Page 81 of Cinderella Screwed Me Over
“No problem. One loaf or two?”
“Two. And could you get some more Mountain Dew? I think we’re low. Oh, and another gallon of vanilla ice cream, because I thought we had some, but I think the guys got into it earlier this week.”
I hit my blinker and turned into the grocery store parking lot. “I’m at Johnson’s now, so we’ll get the stuff and be there soon.” I hung up and glanced at Jake. “My mom needs a few things from the store. Looks like you get the whole small-town treatment.”
We got out of the car and walked across the parking lot. I dislodged a cart from the others and pushed it toward the bakery section. The grocery store near my condo was always rearranging everything, making it impossible to find something you knew had been there last time. Johnson’s Market—which had been operating since basically the dawn of time—always had everything in the same place. I grabbed two loaves of bread, then headed over to the soda aisle.
Jake lifted a case of Mountain Dew.
“Better get two. Actually, make it three. They go through a lot.” I left the cart by him and stepped around a display to find the oatmeal-chocolate-chip cookies Dwight loved.
“Darby Wilson!” a voice shrieked at an octave so high, I expected dogs to come running. “Is that you?”
Tabitha Newton, the witch who made my high school experience hell, stood in the aisle. I fought the urge to turn and run. She’d stuck with “The Rachel” haircut, so she looked about the same as she did in high school. A little outdated, but still pretty.
I forced the corners of my mouth into a smile. “Hi, Tabitha. How are you?”
She stepped forward and hugged me like we were the best of friends instead of torturer and torturee. “I’m just so good. I’ve got this little angel.” She gestured to the chubby toddler sitting in her cart. A sucker stick poked out of his mouth, a stream of red drool coated his chin. “Sherman and I also have a little girl in first grade now, can you believe it? I mean, where does the time go? We’ve been married for ten years and it’s been such a wonderful adventure.”
“That’s… Wow.” I turned back, ready to introduce Jake, but didn’t get the words out before Sherman came around the aisle and tossed two boxes of cereal into the cart.
“Look who it is,” Tabitha said, pointing at me.
Sherman’s eyebrows drew together. He stared at me for what seemed like forever, then recognition flashed across his features. “Darby. Hey. I thought you and Gil lived in California.”
“Darby didn’t marry Gil.” Tabitha rolled her eyes. “He never remembers anything.”
Including who his wife is, if the rumors about him cheating are true.
Tabitha placed a hand on his shoulder and spoke slowly. “Gil married some other girl. Darby’s not married yet.” She turned to me, a big grin on her face. “I’m sure there’s someone out there for you, don’t you worry.”
Desperate to get her to shut up, I clamped onto Jake’s arm and pulled him forward. “This is Jake. Jake, this is Tabitha and Sherman. We went to high school together.”It was awful.
Jake draped his arm over my shoulders and gave Tabitha and Sherman a polite smile. “Nice to meet you.”
The toddler started making this whine/moan noise while pawing at Tabitha. I know as a woman I’m supposed to have this innate love of babies, but the truth is, they kind of remind me of zombies. They stumble around, arms out, moaning. And if they get ahold of you, they suck the energy out of you.
I wrapped my arm around Jake’s waist, keeping my fake smile plastered on my face. “We better get going. It’s Dwight’s birthday, so they’re expecting us at the ranch.”
The kid’s moaning grew louder. Sherman turned away from it and studied the cookies, while Tabitha took her son out of the car and stuck him on her hip. “Well, tell your family I say hello. It’s so nice to see you.”
There’s that saying about if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all. I had to say something, though, so I went with, “I will. You guys have a good day.”
…
“I thought your last name was Quinn,” Jake said as we put the groceries into the trunk of my car.
“Since I lived with the Wilsons, people forget my real last name. Or maybe they don’t even remember I’m not one. Who knows?” I slammed my trunk down and we got into the car.
“For friends, you didn’t seem that happy to see them,” Jake said.
“You caught that?” I started the car and turned down the radio.
“I’m not sure if that dude even knew where he was.”
“Yeah, that’s my ex-boyfriend. Real gem of a guy. Our relationship ended when I caught him with his tongue down Tabitha’s throat. They did end up getting married, so I guess you could say it was meant to be. But from what I hear, he’s not exactly faithful to her, either. I suppose she did me a favor, really.”
I put my car into drive and pulled onto the road. “I think she wanted to show me how happy she was to save face. I actually feel a little bad for her, even though she went out of her way to be awful to me in high school. Seriously, if it weren’t for my brothers and their friends, I never would’ve survived. Luckily, before the guys graduated and left me, Steph showed up. Which is why I owe her. Enough to help her plan her dream wedding.” I glanced at Jake. “Sorry. Guess that just drudged up some old drama.”
