Jade nods. "And you need my help why?"
"I don't know jack shit about babies."
"Not really sure how I'm supposed to help." She lets out a heavy breath. "It's been eight years, but also, my needs were actual needs. Your friend probably doesn't need anything."
She's probably right, but I ignore her.
"Okay, so what do I get them?"
"Do you want me to push that?" she asks, pointing to the cart.
"Nah, it steadies me a bit." Peace out crutches. Mostly, anyway.
She walks ahead, and I follow. We weave between clothing racks, Jade occasionally picking up tiny pieces of clothing, holding them up, then making a face. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe I should send money. But that seems impersonal and unneeded.
Jade picks up another piece of clothing, this one with baseballs on the toes. She rolls her eyes, but then she bites her lip in thought.
"Are you friends with him or his wife on Facebook or anything?"
I nod.
"Pull him up."
Confused, I do as she says and hand her my phone.
She scrolls for a bit, then twists her lips into her thinking face. She taps the screen and scrolls more. A smile creeps across her features and she hands me my phone back.
"I got it, come on," she says. "Do you want to order stuff online and ship it there?"
"I thought it should be more personal."
"Toys or books?" she asks, hands on her hips.
"Toys," I say, no question.
"Okay then. Here's what we do. We're going to go online and order a toy box, a nice one. Solid wood, one that can become an heirloom. It's their first baby, right?"
I nod. "Why don't we buy one here?"
"Anything we find here won't last three years, let alone thirty. Now come on, let's go find toys to fill it."
We walk down each aisle, starting with the baby toys. I hold up some toy keys and she nods, so I toss them into the cart. She adds stacking rings and some wood math looking thing that she promises is a toy. I press all the buttons. All of them. And Jade rolls her eyes at the loud, colorful toys I throw in the cart. Occasionally she tosses in some educational toy, or something boring like a doll that doesn't even cry.
When we've picked out a few things, Jade makes me stop. I'd keep going, and overdo it for sure, but she's growing crankier by the minute, and when I look at the time, I realize why. It's past noon, and I doubt she's eaten.
"Let's grab some lunch before we head back to the house," I say, swiping my card.
"How sweet, you guys having a dad and daughter day?" the cashier, an older woman with wrinkles around her eyes, asks.
Jade laughs, really laughs, and I choke on my own tongue.
"No, I'm not—we're not," I say, taking my receipt from her outstretched hand.
"Thank you," Jade says sweetly to the woman. "Have a good day."
"Y-yeah, thanks," I stammer.
Jade is still smiling after we've loaded the trunk and climbed into my car. Meanwhile, I'm still struggling to breathe. What the actual fuck? That seriously didn't happen, right? This is why I need to put a stop to my brewing feelings.
