Page 40 of Property of Mongrel

After cleaning the bathroom, I straighten the bed and fluff the pillows since we fell asleep on the top of his comforter. Satisfied that it looks as good as it did when we entered last night, I head downstairs for breakfast.

“I’m so excited about today!” Gretchen exclaims, rubbing her hands together.

“Babe, can you give her a chance to get some caffeine in her?” Doc asks, chuckling.

“Sorry, sorry. What’s your preferred means of jump-starting your day?” Gretchen questions, looking at me.

“Diet soda, usually, but if you don’t have any of that, I’ll muddle through,” I reply.

“So, no coffee, huh?” she teases.

“Love the smell, can’t stand the taste,” I admit as Mongrel comes toward me with a glass full of ice in one hand and my Diet Coke in another. “Ah, you’re trying to rack up points, I see.”

“Is it working?” he asks, leaning down to kiss my lips.

“Yeah,” I breathe out.

He chuckles then says, “Not sure if that was for me or because I brought you something you want.”

“Could be both,” I reply. As the drink fizzes over the ice, I sigh before I take a deep sip. “Gah, I should be able to function coherently soon,” I state, causing everyone to laugh.

“Let me grab you a plate, Addy, so we can make sure Gretchen’s list is complete,” Mongrel says.

“Oh, I’ve got one started,” Gretchen says, sitting down at the table I’m at, a pad of paper and a pen in her hand.

Mongrel comes back, laughing, as he sets a plate in front of me, before he pulls a fork from inside his cut. At my raised brow, he shrugs. “Didn’t wanna drop the plate.” Looking at Gretchen, he holds out his hand as he sits down next to me. “Let me see it.” She grumbles but hands it to him. He then pulls out his phone, and I see him open his Notes app before he starts writing items on the list she started. “Gretchen, I’m setting up a damn spreadsheet for you,” he murmurs as he goes back and forth from her list to his notes, continuously writing stuff down. “In fact, doesn’t the club have a membership to Costco or Sam’s? Something like that?”

“Both, actually,” Doc replies. “Why?”

“Because it would be more cost-effective for her to buy some of this in bulk,” he says. “Outside of the fresh strawberries she gets from Herb, I think it would be cheaper to get the cake mixes and other ingredients from one of those two places.”

“Oh, if you’re going to Costco, can I come with you?” I ask. Looking at Gretchen, I say, “I’ll still help when we get back, of course, but I saw something on my social media and Costco’s the only place it’s being sold at.”

“It’ll give me time to make some cake pops for the next farmer’s market,” she replies. “Then, we can play with the strawberry cheesecake shooters!”

“I always forget how awesome this place is,” I say as we walk through the doors after Mongrel shows the membership card.

“Let’s grab what you wanted so you don’t forget,” he replies, holding my hand with one of his while he pushes the cart with the other.

“It’s over in the Christmas section,” I tell him, looking overhead at the signs for the seasonal items.

“They have Christmas stuff out already? Really? Seems kind of early,” he states.

“Not for crafty things,” I reply as I spot the aisle I’m looking for. “Over there!”

When we get to the aisle, I’m blown away. I’ve been playing with some diamond art things, and they have a kit that makes twenty-four ornaments. The kits use gold beads and pearls, and they sparkle. I can already picture them on this year’s tree. Smiling, I grab one, then see a wreath that has LED lights that wind around it once it’s done and know it’ll be gorgeous on my front door. Popping that in the cart as well, I turn to him and say, “Okay, now we can get what’s on your list.”

Thirty minutes later, we have everything on the list, along with a few other odds and ends that we each found and we’re standing in the checkout line. Since my purchases are far less than what he’s getting for Gretchen, I’m first and I grin when I see how much I’m saving. Then, I put my debit card into the machine and… nothing.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, it was declined,” the clerk announces.

“What? That’s impossible, my direct deposit just hit on Friday! Can we try it again?”

“Sure,” the clerk replies, shrugging.

It happens again and I feel my face heat in embarrassment. “Let me get it, Addy, it’s probably a computer glitch or something,” Mongrel says. “Can you add this and I’ll get it all at once?” he asks the clerk.

“Fine by me.”