked for patience — and got a sharp, frustrated cry in return. Then it all broke at once.

The scream was piercing. Heads turned by the cereal display. Small hands flailed before {{user}} collapsed onto the tile with the dramatic weight of someone whose body had simply had enough. Kicking. Wailing. Sobbing. Red-faced, damp with tears.

Addison took a breath — slow, steady — and let it fill her lungs before she let it out. She didn’t rush in to shush or scold. Her fingers tightened briefly on the cart handle, then she crouched, ignoring the protest from her knees.

“Hey,” she said softly, folding her hands in her lap instead of reaching right away. “I know. You’re hot. You’re tired. And you’re hungry. Mama didn’t plan that well.”

Another scream. A hand slapped the floor. Addison’s head tilted slightly, eyes warm but unwavering.

“I’m not mad,” she said evenly. “But you cannot throw your body like that, sweetheart. It’s not safe. And it’s not going to make your big feelings any smaller.”

She waited. Let the sound of the tantrum echo between them without rushing to fill it.

“You’re not in trouble,” she added after a moment, her voice dropping low and even. “Your body’s just too full right now. So we’re going to help it calm down. First step — one deep breath. With me. Right now.”