“You locked it?” I breathed in a panic.
“It’s locked,” he confirmed. He raised his voice. “Yeah?”
“My new shoes are too small,” Finn yelled through the door.
“You said you tried them on at the store,” I called back as Curtis began to laugh, his body shaking mine.
“Well,” Finn replied, dragging out the word.
“Shit,” I mumbled, making Curtis laugh harder. “It’s not funny. You know how expensive those shoes were?”
“We’ll exchange ’em, bud,” Curt called out. “No worries.”
“Okay, thanks,” Finn said.
When he didn’t say anything else, I climbed off Curtis’s lap and crawled to the edge of the bed.
“Where you goin’?” Curt asked.
“To take a shower,” I said, hurrying a little as I felt moisture start to leak down my thigh. “We have shit to do today.”
“It’ll take an hour max to exchange his shoes,” he said, following me into the bathroom. He went to the shower and turned it on as I cleaned up. “It’s not a big deal.”
“Next time, you’re doing back-to-school shopping,” I shot back. “You know how long it took him to find the ones he wanted? Then he didn’t even try them on? What the absolute fuck?”
“He’s ten.”
“I’m aware of that.”
“Kids are idiots,” Curtis said easily, shrugging as he stuffed his toothbrush into his mouth. “They can’t help it.”
I laughed and shook my head. “I was helping Jesse decide which pair they wanted. Dyl was supposed to be helping Finn.”
“My kid’s an idiot too,” he joked, smiling at me with his mouth filled with white foam.
“I know. I had to practically force him to get some new clothes,” I replied as I stepped into the shower, raising my voice over the sound of the spray. “I’m like, listen, you only have a couple more years of other people buying your clothes. Take advantage.”
“And he said,I don’t need anythin’,” Curtis said knowingly, his hand poking into the shower with my toothbrush, a little bead of toothpaste pre-loaded.
“Exactly,” I confirmed, taking the toothbrush and stuffing it into my mouth. “Thank you.”
“Welcome,” he said sweetly before disappearing again. “He’s never really been into buying the newest thing. I used to have to force him to get rid of shit so he wasn’t walkin’ around in jeans that were two inches too short.”
I leaned over and spit in the drain. “Jess and Finn have never been the kind of kids who were asking for expensive shit, but they definitely care about what they’re wearing. Thankfully, both of them are perfectly happy with thrift store finds as long as it matches what they’re going for. Shoes are different, though. It’s hard to find shoes second hand that aren’t completely clapped out.”
“You got all the school supplies?” Curt asked, leaning in to take my toothbrush back. “I gave you enough cash?”
“Yup,” I answered, soaping up my hair. “Dylan didn’t need a lot. I have your change. Just remind me when we get out of here.”
“Keep it,” he ordered, climbing into the shower with me.
“Nope.”
“Your savings must be gettin’ low.”
“I’ll worry about my savings,” I said, letting out a happy sigh as his fingers started sliding through my hair.
“Stubborn.”
