How do I finish an errand when my friend keeps adding imaginary side quests?
Funny'We must visit the Council of Bread,' Bea said, pointing at a bakery across the street.
We were supposed to collect a parcel and buy the one missing ingredient for dinner. I'd said we could make the walk fun. Bea took that as permission to turn every shop window into a new quest.
I joined in at first. We saluted a traffic cone and negotiated with a painted squirrel on a sign. Then she wanted to detour into a stationery shop to select a ceremonial pencil. Our parcel collection was booked for four, and it was already ten to.
When I said we needed to hurry, Bea asked whether the Kingdom of Dinner could survive without a pencil. I laughed, then felt annoyed because laughing seemed to reset the game.
How do I make the actual deadline clear without treating the whole afternoon as a mistake? I still want to go for walks with her. I just want the parcel to come home too.