“Really?” the mother says. “Why?” she asks.

“Because if I had a lot of money I'd buy everything in this store.”

His mother's surprised. “You'd want to buy everything in Home Center?”

Her son stands there a foot taller than she is yet still he looks like a young boy.

She starts to think she doesn't know him as well as she thought she did. She'll get to know him. Starting now.

“Let's walk around” she suggests “and pretend we have all the money in the world and we can buy anything we want.”

They start in the lighting department.

“Which one would you like?” she asks.

Lights don't interest him.

Neither do the blenders food processors or gardening tools.

He likes the big drill. He also likes two small drills.

“What are the differences?” his mother asks. “The big one looks like it does the job of the two little ones.”

“No” he explains “the little ones work without being plugged in.” He sounds like an expert but without pride.

“Okay” his mother does the math “two drills so far. One's 1700 shekels the other is 499. Anything else in this department?”

The boy looks around studying each shelf and every hanging item.

He spots a nice big toolbox in the left corner.

“A toolbox and all the tools on that wall.”

His mother's eyes say she really wishes she could buy him all those tools.

“Tools are a great choice” she says. “We need tools in life.” She tallies up the bill. “We have all the money in the world and so far we've only spent 3000 shekels” she tells him.

The boy stands there for a moment quiet and pensive.

There's a kind of sadness in him but he's happy to be with his mother who's giving him all the attention in the world.

They move on to the dishes. Nothing interesting there. Then the office furniture department.

“I'd buy this desk.” He runs his hand over black glass.

“And this chair.” He swivels from side to side in the big black-leather executive chair.

“Good choices” his mother says nodding.

They move on to patio furniture.

There's a big cushioned chair that looks like a banana on a chain with an umbrella overhead to block the sun. The boy's eyes light up. He loves that chair but he's afraid to sit in it since he's so big. He swings it with his hand.

“Why don't you sit in it?” his mother asks.

“I'm afraid I'll break it” he says.

A man twice the boy's size comes over. “I sat in it” he tells them “no problem.”

The boy gets in the chair and lies like a millionaire on vacation in the Caribbean.

“This is the most amazing chair I've ever been in” he says. “I really want to buy this.” He relaxes some more. “How much is it?” he asks his mother.

She checks the price tag. “1799” she says.

The boy calculates how long he'd have to work to really buy it.

“Dad would love this!” he says. His first thought is for his father.

His mother agrees.

She helps him out of the chair.

“And I'd buy this table with the six matching chairs for the patio.” He doesn't calculate the cost.

“Wouldn't it be fun” he says.

His mother starts to look tired.

They sit down at the patio table.

“And the barbecue too” he adds.

They dream for a few moments. The mother looks at her son. They both know the same thing. What it is isn't clear but they both know it.

Maybe it's that they know all this stuff doesn't make a difference. Or that having millions doesn't really get you what you thought it would because in essence you don't need that much. Or that you can only sit on one patio for so long before it gets too hot or too cold.

They buy nothing and exit through the same turnstile they used to enter.

Leaving with a new way they see the world the mother and the boy in the store.