Closer

193.

Ray realized he probably should wash the shark before letting Elise have it, but it sat on the other side of the passenger seat so she could see it. If that was enough to make sure she felt safe enough to fall asleep or if she was just exhausted, Ray didn't know, but at least she slept the entire way back. She continued to sleep as he carried her inside, and she slept through him putting her in the travel crib he kept.

"See, uncle promised to get Sharkie back," he whispered, kissing the top of her head before going to get it in the washer so it'd be ready for her when she woke up. He hoped he didn't just ruin it by washing it, but the tag said it'd do 40°C in the washer. He opened the door and gently placed it in.

"You're a shark, right? You should handle water," he mumbled to the shark before giving it a quick pat and closing the door. It looked almost sad in there, but it was necessry after spending the day on a grocery store floor. It hurt a bit to see the machine fill with water anyway, though.

After starting the carousel for the shark, he went to grab himself some ice cream to calm himself. It had been one hell of an emotional journey today, but at least everything sorted itself out.

He thought back at the day's events for a bit as he opened the ice cream tub, especially about how helpful the staff had been. He thought about May a bit longer than the rest of everything. She was admittedly cute, but not really his type. The kind of girl he might talk to at a party and become good friends with for the evening but then never really talking after.

"Ice cream," he mumbled out loud to himself as he realized he got lost in his thoughts, grabbing a spoon and sticking it in the ice cream. Cookies and cream this time. Not bad, really. Actually rather good.

He sat down with it, deciding to see what Brett and Eddy had been working on lately on his phone while eating. After spending some time trying to balance the phone against one of Elise's empty bottles on the table, though, all his effort was quickly shot down when the phone vibrated with a text message.

It was tempting not to look at it. He'd had a long, emotionally exhausting day. Nobody should need to talk to him at this hour anyway.

It could be Brett or Eddy, though. Would be not so great if he didn't answer them, so he decided to check just in case. If it was anyone else, he could just tell them he'd come back to them tomorrow.

He opened the messages and was confused for a moment. The first three messages were pictures of Sharkie at the grocery store in various spots. It made more sense when he scrolled down to the fourth message and saw a picture with Sharkie and the grocery girl in it. May, right?

23:56 (Unknown number): Just thought you'd be interested in what 🦈 was up to while waiting for you 😂
- May, the girl from the grocery store

Ray considered the message for a bit. Was this flirting, or was she just nice? It would be nice for Elise to know what Sharkie had been up to all day, though. Not that she'd understand much. He shrugged to himself and put the ice cream on the table to have both thumbs to type.

Its name is Sharkie, actually🦈😉
-Ray (and baby Elise❤️) :Ray (00:02)