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“What next?” Lexi lifted a finger off the cart and tapped her chin, in an imitation of someone deep in thought that made Sarah burst out laughing again.
“Eggs.”
“That way! Over yonder!” Lexi pointed down the aisle to the fridges that ran the length of the store, earning a chuckle from Sarah.
“Over yonder? What have you been watching?”
“Jake and the Nezzy…”
“And the Neverland Pirates?” Sarah finished, the smile twitching on her lips.
“Uh huh.”
Sarah paused by the eggs and then reached for a carton. She checked for breakages then handed it gently to Lexi, who placed it with the utmost care into the cart.
“That’s it,” Sarah said. “Check out time.”
And though they’d bought only a meagre selection of goods, the usual anxiety still besieged her as she scanned through their goods and bagged them. She pressed her credit card to the machine and waited, heart in mouth, until it flashed, ‘APPROVED’.
“Okay?” Lexi asked, and Sarah winced inwardly.
She’d tried so hard to shield Lexi from the reality of their situation, but Lexi was adept at reading people and understanding their emotions. Of course she saw the fever that overtook Sarah every time they had to pay for something.
“Perfectly.” And then, knowing it was foolish, knowing it was all kinds of silly, she reached for a candy bar and swiped it over the register, tapping her credit card once more.
Lexi’s eyes lit up. “Chocolate?”
“For you.” Sarah handed it over, and the little girl’s smile was a vision she knew she wouldn’t quickly forget.
Sarah didn’t have a car. There wasn’t much need for one in a town the size of Iron Oaks. She carried their grocery bags the mile walk home, while Lexi kept up easily, chatting in between tiny nibbles of the candy. Her desire to savour the taste made Sarah’s heart glow.
“What’s that?” Lexi asked as they approached their front door.
Sarah, distracted momentarily in shifting the bags to her other hand, followed Lexi’s pointed finger.
“I…” She shook her head. “I don’t know.” The box was enormous. The size one might need to transport a microwave. “Is it for us? Maybe it’s the wrong house?” She mused, moving up the stairs and peering over the label.
Sarah Smith. No address was written, which meant it had been hand delivered.
“I … Lexi? Go inside,” she murmured, unlocking the door and putting the groceries against it to keep it from swinging shut again. Then, with a mix of curiosity and uncertainty, she used her key to slit the tape that ran across the top of the cardboard.
A card was on the top, a crisp white note. She picked it up, her heart pounding, because she knew who it was from without even opening it.
Give me a night… S.
She closed her eyes, her resolve slipping painfully away.
A night.
One last night.
Could she sleep with him, forgetting the pains of the past, the wounds he’d torn through her soul, and simply enjoy the physical? Would it lead to another five years of pain and need?
She blinked back into the box, a frown smudging across her lips.
If he had sent Sarah expensive gifts, she would have sent them back. Perhaps he’d understood that.
However, she could never turn away a kindness to Lexi. She stared at the bright labels that were concealed within tissue paper and sobbed. A happy sob. It was heavy and awkward but she carried the box into the lounge, where Lexi was watching cartoons. “Honey? Sit down.” Sarah flicked the television off.
