Page 67 of Here With Me

Irrational? Probably.

Sadie hadn’t told Lottie about her aunt and uncle contesting the adoption. With the hearing next week, Sadie needed to tell her so she wasn’t surprised. It wasn’t an easy topic to broach, though. The girl had lost enough, she didn’t need to worry about losing Sadie, because that wouldn’t happen. Sadie would fight tooth and nail to be part of Lottie’s life.

Lottie threw the cucumber into the cart, and it bounced. “Careful, Lottie. We don’t want to smash any veggies.”

“Cucumbers aren’t even vegetables. They’re a fruit.” The nine-year-old crossed her arms and grumbled.

Inhaling and exhaling on a four count, Sadie pinched the bridge of her nose and rolled her shoulders. Maybe she should have asked her dad to cover the store at some point during the day so she could have shopped without Lottie. Instead, he was closing, and Sadie was with a nine-year-old stuck in an after-school-funk in the middle of the grocery store.

Sadie deserved a gold star. Or a cup of coffee. Or chocolate. At the very least, a quiet bubble bath. Because shopping was hard enough, but with a little girl’s picky palate, it was even harder to meal plan and shop. Next time she’d sneak out before school got out, rather than wait for Lottie to get off the bus.

A bunch of bananas was the next thing to go into the cart next to the…“Lottie, please don’t take things out of the cart.”

“I won’t eat that broccoli. There’s no point in buying it.” Lottie stomped her foot with her hands on her hips.

Sadie counted to ten. Again. Did she really want to die on this mountaintop?

“Fine. I won’t get the broccoli, but you cannot take anything else out of the cart. Besides, I want to take David dinner tonight, and he actually eats his vegetables.” He must be in more pain than he let on, because when Sadie suggested that he take the weekend off, he quickly agreed.

Last night, after he’d called her his girlfriend—well, as juvenile as the term sounded, it sent a thrill down to her toes, and she wanted to surprise him with dinner today. They hadn’t made any promises, but the intent had been clear. Little dreams about what the future might look had bloomed and played in her mind like movie reels.

Sadie pushed ahead and placed an onion—the one on top of the display—in the cart. A little bigger than she wanted, but she could chop it and freeze anything she didn’t use.

Next, she selected a bag of apples and placed them in the cart, but the onion had gone missing. “Lottie.”

She turned to see her daughter holding the onion in her hand.

“Don’t put that back.” Onions were one of the few vegetables Lottie had no idea she ate. Sadie hid them in meat and sauces.

“Onions are gross.”

“But when you cook them up?—”

“They are always gross.” Lottie crossed her arms and placed the onion back on top of the pyramid of veggies on the stand.

Forget shopping in person next time. Sadie would plan ahead for curbside pickup.

Next was the dairy department lining the back wall. Perfect distraction. “Do you want to go pick out some yogurt? I’ll be right behind you.”

Win-win. She could pack some veggies in her cart while distracting Lottie and keeping her in her line of sight. Sadie grabbed the offending onion and placed it back in the cart. She picked a second one for good measure. She’d chop it and freeze it, so she wouldn’t have to have this debate next time she shopped.

Piling in a few more veggies, Sadie parked the cart next to Lottie.

A girl who looked about middle school age with freckles across her nose held a yogurt smoothie, looking at the label. Lottie bounced up to her. “Hi, Trinity.”

The two girls chatted, and Mrs. Mathews waved as she approached Sadie. They’d spoken a few days ago when Sadie called about their line of credit. It wasn’t the store’s biggest loan, but the significant amount would help toward the bottom line she owed the bank. At this point, every penny mattered. Mrs. Mathews had assured Sadie they’d bring the payment by soon.

“Oh, honey, my husband stopped in the store last night.” Mrs. Mathews pushed her cart forward. She didn’t look much older than Sadie felt, but her hair had started to streak with gray, and she held a wisdom in her gaze that not many people Sadie’s age could claim. Calm and confident, the woman oozed a sincerity Sadie hoped to emulate. “Your dad was there.”

“I had to step out for a few. I’m sorry I missed him.”

Mrs. Mathews nodded and placed a gallon of milk in her cart. “Your dad said you’d taken David to the ER after he’d had an accident playing soccer. The teens around town adore him. Even Trinity has mentioned how much she’s enjoyed getting to know him. He’s made such an impact by simply taking time to play games with them, talk to them at their level. How is he feeling today?”

Pride filled her for all the good David contributed around town. The man really had started to make a difference. If he could see what he was doing for the area, maybe he would be content to stick around. “It’s just a sprain, but I encouraged him to take a few days off.”

“So glad to hear he’s going to be okay. Anyway, it was so generous of your dad to waive our tab. You have no idea what that means for us. Thank you both so much.”

Her dad had waived the Mathews family’s credit? Her ears clogged. Had the air been sucked from the store? This couldn’t be happening.

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