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It wasn’t the healthiest choice, but it didn’t have high fructose corn syrup—unlike the Sour Patch Kids, but hey, moderation was key. And I also knew it to be nut free, which was essential for Grayson.
When I’d first gotten my son, his grandparents had told me he had a severe peanut and tree nut allergy like his mother. At first, I was terrified. I carried an EpiPen in my pocket wherever I went, even when hanging out at home. I also called manufacturers to make sure they used a nut-free facility or dedicated production lines, not trusting Google to keep my kid safe.
Over time, I learned to be a lot less anxious about it. I developed a better idea of what he could and couldn’t have, and that made parenting him a little more chill. But I still had an EpiPen in every room of the apartment, as well as my car and Grayson’s backpack. Jo always had one in her purse, too. More chill didn’t mean less safe.
“Wait, hang on.” Jo grabbed the box of cereal out of Grayson’s hand and held it in the air over his head. “Do you promise to also eat a banana with your cereal so your dad can feel good about his parenting?”
Grayson let out a belly laugh and nodded, and I smiled in spite of myself.
“Good boy,” Jo said, tossing the box in the cart. “Gray, do you think you can go find me some Froot Loops? They’re the ones that look like a bunch of colorful Os. But make sure you get the real ones with the bird on the front, not the store brand.”
“Okay,” he replied before skipping back to the cereal.
“You’re worse than he is.”
“I promise I’ll have actual fruit with it,” she quipped, sticking her tongue out at me. Then she leaned closer and lowered her voice again. “Listen, before he comes back. I saw Layla go into the bridal store down the street.”
“What?”
“Hopefully they weren’t going in there to pick out a wedding dress for her, but you should head over there and find out. And if not, you should talk to her. Make sure she knows what really happened with Grayson and that you didn’t lie to her about him when you were together.”
I opened my mouth to tell her that I was absolutelynotgoing to run over to a bridal store and risk seeing the woman I loved trying on a gown to marry another man. But before I could say a word, Grayson came running up with a box of Froot Loops. I closed my mouth with a snap and smiled down at him as he handed it to Jo.
“This one?”
“That’s the one,” Jo said, high-fiving him. Then she put an arm around his shoulder. “Now, how ’bout you and I finish up this shopping trip just the two of us. Your dad has a little errand to run.”
I narrowed my eyes at her, then corrected my expression when Grayson looked up at me expectantly. “You do? Where are you going?”
“It can wait.”
“No, it can’t,” Jo countered through her teeth, flaring her eyes at me.
My sister had been a pain in my side since the day she was born. But she was also arguably my best friend outside of Grayson. And she’d moved in with me to help take care of him when he’d been dropped on my doorstep three years ago.
I softened my shoulders and sighed. “You really think I should go now?”
“I really do.”
I looked down at my son and gave him a serious dad look. “Do not let Auntie Jo buy you a bunch of sugary stuff and no healthy stuff. I’m counting on you to be the responsible one.”
“Sure thing, Dad.” Grayson giggled and looked up at Jo, smiling wider when she shrugged like she had no idea what I was so worried about.
With a shake of my head, I left them in the aisle and headed out of the store, through the parking lot, and onto Main Street. Every step I took felt like I was walking through concrete. The farther I got from the grocery store, the less sure I was that I was doing the right thing.
What if Layla really was shopping for a wedding dress? What if I was too late? I’d never been much for social media before I’d left Layla, but after we’d broken up? I’d deleted my account completely so I wouldn’t have to watch her move on with her life without me. I’d said goodbye to her for her own good, but that didn’t mean I wanted a front-row seat to her new life. And if that new life included a new man, I wouldn’t merely be blindsided by it. I’d be crushed.
I made it to the row of businesses that housed the bridal shop and took a deep breath, holding it in my lungs as I ambled up to the floor-to-ceiling windows. When I looked inside, all the air in my chest came rushing out at once.
Layla stood on a circular platform doing a slow circle in front of the mirror, wearing the most gorgeous royal-blue dress I’d ever seen. Well, the dress itself wasn’t what stood out, I guessed. It was a fine dress, with its shiny finish and low-cut back. But it wouldn’t have looked like much to me if it were simply hanging in a closet.
No, this pounding in my chest was purely the result of the womaninthe dress—the full picture she made, with her long nearly-black hair falling in loose curls down her back. Her friends looked up at her with approving eyes because of course they would, she was a literal vision in that dress. It couldn’t have been more perfect for her.
And the relief I felt that it wasn’t a wedding dress, but what appeared to be a bridesmaid’s dress, made it even better.
It didn’t occur to me that I was standing outside the store staring at her like a total creeper until someone cleared their throat behind me, making me jump. I turned, cheeks hot, to face a woman in a pink polo shirt with the logo of Bluffton Blooms embroidered on the front.
Ms. Hattie. I hadn’t seen her since Layla and I were together, but she looked like she hadn’t changed at all.
