Breathe Me In(2)
The goal was to get to my twin sister, Chloe’s, house. The sister I had blown off and her boyfriend Ethan, who were nicer to me than I had any right to expect. They were living in an apartment by the university. They didn’t know I was about to show up on their doorstep and I didn’t have any minutes left on my disposable phone to call Chloe. Well, before I’d actually left the stupid phone on the bus. But I figured she wouldn’t turn me away even though I hadn’t called ahead. Chloe had reached out to me, but she’d caught me off guard. I hadn’t been ready to deal with the sister I didn’t remember. But now I didn’t have a choice.
The store didn’t have a huge selection of baby supplies since it was just meant for grabbing what you forgot to pack at home but there was applesauce and carrots in the squeeze pouches. I eyed the diapers, wishing I could figure out how to lift those, but it was too risky and once I got to Chloe’s I could borrow money for a fresh pack of Huggies. I felt a twinge of guilt for stealing, but I figured any mother in my position would do the same thing. There wasn’t a camera anywhere visible, but there was a guy at the end of the aisle, shopping the condom section. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Because bus stations make everyone want to get their bang on. He was kind of hot, though, in a douchebag sort of way.
When he glanced over at me, I let my eyes sweep downward demurely. Direct eye contact was never good and he smelled like law enforcement. It was just something about the way he moved, the way he studied me. Too sharply. I wondered if he was a security guard or something. I grabbed two pouches of food and started walking down the aisle in the opposite direction. Rounding the aisle, I shifted Asher on my hip, dropped the pouches in my diaper bag, paused to look at something on the end cap, like I’d found what I was looking for then realized it wasn’t it.
Then walked out of the store and headed straight towards the women’s restroom.
“Hey.”
I ignored the low man’s voice from behind me and kept walking. It was Condom Guy, I knew it was. When I felt his hand on my arm, I jerked away and spun around, instinct to fight strong, but I knew I needed to keep a cool head. “What?” I asked.
“I think you forgot to pay for that baby food.” Condom Guy was tall, with dark brown hair that looked like he’d been too lazy to get it cut in awhile, along with a five o’clock shadow and eyelashes so glorious they made me hate him. His eyes were mid-tone brown, the brown of tiger eye stones and lattes. He was wearing a leather jacket with a hood attached and well-worn jeans. He looked to be about twenty-six or so years old.
While his look wasn’t malicious or accusatory or judgmental, I knew he knew. I could just tell in his posture, the serious expression. But I couldn’t read his intentions and that worried me.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lied. I debated whether to claim I had actually paid or I hadn’t taken any baby food at all. Why the hell did he care anyway?
“I think you do. I saw you put it in your diaper bag. Two food containers.”
Narrowing my eyes, I didn’t say anything. My arms felt numb from holding Asher and I didn’t have time for this. I needed to feed my baby then walk to Chloe’s apartment, which based off the map I’d looked up at the public library computer before I’d left New York was an easy five-minute taxi ride. That had been the original plan before I’d left my purse on the bus. Probably a thirty minute walk. So I just turned around and started walking again. The movement made me dizzy and I stumbled a little.
“Are you okay?” he asked, suddenly appearing in front of me, cutting off my progress.
“I’ll be fine if you just let me go to the bathroom. I have to change my tampon.” Usually invoking menstruation scares the hell out of men and they drop whatever stupid they have going on.
Not so with Condom Guy. “Look, I’m not going to say anything, but you know there are cameras in that store. I’m a cop, I know. So just go back and pay for the baby food and everything will be fine.”
“I didn’t take any baby food,” I said, through gritted teeth. Of course he was a cop. I could read that nosy interference a mile away. And I didn’t believe for one fucking minute he wanted to make things easier for me. No one ever did anything out of the goodness of his heart.
“I saw you put it in your diaper bag.”
“I already had that food. I was taking it out to feed my son.” I was done with this conversation. “Look, unless you want to arrest me, leave me the fuck alone. You forgot to buy your condoms, by the way. Better get those before you hit the club Friday night.”