FLIRTING WITH STRANGERS
ROMAN
“You realize she’s my daughter and not yours, right? I think I know her basic needs.”
Roman adjusts the phone on his shoulder as he reaches for the package of diapers on the shelf. The muscles in his arm scream in protest as he extends, his body still not fully recovered from holding Lucy all last night. His mother huffs in his ear, and he can practically hear the eye roll.
“I know, but don’t forget to grab the other stuff. We need?—”
“The silver trays, paper plates, and the medicine from the pharmacy,” he says, wincing as he picks up the basket again before exiting the aisle.
Soft music chimes through the speakers as he weaves through the bakery tables filled with pies, sugar cookies, and red, white, and blue cupcakes. He glosses over the beach towels and American flags as he narrowly avoids being run over by two little boys.
“You only said it to me about ten times before I left, Mom.”
“I was going to say the fireworks, but yes, those too.”
As he maneuvers around the store, he wonders how his mom is so meticulous and put together, and he’s not. Of all the traitsshe could’ve passed to him, she didn’t give him the one he needed the most.
“Okay, I’ll get it. Bye?—”
“Ro, wait. Your sister needs tampons.”
Whispers crackle through the phone. “And pads, but not the ones with wings. She said the large ones, but not the thin ones.” More hushed words, barely audible. “She said to make sure they’re without the wings. And not the thin ones.”
Roman rubs his forehead, trying to keep his annoyance in check. “Got it. Tampons. Pads. No wings. Large. Not thin.” He repeats the list like it’s a mantra.
He hears his sister, a muffled voice on the other end of the line. “What did he say?”
“He says that you’re a leech and that you can go get up off your ass and get them yourself from up the road.”
Such a shit stirrer.
There is an audible gasp, and the ruffling of the phone being transferred. “You littleshit.”
He stops walking, setting the basket on the floor. “Little? I’m older than you.”
“Whatever. Don’t forget that I watch your drooling monster for you. Forfree.”
He rolls his eyes, leaning against a shelf that holds a selection of canned goods.
“Danica, she’s lying. I didn’t say that.”
“Yeah, okay.” She lowers her voice into a menacing tone, whispering, “Don’t forget that I have something over you, fool. I could tell her right now.”
He straightens his posture, gripping the phone tighter.
“You wouldn’t.”
“Try me, Pookie Bear.”
Roman thinks about how this is the same girl who used to sit next to him at the dining room table on Sunday nights towatch him do homework. The same girl who cried to him when Angel Rankle turned her down before the Spring Fling Social her sophomore year. The same girl who begged him to live at home for college. The same girl who graduated in the top two percent of her class, got accepted to UM for political science on a full ride, and reads international relations documents for fun.
“Taylor called,” he says, changing the subject. “Said he might pass through today.”
She scoffs. “Oh, please. That won’t work on me anymore. I’m a changed woman now. That was a trivial crush from high school. Puppy love,” she says with a sniff.
Roman’s lips twitch. “Really? I didn’t realize you were such an evolved woman. What a shame. He was asking about you.”
