Fifteen minutes is a relatively short period of time; and when I worked at the Walmart Supercenter in Clinton, N.C., that brief time-frame whizzed by quicker than I could say, “Time flies when you’re having fun.”

Of course, the word “fun” was the essential component in that metaphorical phrase; because I endeavored to make the most of my respite from the hustle and bustle of operating a cash register at the retail giant.

I usually filled my time by checking emails, answering text messages or scrolling through my Facebook feed while listening to some tunes through the Amazon Music app; and on those rare occasions, I would scope out the customers as they made their final purchases.

However, this one particular day in the not so distant past, I was on the prowl for the usual king size Snickers bar and a Starbucks mocha frappuccino to satisfy my ravenous appetite to get me through the rest of my shift.

Flying past the service desk with my rollator walker in maximum overdrive, I quickly scanned the candy rack displays at each and every register until I found my favorite chocolate bar after snatching the tasty beverage in a cooler two aisles over.

When I zigzagged around the roped-off short registers on my way to the self-checkouts, I heard someone calling out my name as it reverberated through the cavernous space.

After having a knee-jerk reaction, I glanced over my shoulder and spied Fernando, a very tenderhearted nine-year-old, vigorously waving to me. The fourth grader was sitting on a bench next to his brother David, who was two years his junior.

Upon acknowledgment of the little whippersnapper’s enthusiastic greeting with one of my own, I hurriedly paid for my merchandise before joining the siblings on the metal seating in front of the old portrait studio.

I first encountered the adorable little mischief-makers about a year earlier when they entered my checkout lane after a grocery shopping excursion with their Spanish-speaking grandmother.

Once the talkative little munchkins vigorously placed the items in the shopping cart onto the moving belt, my heart melted when they walked down to the bag carousel and struck up a conversation with me.

“Well, hello there,” I noted with a broad smile splashed across my face. “Since you guys put all those groceries on the moving beltway with no trouble whatsoever, you must both have a great deal of muscles.”

“Thanks for noticing,” responded the taller of the two nippers as he lifted his shirtsleeve to show off his bicep. “I was working out most days during the week; but since school started, I only have time to go to the gym on the weekends.”

“Cute and funny,” I quipped bursting into a fit of laughter while bagging up the items before they were snatched up in record time. “If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought you boys were The Dark Knight and Boy Wonder.”

“We’re just helping our grandma,” interjected the younger shaver as he watched my every move with great interest. “We help her do the grocery shopping every week; but my favorite superhero is The Incredible Hulk.”

“Good to know,” I mentioned while flashing my pearly whites at the pair as I handed them the last bag of groceries. “He’s another good choice; so I’ll have to remember that for the next time you come shopping with your grandma.”

Since I’m a retired educator with a genuine love for children, I relish any opportunity to converse with young scholars. It reminds me of the close bond I had with my former students, who were like an extension of my family.

In the weeks and months that followed, I developed a special relationship with these two little youngsters that quickly found their way into my heart.

Every time the dynamic duo came to the retail chain with their grandma, they would run past the checkout lanes at the front of the store scouting out the area in hopes of catching a glimpse of me operating a register.

I was overjoyed to see their smiling faces and was even happier when the six-year-old would sometimes scamper to the opposite side of the register where I sat on my stool and wrap his little arms around my waist.

I always looked forward to those rare moments that put a spring in my step and made my repetitive job a little more pleasant than usual, which is why I was overjoyed to share my fifteen minute break with those two little rascals.

When I eagerly joined the pair on the bench next to the customer service desk, my heart did a back flip as they squeezed in on both sides like a couple of bookends and began talking incessantly.

The rambunctious twosome was taking a much-needed breather as their father finished up their weekly shopping trip over in the produce section by picking out the best fruit.

As I opened up my candy bar to sink my teeth into the delicious chocolatey nougat, an awful feeling hit me in the pit of my stomach when I realized I didn’t have anything to offer my little companions.

So in order to rectify the dreadful situation, I removed the first of two confectionery delicacies and broke it in half, thereby giving them each a small piece to curb their hunger.

To see their little faces light up with delight, you would have thought that I gave them both a million dollars.

After they finished devouring the sweet confection, the siblings ran over to the water fountain to quench their thirst one at a time so as not to leave me all alone on the metal seat.

Once their dad strode past with a buggy full of groceries, Fernando and David leaned in with their heads on my chest as I lovingly wrapped my strong arms around their little bodies to say farewell until we meet again.

Mark S. Price is a former city government/county education reporter for The Sampson Independent. He currently resides in Clinton.