Jordan seems pleasantly surprised as he shakes Ash’s hand. “You too.”
“Ready?” I ask.
“Ready.” Jordan’s smile is the first genuine one I’ve seen from him. “Thank you, Alexa. Really. You have no idea how much this means.”
I do know, actually. I know exactly what it means to have someone offer help when you’re too proud to ask for it.
“Come on,” I say, walking toward his car. “Let’s get this boy some groceries.”
CHAPTER 7
JORDAN
The grocery store should be a nightmare with a baby, but somehow Alexa makes it look effortless.
She grabs a cart and settles Henry in the front seat like she’s done it a thousand times. When he starts to fuss, she hands him her keys to play with. When he drops them, her son Ash picks them up with a grin.
“Here you go, buddy,” Ash says, dangling the keys in front of Henry’s face. Henry immediately reaches for them, completely distracted from whatever was bothering him.
Ash notices me watching. “Babies are easy once you figure out what they like,” he explains.
Easy. Right. If only I’d figured that out yesterday.
We walk through the automatic doors, and I’m immediately overwhelmed by the sheer size of the place. I shop here regularly, but always for single-person meals. Frozen dinners, protein bars, coffee. The kind of food that requires minimal preparation and even less thought.
This is different. This is shopping for a tiny human who depends on me for everything.
“First things first,” Alexa says, stopping at the baby-food aisle. “How much solid food is Henry eating?”
I stare at the shelves of tiny jars and pouches. Dozens of options in every color imaginable. Sweet potato and apple. Chicken and vegetables. Something called “superfood blends” that costs more per ounce than my morning coffee.
“I honestly don’t know.”
Alexa doesn’t make me feel stupid for not knowing. She just pulls out her phone and shows me a chart. “At six months, he should be eating solids twice a day, maybe three times. You’ll want to start simple. Sweet potatoes, bananas, avocado.”
She starts loading jars into the cart while explaining the difference between purées and finger foods. Stage One, Stage Two, organic versus conventional. There’s apparently a whole science to feeding babies that I never knew existed.
“See these?” She holds up a jar of something orange. “Sweet potato is usually a safe bet. Most babies like it, and it’s gentle on their stomachs. You can also mash up a regular sweet potato if you want to make your own.”
“Make my own?”
“It’s actually easier than you’d think. Steam it, mash it, done. It’s healthier and fresher. But jarred food is fine too, especially when you’re just starting out.”
I try to absorb everything she’s telling me, but mostly I’m amazed at how naturally this comes to her. She moves throughthe baby section like she has a mental map of every product and its purpose.
“What about this?” I pick up a box labeled “Baby Cereal.”
“Good choice. Rice cereal is usually the first solid food babies try. You mix it with formula or breast milk.” She pauses, realizing what she just said. “Formula, in Henry’s case.”
Breast milk. Right.Another reminder that Henry should be with Amy, not with his uncle, who doesn’t know the first thing about raising a baby.
I push the thought away. Amy will get better. She has to. Until then, I need to focus on keeping Henry healthy and happy.
“You really know what you’re doing,” I say as we move toward the produce section.
“Nine years of practice.” She selects bananas that are perfectly ripe, not too green but not spotted. “Plus, my grandmother taught me a lot about nutrition when I was growing up.”
“You grew up with your grandmother?”
