A Fox Among Wolves

Chapter Twenty-One

It is just the two of us at home today. Everyone else is at work, and Alex is outside in the woods. He spends a good deal of time out there, and I never bother to question what he is doing out there, especially since he always comes back looking so much calmer.

"What are you planning on getting?" Quinn asks me as I drive us to the shops on Main Street. There are a couple of baby shops down there, and it is nearly impossible to find what we need anywhere else.

"I am not quite sure yet," I say, turning the wheel. "Some clothes and maybe some of the essentials."

Quinn nods his head. "Yeah, I'm probably going to get the same."

Luckily, there is a parking spot right in front of the store, so I quickly maneuver the car into the spot. Together, we walk into the store, which is mostly empty, seeing as it around ten o'clock in the morning.

The sales lady greets us when we walk past her, giving each of us a basket to put our stuff inside. The clothes are located at the back of the store, and immediately I am drawn towards the little girl clothes. Quinn goes to look at the more gender neutral clothing since he still has a couple weeks until he finds out the gender of his baby.

It is almost peaceful looking at the small little clothes, even though it is hard to believe that my baby is going to be so small when she comes into the world.

My eyes skip over the overly pink clothes, instead choosing some onesies that are light pastel colors. I don't realize how long I am standing there until Quinn comes back over to me, his basket containing a few tiny onesies and a pair of crib shoes.

"Oh, that's adorable," he says, smiling at the lavender colored pants that I am looking at.

"Aren't they?" I say, my fingers rubbing over the materials. It is extremely soft, and I can't help but put it into my basket.

"Did you see the little shoes they have over there," Quinn asks, leading me over to where he was standing before. "Because they are adorable." He lets out a long sigh, stopping in front of the shelf and rubbing his hand over his belly. "I just want to know if this little one is a boy or girl so I can do some real shopping."

"Well, you find out soon, don't you?" I ask, picking out a pair of light pink moccasins and white booties.

Quinn nods his head. "The next appointment, but that is still two weeks away." He has a bit of a pout on his face when he says that and I just laugh, wrapping my arm around him as I pull him over to the swaddles and blankets.

By the time we go to check out, our baskets are both full. We have mostly the same things: clothes, blankets, crib shoes, swaddles, pacifiers, and a package of reusable diapers. It was a good shopping trip, but when I pick up one of the baby checklists sitting on the checkout counter, I realize that there are still so many things left to buy.

When the final price comes up on the screen in front of me, I cringe slightly. Who knew that items for a tiny person could be so expensive?

The tiger hybrid who had given us the baskets earlier places all of my products in a white paper bag before handing it to me with a smile. I give her a quick thank you before stepping to the side so that Quinn can pay for his own products.

All in all, I got most of the items I had come for. Now, it is time to start looking at the more expensive products, like a crib and a car seat. Just thinking about how much those items are going to cost makes me frown.

"Ready to go?" Quinn asks, interrupting my thoughts. He is carrying his own bag, putting his wallet away before coming to stand beside me.

"Yeah, let's head home. I'm ready for a nap," I say, making the both of us laugh.