We arrived at the store a few minutes later. I hopped out before grabbing a buggy to put Iylah inside. I placed a call to my mother to ask for her help on what to get, but of course, she didn’t answer. It made me slightly irritated, but I didn’t let it show.
Once in the store, I decided to start with food and snacks first. I was renting out a condo in the Amber District for the time being, so groceries were necessary. I tried to put a grocery list together in my head, but I was pulling up blanks. What the fuck was I supposed to feed a four-year-old?
I turned on the cereal aisle and smiled when I realized who was standing at the other end, looking at some granola bars. Valleigh knew she was some fine shit. Not even that modest teacher’s outfit she wore could hide her curvaceous frame from being admired. I wished I were four years old again because I’d be the first student in class every day, just watching her walk from one end of the classroom to the other, then the last one to leave so that I could admire the plumpness of her ass.
From the angle, I could only see her long, curly ginger hair that matched her cinnamon complexion perfectly, but I remembered her pretty face, her little button nose that I wanted to kiss, and her full lips with that brown liner, making them so hard to ignore or not imagine elsewhere. Her eyes were sultry enough to label her a siren because I could’ve sworn she drew me into the dark, watery depths of her soul multiple times at the school. It took all my strength not to walk right up to her, grip her little chin, and force her to feed me them lips like a full-course meal.
“Twice in one day feels like a sign,” I teased when I was close enough.
She was so focused on the shelf in front of her that she hadn’t noticed me until I spoke. Her eyebrows dropped before the cutest smile lifted her cheeks. “What kind of a sign?” she questioned.
“The kind you can’t fight. The kind that whispers prophecies like me and you falling in love is inevitable.”
Her head tilted to the side when she giggled. After captivating me with her eyes for a second, she sighed, thenturned her attention to Iylah in the buggy. She was in her own little world, not paying us any attention. “Hi, Butterfly,” she spoke sweetly.
“Hi,” Iylah replied with a wave.
Leigh turned her attention to me when I spoke. “I’m actually glad you’re here. Do you think you could help me out? If you have the time. I have no idea what to buy for her to eat, wear, or wash with,” I admitted without shame. There was no point in pretending, because Iylah would be the one to suffer from my ignorance.
Leigh glanced up and down the aisle. “Where’s Rhapsody?”
I scratched my eyebrow with a sigh. “Nigga took off running,” I mumbled. Leigh raised an eyebrow, and I chuckled because, what else was there to say? “I mean, literally took off running. It’s just us for the night.”
It was almost like I could see the wheels in her head spinning. I wouldn’t force her into anything, but damn, her help would make my life easier. She was used to dealing with children. I, on the other hand, had zero experience on the matter.
“Okay, I guess I have time.”
I felt immediate relief, knowing I had some help. I nodded once. “Thank you, beautiful. Put your stuff in the buggy too. That’s on me.”
She smiled with a shake of her head. “Whatever. What were you thinking about getting?” I shrugged. “Wow. Why are men so helpless?”
I frowned. “Aye, not too much. I’m not always this helpless. This just happens to be outside of my level of expertise.”
“Mhm, I bet it is. I’m just going to pick up some things, then we can head to the clothes section.”
“Cool. Lead the way, pretty girl.”
She turned to do exactly that. I expected Iylah to be reaching for anything and everything, but she sat perfectly still, almostlike she was afraid to move or something like that. It got me thinking about what my brother said.
“Can I ask you something?” I blurted.
Leigh glanced at me and nodded. “Sure.”
“Okay, so earlier, Rhap was going on about Iylah, calling her stupid and dumb, saying she doesn’t know her colors.”
Leigh frowned, and I swore tears made her eyes shine. “He called her that?” she questioned in the softest voice. I could feel her sympathy. It was damn near palpable.
I nodded. “He definitely said that shit. I ain’t like it.”
Her eyes traveled to Iylah. “She is struggling a bit with certain things, but he shouldn’t speak about her like that. Doesn’t make her any less special, smart, or perfect.”
She looked like she wanted to reach out for her just to assure her that what her father had to say was the furthest thing from the truth. Somehow, she restrained herself as she focused on the meats in front of us. Turning to me, she asked, “Do you know how to cook?”
I shook my head. “Not really. I was thinking some frozen dinners or something.”
She frowned. “You want to feed a baby a frozen dinner?”
“What else I’m supposed to do? I mean, I can find a chef to cook for us.”
