“Too shy for a cookie?” the lady said, handing the sprinkled treat over the counter.
Maggie's smile returned and she faced the lady, happily taking the cookie from her.
“Thank you,” Maggie said, in the sweetest little voice.
“You're very welcome,” the woman replied, then brought her gaze up toward Wyatt and Lily. “I'm used to seeing Mildred with her. I'm guessing you two are Maggie's parents? It's so nice to meet you.”
Lily parted her lips to correct her, but Wyatt simple replied with, “Very nice to meet you, too. I'm Wyatt and this is Lily. Mildred usually does the shopping for me, but she's out of town right now. You might be seeing us over the next week or so, at least until Mildred gets back.”
“That's lovely,” the lady said. “I'll be here and I'll have a fresh cookie waiting for Maggie when I see you guys next.”
“Thanks a bunch.” Lily gently pushed the cart and the group made their way toward the produce section.
That lady just assumed that Wyatt and I were a couple, Lily thought, almost giddy from it. The best part, though, was that Wyatt didn't even say anything to correct her.
With Maggie nibbling on her cookie, they strolled through the store. In the produce section, they gathered up a mountain of fruits, vegetables, onions and garlic. Lily just pointed at what she wanted and Wyatt would walk up and grab a ridiculous amount of whatever it was.
“You know we're not feeding an army, right?” she said, as Wyatt approached her with a ten-pound bag of potatoes in his arms.
“I figured we might as well stock up, though.” He set the bag down into the cart. “That way when Mildred gets back, she'll have plenty of things to make meals with.”
Lily shrugged. “Fair enough. I'm sure she'll be happy to come back to a full fridge and pantry.”
“That was yummy,” Maggie interrupted. Her hands and face were a total mess from the cookie, but she looked pretty darn happy.
“I'll bet it was,” Wyatt said. “You ate that thing is two seconds.”
Lily glanced over to her left. “Oh, we should get one of these. I could make eggplant Parmesan”
She left the cart and took a couple of steps away to get a look at the eggplants nearby. She picked one up and was feeling if it was ripe, when Wyatt stepped beside her. He walked right up next to her and his hip brushed hers.
“I'm not sure if I like eggplants,” he said. “I think I've only tried them once, though, and I was a kid.”
“My mom makes really good eggplant Parmesan,” Lily said. “I can get the recipe from her and try to make it one night this week.”
“Sounds great to me,” Wyatt said. “I'm up for giving it another try.”
He placed his hand onto Lily's lower back as he spoke. His touch sent a tingle through her belly and she found herself drawing in a quick breath. His fingers only grazed her back for a moment, but it was a powerful moment. He'd never touched her like that before and it caught her off guard. She liked the way it felt, though. As soon as he pulled away, she missed his touch and wanted it back.
Wyatt spun around and walked back to the cart to entertain Maggie. Lily stood there with an eggplant in her hands, unsure of how to take what had just happened.
Did that mean anything? She wondered. Or was he just being nice? Is Wyatt just really, really kind and gentle? Is it possible that I'm misinterpreting some things here?
She set the eggplant next to the giant bag of potatoes. Wyatt pushed the cart and Lily walked alongside, suddenly distracted by her thoughts. She knew it was just a simple touch, but it was where he touched her that made her question things. That little spot on her lower back, the place where men touched the women they loved. It was a chivalrous place to lay a hand, like when leading a woman through a doorway or toward her seat at a restaurant. It certainly wasn't something that one would do to a mere acquaintance or a friend. Or at least that was what Lily thought about it.
“Alright, so where to now, Ms. Lily?” Wyatt said, looking over toward her.
“Um, let me see.” Lily pulled the crumpled up piece of paper from her pocket and smoothed it out. “We still have a lot of things to get. Let's go to the dairy section now, though.”
“Yes, ma'am.” Wyatt smirked and flashed a playful wink in Lily's direction.
She laughed and then the two of them made their way toward the corner of the grocery store. Maggie, content and full of cookie, just looked around the store with the eyes of a curious child.
They bought milk, yogurt, cheese and just about everything else that caught Wyatt's eye. Lily assumed he must have been hungry, because she'd never seen anyone buy so much stuff at the grocery store in one trip. She certainly hadn't ever done so herself anyway. Although, when she went grocery shopping for herself, she had a pretty strict budget. It didn't allow for lavish spending on things that she didn't absolutely need. Obviously, though, Wyatt didn't have that problem.
The trio made their way up and down every aisle. By the time they were finished, there wasn't a single inch to spare in the grocery cart. There was a mountain of food in it that was at least a foot taller than the cart's sides.
This is more like a month's worth of food than a week's, Lily thought, as they got in line to check out. Shoot, it might even be more than that. This much would last me at least six months.