It's Definitely Not All Mary Poppins

Mist Coming In (1)

As Matthew swiped yet another box of cookies from the grocery cart, he casually noted, "You've, somehow, gotten worse at this." A crooked smile hung on his lips.

Lilliana harrumphed.

Elliot, swinging from the front of the cart, said, "We're almost out."

Matthew sneered. "No, I checked before we left." He handed the box back to Lilly. "They might be limited edition cookies, but you bet your face I'm not buying them." Matthew held up a thin piece of ripped paper. "It's not on the list."

"What about fruit snacks?" she asked on cue.

"Are you bartering with me?" Matthew retorted.

She scoffed. "I don't know what that means." Her eyes, however, stayed fixed on Matthew.

Matthew raised a brow. "Put, them back."

Lilliana, groaning, stomped down the aisle.

"She's gonna try again," Elliot pointed out.

Sighing, Matthew pressed on, holding the shopping cart handle down to prevent it from toppling. "I'm...aware," he whispered, glancing over the rows of canned tomatoes. Matthew withdrew one, checked it over, and put it back. "I'm surprised you're not the one doing this."

Elliot shrugged. "Tired."

"You didn't stay up late again, did you?"

He shook his head. "No, just tired of school."

Matthew side-eyed him for a moment before frowning, his gaze drifting back to the canned tomatoes. "Look, I know you hate the tutoring – "

"'Hate' is a strong word," he pointed out. "I despise it."

"Your uncle – " Matthew slammed his hand down, clamping a wrist and raising it up.

Lilly stood on her tiptoes, grunting.

"So close," Matthew whispered, letting her go.

She moved to put the cookies in the cart.

"I said no."

"I need them to grow," she retorted.

"Put, them back."

"But Matt – "

"I will not ask you again." Matthew sighed. "Besides, you picked out the last set. It's Eli's turn this time." Which he immediately followed up with, "When we run out of the ones at home."

Whining, Lilliana stomped back down the aisle again.

Elliot sank onto the edge of the cart, watching as Matthew swiped a can of crushed tomatoes and dropped it into the cart. "...she still feels bad."

His eyes stayed off him, scanning for something. "For what?"

"Being mad at you."

Matthew wearily smiled, sighing through his nose. "I told her she had every right to be mad at me."

Elliot stepped off the cart and stretched out, almost hitting a passing grocery cart. "She wants to say sorry. When we're done here."

His weary smile remained. Something lifted off his shoulders. "Well, whenever she's ready, I think you both know I'm ready, too."

Even with the response, Eli glanced at the rows and rows of canned beans and pasta sauces. He followed Matthew's course down the aisle. "I don't know why she hasn't said it yet. Like, you're cool. You'd be, like, 'Pfft, okay, whatever'."

Matthew snorted. "I don't sound like that." He paused, swinging the cart into the next row for pasta. "But still, I can't tell her when to apologize. Everyone works at their own pace."

The boy grunted. "I just wish she'd do it already so we all can be friends again."

"Don't push her," he told him, tone gentle. "If she's not ready, then it's almost as good as apologizing and not knowing why."

"Like Uncle Jun that one time."

"Yes." Taking in a breath, he squatted down, eyeing the various brands of penne pasta before asking, "What kind of noodles do we want for mac and cheese? Normal? Or, or – " His gaze moved to the other pastas. " – we could go spiral."

"Spiral?" he asked.

"Yeah, it'd be a little different, right?" He stood, straightening up. "Like, the spiral noodles. Shake it up a li – " Stomach tightening, Matthew thrust his hand into the grocery cart, grabbing a wrist and raising it up. "I thought I told – "

The man breathlessly chuckled, his green eyes narrowed in discomfort; his forearm twisted in Matthew's grasp, he adjusted the basket of groceries on his other arm and whispered, "Hi...I'm...not sure what I signed up for."

Lillliana hovered at the end of the aisle, partially obscured by a potato chip display.

Matthew released the man, the blood rushing to his ears. "My God, I'm so sorry, I-I thought you were – " His own gray eyes moved to the five-year-old, burning fiercely. "Bribery? At the grocery store? I expected that from him, let alone you."

She slunk away.

He sighed. "Eli, can you go get her, please?" Matthew would've done it himself if the stranger wasn't still rubbing his wrist; he kept his eyes down.

He hopped off the cart. "Can you hold this for me?" Eli offered a paring knife to him.

"I swear to God, Eli – "

Eli trotted off down the aisle and disappeared.

Scratching his eyebrow, Matthew asked, "How much did she bribe you for?"

The man let out a breathless sigh. "She just told me she needed to go get a pizza, and asked me to drop it off. She was..." He cleared his throat, a hesitant smile on his lips. "...very specific to make sure that you didn't...see...me." The man sighed. "Should've seen that coming, huh?"

Matthew groaned. "It's not your fault," he whispered, sliding the paring knife into his back pocket.

"...you knew he had a knife?"

"Yes." He didn't.

Glancing back down the aisle, he laughed again. A breathless sound that was only really meant to fill the space. "...weird kids."

"Thanks."