“They have regular food too,” Meg assured her, grabbing a cart.
“Do you organize it by food groups?”
“I—how did you?—”
“Tyler mentioned it. Said it was terrifying.”
“It’s efficient,” Meg said, her chin up.
“Sure.” But there was amusement in Stella’s voice now.
They started in produce, Meg automatically selecting items for the week. Stella watched her pick through the basil.
“That’s a lot of green stuff.”
“I was thinking about dinner. What do you like?”
Stella shrugged. “Whatever. I’m not picky.”
“You literally came shopping to make sure I got the right Pop-Tarts.”
“That’s different. That’s breakfast.”
Meg selected tomatoes, garlic, lemons. “What does your mom usually make?”
“She doesn’t. Cook, I mean. We mostly get takeout or...” Stella gestured vaguely. “The twins are five. Everything in our house is shaped like dinosaurs or comes in nugget form.”
“The twins?”
“Her new kids. They’re...” She shrugged again. “Five.”
Meg heard what Stella didn’t say—that meals revolved around the five-year-olds, that Stella probably fended for herself most nights.
“They’re alright, I guess. When they’re not destroying my stuff.”
“Well, what would you want to try? If you could have anything?”
“I don’t know. Real food, I guess? Like what normal families eat?”
The vulnerability in the question made Meg’s chest tight. “I make a decent pesto. Pasta with basil and garlic, pine nuts, parmesan?”
“Is that the green stuff?”
“The green stuff, yes. It’s good, I promise.”
“Whatever. Sure.”
They moved through the store, Stella loosening up enough to assert opinions about cereal (“Froot Loops or nothing”), bread (“Seeds are for birds”), and orange juice (“Pulp is non-negotiable”). Meg found herself enjoying the negotiations, even when Stella insisted on adding items that hadn’t seen real fruit since their invention.
“Meg??”
Meg turned to find her friend Natalie pushing a cart overflowing with juice boxes and goldfish crackers.
“Natalie! Hi!”
“I thought that was you! How’s everything?” Natalie’s gaze landed on Stella with curious interest.
“Great. This is... this is Stella. Tyler’s daughter.”
