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Lucas was actually being rather quiet in the back of the car—rather unusual. She didn’t know Lucas was capable of sitting quietly, especially after their trip out of Boston.
“You okay back there?”
“Yes. I’m being good so I can have ice cream after my burger and fries.” He displayed a huge grin.
“Okay.”
She drove into the supermarket parking lot and spotted a bookstore across the road. With the car parked, Mack retrieved Lucas from the back, took hold of his hand, and walked over to see if they had a children’s atlas for Lucas to track his parent’s travels on.
Not only did they have an atlas, but they also had a new dragon book as well that Lucas just had to have.
As they walked back across the road to the supermarket, she could now understand why her sister refused to take Lucas shopping with her. She had to use the ‘on holiday’ talk with him just to make him put the twelve or so books he’d chosen back. Mack smiled. She’d told him there would be no room in the car if they bought them all. After many, very sweet, looks in his Auntie Mack’s direction to try to get her to change her mind, he’d settled on the two.
Mack grabbed a shopping cart and instructed Lucas to stay with her and not to disappear. His own father had lost him in a supermarket on a couple of occasions. The first time, Lucas had been found eating grapes under one of the displays and then another time, he was lying on the floor in the children’s section with a coloring book and pencils. He had been coloring away, thinking nothing of the fact that his father was running around frantically searching for him.
The fruit and vegetable aisle held little interest for Lucas, who had spotted two girls shopping with their mother. He decided to try to inch away from his Auntie Mack, who apparently really did have eyes in the back of her head.
“Lucas, where do you think you’re going?” she asked, just as he was about to sneak behind the bananas, making him jump.
“Looking at bananas.”
Mack looked amused while she tried not to laugh; she knew exactly what he was up to. “Lucas, I thought you didn’t like bananas. Would you like some?”
He had a look of horror on his face so Mack took pity on him. “Don’t worry, we aren’t going to buy any, but you better stay put, young man.”
At the chocolate aisle, she suddenly realized she was alone. She took some deep breaths, tried to control the panic welling up inside her, and began looking around. She rushed up the middle of the aisles, and then moved along, when, all of a sudden, she heard someone scream.
With her heart in her throat, she ran toward the sound, only to find Lucas in the middle of a water gun fight with two girls who really did look soaked while Lucas looked as dry as he could be.
“Lucas Cartwright, what do you think you’re doing?” she demanded while trying to keep a straight face. The whole scene looked rather comical, but there was no way she was going to laugh just yet, she was supposed to be the grown-up.
“They asked me if I wanted to have a water fight with them. I was bored and said yes. They had an extra water pistol. Does this mean there’s no burger and fries in my future?” he asked with his hands in his pockets and his head down.
“Lucas, please look at me.” He did. “Forget about burger and fries for now. I want to know why they’re soaked and you’re dry?”
“Because they’re girls and they can’t shoot for beans.”
“I’ll have you know that some women can shoot better than men,” Mack said as she wondered what his father had been saying to him.
She decided it might be better to make a quick escape. So, after grabbing hold of Lucas, they headed for the checkout, and both were thankful the girls’ mother didn’t catch up with them.
They pulled into the drive of Rose Cottage and saw Thomas making his way over to them.
Mack opened the car door for Lucas, and he jumped out then ran over to Thomas to tell him all about the water fight in the supermarket and having real food on
the way home. By the laughter coming from Thomas, he found it just as amusing as she did.
Although as the adult in charge, she should have added a reprimand in there somewhere, there was no harm done. Besides, all parties involved seemed as much to blame so she just left it for now.
“Thomas, would you like to come in for something to drink?” she asked, grabbing hold of the shopping bags from the trunk of the car.
“Don’t mind if I do,” he replied, opening the kitchen door for her. He followed them both into the kitchen where he took a seat in what appeared to be his favorite chair in the cottage. He then got comfortable and pulled Lucas onto his lap.
“Can you swim, boy?” he asked Lucas.
“I can swim two hundred meters without stopping, and I have a badge at home to prove it,” Lucas announced, proudly.
“Good, because I was thinking, if you didn’t have anything planned this afternoon, I might take you fishing with me for a couple of hours. If it’s okay with your aunt?”
