“Lucky for me, he’s even more fond of the ocean.”
Friedrich nods once in confirmation, still a complete brick wall.
“Thank you for helping me,” I tell him. “Can I pay you for your trouble?”
“Tenny pays me.”
“But—”
“Thanks again for helping with this.” Tenny pushes me toward the mechanical double doors before glancing back at his assistant. “And the other thing?”
“Already taken care of.”
Friedrich zips my keys into a pocket in his kit, straddles his bike, and takes off before the AC of the grocery store even blasts us in the face.
“What other thing?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Tenny boops me on the nose before grabbing a grocery cart. “Let’s be quick. I don’t want to keep Mags waiting.”
Chapter 11
Tenny
I’m a little too hyper as I pull Alex through the aisles, cracking jokes and suggesting inappropriate food items for our dinner. There’s a voice in the back of my head telling me to bring it down a notch, but Alex keeps giving me indulgent smiles peppered with the occasional playful eye roll.
She doesn’t even hurry me in the nut aisle when I insist on reading the back of four containers of unsalted cashews, determining which is the best option.
“I didn’t know you were so particular about food. Rumor is, you have quite the sweet tooth.”
I shrug, dropping the organic, fair-trade nuts in the basket. “I do, but I try to balance it out with good choices elsewhere.Otherwise, I wouldn’t have the ab definition you were so distracted by earlier.”
Alex shoves me in the arm before stomping down the aisle, my laugh tumbling after her.
Once we’re at the checkout, disappointment drops in my chest. I have a ritual when shopping by myself, but with Alex with me, I’ll have to forgo it this time. I wouldn’t want her to think I was doing it for show.
Then, I get lucky when Alex has to step away for a call right before we get to the cashier. Grabbing a gift card for the grocery store, I hand it to the cashier whose nametag readsBeckett.
“Hey, Beckett. I need you to help me out with something,” I lean in, lowering my voice. “I want to add money to this for the family behind me. Can you give it to them once I’m gone?”
The teenager with one earbud in bounces a shoulder before scanning the barcode. “Sure. Whatever. How much do you want on it?”
“What’s the upper limit?”
“Five hundred, I think?”
“Then do that.”
The teen chokes on his gum, hitting his chest with his fist.
“Okay, uh...” His cheeks flush crimson as he keys in the total and sets the card beside the register. “Is there… It’s just… Can— CanI have one?”
“If you need it.” I hand him another card.
“Really?” The immediate sheen covering his eyes makes mine mist in response.
“Sure. No problem.”
He bites his lip, keying in the total with shaking fingers before tucking it in the back pocket of his pants. “Thanks. It’ll really help my mom out. My dad’s not really…”
