“Oh—uh, okay. Yeah, I don’t know anything about that, so I guess that’s wise. But… would you feel more comfortable going with Grizz?”
“I’m fine to go with you,” I say happily. “Unlessyou’reuncomfortable?”
“No offense, but I saw you deliver a baby. Soap for your vagina isn’t going to bother me.”
He walks away, and me and Kelsey erupt in a fit of laughter. I’m vibrating with excitement.
I play with Dorothea while I wait for Grizz to get home. I have a fresh supply of milk in the fridge, so he will be able to feed her while I’m gone, if she’s hungry.
“Hey, Anastacia?” Tommy calls from down the hall.
I pop my head out the door. “Yeah?”
He holds his phone up. “Grizz says he’s going to be late tonight.”
“Oh… well, we can take Dorothea.”
He looks into the living room, where Kelsey still is. “You going to be okay alone?”
“Of course, babe.”
“Leave in five?” he says to me.
“I’ll get her ready right now.”
I hadn’t thought of how I would do this. Kelsey offered to give me money, but I told her not to worry about it. I have my card to use, and they’ve done so much for me. The least I can do is buy her a ten dollar test. But Tommy knows I’m not supposed to be off on my own, so hopefully I can convince him to leave me for a few minutes. Just long enough to purchase the test. No clue how I’m going to do that, but I guess I’ll have to figure it out. I can’t let her down—especially not with this.
The baby babbles to herself quietly as we drive to the store. Classical rock plays softly from the speakers. It’s a beautiful view. Snow covers some of the trees, piles of it along the shoulder of the road—though a lot of that has gotten dirty. My favorite are the fields full of snow. It’s white for what looks like miles.
We pull into the lot before I know it, and butterflies go crazy in my stomach.
Here goes nothing.
I hop out of the car and go to the back to pull out the car seat. Tommy meets me with a cart to put her in. Her seat locks right into the front of it, but it isn’t easy to see over since I’m not very tall.
“Should you get another?” I ask.
“Another…”
“Cart?” I question as we walk to the door. “This way I can look at what I need and you can grab what you need.”
“No, we can stay together.”
His words are firm, leaving no room for argument. But I can’t give up. I have to do this.
The automatic doors slide open when we reach them, and we step inside. Something sweet fills my nose, like freshly baked pastries.
“Wow, that smells good,” I comment.
“We can grab something from the bakery.” He points to the left, and we head that way.
This isn’t a big grocery store, but I’ve never been here before. I can see where the back walls are from here, and all the signs hang over the aisles letting us know what is there. I try to search for the one I need, but I think it’s on the far end—but I can’t read that far. My vision is good, but not that good.
We order a box full of goodies from the bakery, my mouth watering as I point out the different things I want. I ate not too long ago, but this all looks so good.
“I should not be eating that stuff,” Tommy comments, patting his stomach as the girl puts the last donut inside the box.
“You’re far from fat.”
