I took a step towards him. “Excuse me? Jealous!?”
“Stop it!” hissed mom, getting into both of our faces. “We’re in public and you’re both acting… ridiculous. Now, I’m sorry that we had to move, I really am. But we’re here now and there’s no turning back. So get it together, or I swear to God, I won’t buy any ice cream.”
Nathan raised his hands in the air. “Okay, mom, just settle down. We can talk about this, no need to bring ice cream into the equation. That’s cruel.”
She smirked. “That’s what I thought.” She then turned to me. “What about you? Are you going to lay off Deanna, who isn’t even here to defend herself?”
“Fine,” I replied tightly. “As long as he stops talking about her every five minutes.”
“Whatever,” he replied, shaking his head.
She closed her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “You know, maybe this was a mistake, I don’t know.” She opened her eyes. “But, what’s done is done, and we have to make the best of it. So, please, quit arguing and let’s try to make the best of this. Okay?”
We both agreed, but avoided eye contact.
“Okay,” she said, smiling again. “Now, let’s finish this up and find the cabin. I think you’re going to really like living out here if you just give it a chance. I mean, come on, you have to admit – the scenery is beautiful.”
“California was beautiful too,” replied Nathan, grabbing a stack of pizzas from the freezer. “I’m just saying…”
She rolled her eyes. “Seriously?”
He put the pizzas in the cart. “Okay, fine, I’ll admit that it’s different here – the fresh air, the mountains, all of the greenness. I guess it’s cool.”
“Thank you. Now, let’s grab some Hot Pockets and Pizza Rolls,” she said, staring at the case.
I grimaced. “Hot Pockets?”
She motioned her thumb at Nathan. “We need to keep him fed. Those are quick and easy.”
It was true, he was always hungry, and once his blood sugar began to drop, grumpier than all hell. Our dad’s family was prone to Diabetes and mom predicted we’d both end up getting it someday.
I opened the glass door and began sorting through the Hot Pockets with Nathan directing. Forty-five minutes later, the entire cart was full and Deanna was temporarily forgotten.
“That will be two-hundred-and-forty dollars,” said the cashier, snapping her gum.
Mom handed the young woman her credit card while the cashier appraised Nathan as he bagged the groceries. When he finished, she smiled. “Thanks. You didn’t have to do that, you know. It’s my job.”
“That’s okay. I don’t mind.”
“You guys just move here?” she asked, twirling a piece of her blonde hair around her index finger.
I refrained from rolling my eyes.
“We did,” smiled my mother. “Just today, in fact.”
“Cool,” replied the girl, still staring at him like he was a pair of designer jeans that she couldn’t possibly live without. “See you around.”
“Yeah,” replied Nathan as he began to push the grocery cart outside without a backwards glance.
Mom and I looked at each other in amusement. Sometimes men were so clueless.
“Let’s put the groceries in your car, Nathan,” said mom as we stepped back outside. “Mine is too full already.”
“Okay,” he replied, veering towards his vehicle.
As we were trying to stuff the food into the back of Nathan’s Mustang, a soft voice greeted us. “Hi. You must be new in town?”
We all turned around to see a striking redhead getting out of a tall Chevy pickup. She wore a miniscule white sundress, which showed off her toned legs, and dark sunglasses, which I thought was a little odd, considering it was dusk.
Nathan’s blue eyes lit up and he grinned. “Yeah, we just pulled into town.”
She removed her sunglasses and smiled back. “I hope you enjoy it here. It’s quaint, but there are lots of things to do, especially after dark.”
Her teeth were pearly white and her hair was a mass of shiny curls. She dropped her keys, and after she bent to retrieve them, tossed her hair back over her shoulder. It was a simple thing, but it had an immediate effect on Nathan. Truthfully, I didn’t think anybody should be that gorgeous.
Before my mother or I could get in a word, Nathan spoke up in a surprisingly deeper voice. “Thanks for the info. Maybe we’ll run into each other sometime.”
“Maybe. It was really nice meeting you,” she replied, clearly directing it towards Nathan, who looked like he’d all but forgotten about Deanna. Then she sashayed into the store like a runway model while we all stared.