I stood in line in a small supermarket and lightly tapped my foot on the beige tile floor. I had one of my earphones in on ear, blasting some music and held a pack of 12 little sugary donuts in the other.
The old lady behind the cash register slowly draped items over the scanner and I mentally rolled my eyes at how long it was taking. Luckily no one had noticed who I was yet and I hoped it would stay that way, but chances were getting slimmer by the second as I nervously looked around once.
I decided to dart my attention towards the small girl in front of me. Her blonde hair was tied up in two tiny pigtails on top of her head and her obnoxiously pink winter coat seemed to swallow her up almost entirely. She happily held onto one of her dads fingers and swayed from side to side on her Frozen boots. When it was their turn to pay for their items the man turned around and I finally got a good look at him for the first time.
He was handsome. His hair was a bit long and it looked like he hadn't shaved in a while but it suited him. He handed his daughter a few items to put into a bag and she giggled every time one of the food items plopped down into the bag.
"25,47$." The old woman said and the man raised a brow.
"That's not possible." He said and they went over the receipt, making people in line grown.
The man blushed a bit and I could sense how uncomfortable the situation must've been for him. His daughter tugged on his shirt and handed him a bag of gummy bears. "I don't need them!" She smiled and the small gesture warmed my heart. She really was a sweet little girl.
Her dad chuckled and acknowledged her trying to help by brushing over her hair once.
I slowly went up to them and shot the old lady a small smile. "I'll pay for their purchase." I offered and the man immediately shook his head.
"No, that's too much." He blushed even harder and I looked down to his daughter who had a wide smile on her face, still holding onto her gummy bears.
"Not at all! Here." I handed the woman a 50$ bill and my donuts. "Just add these."
Before the man could say more she'd already scanned my sugary food and charged me 27,60$. The man awkwardly packed the rest of his things into the plastic bag and I walked outside, opening the box of donuts. I took one out and bit into it, moaning at how good it tasted.
"Hey!" I turned around and pulled my hood lower, making sure nobody could really see my face, except for the man in front of me. He caught up to me, a giggly toddler waving around her pack of gummies at me and smiling widely. She surely was a precious child and when I looked up into her fathers ocean eyes I saw where she got her mesmerizing smile from.
"Thank you for what you did back there." He held onto the bag tighter, as if he was afraid someone would take it away from him again. "How can I pay you back?" He asked, blushing again.
I smiled and thought about it for a second before I motioned towards my car. "If you don't have any plans I'd like to invite you and your precious daughter over to my house for dinner?" I asked, making his daughter squeal with excitement. It made me wonder if they ever got invited to someone else's place or if they simply couldn't afford many trips elsewhere.
"How is that going to benefit you?" He questioned, clearly confused and I giggled.
"Those gummy bears you have look amazing and we could share them." I joked, making the blonde girl giggle again.
"Yes! I like sharing!" She jumped up and down excitedly. "Daddy, pwease!" She begged, sticking her bottom lip out in an adorable pout.
Her father hesitated for a second before nodding. "Okay. Why not?"
++++
I placed the box of donuts on the kitchen counter and offered to take his bag as well. When our purchases were packed away I turned back towards them. Bradley and Lea - they'd told me their names - were engaged in a small friendly banter, joking around a little. I pulled out some pasta from the fridge and held up the Tupperware. "So, I may have lied a bit about my cooking skills. I can heat up pasta though!" I grinned and Bradley smiled, handing Lea a plushie from my sofa to keep her occupied for as long as he helped me in the kitchen.
"Anything is fine. We're not very picky when it comes to food." He said and helped me pull out some plates from the cupboards. "Thank you so much, again. I usually keep count of how much I can spend on groceries but I must've made a mistake today." He sighed and placed a small spoon next to a smaller plate for Lea.
"It's absolutely no big deal." I hesitated to speak up again but then turned towards him. "If you don't mind me asking: what happened to her mom? And why do you seem to be very short on money?" I asked in a soft tone, trying not to cross any boundaries. We'd only just met after all.
Bradley leaned back against the counter with his back and I joined him, looking up into his thoughtful face. "Her mom wasn't easy. She didn't love her and didn't want to be around her and it didn't only hurt Lea but me. We decided to split and she left the country with her new boyfriend. Lea doesn't want to be around her and Irina also doesn't want to, so I'm a single father you could say." He paused. "Which is also why we barely have enough money to get us through the days. I work two jobs and have to pay for a babysitter, so I can go to work, but I just don't earn enough." He shrugged. "I always make sure she's got everything she needs and wants and I don't want her to see me struggle but I think she knows already. She's a very smart girl." He smiled when he saw his daughter exchange the plushie for a book that was laying around, looking at the pictures inside of it.
"She is and she's definitely lucky to have you by her side. I've seen you interact with her and it warmed my heart." I said, smiling up at him. When we leaned in and our lips were only inches apart the microwave rang, signaling that the pasta was done. We quickly pulled apart and I cleared my throat before I took the plate of steaming hot noodles out.
Bradley called Lea for dinner and she ran towards him. He easily picked her up and sat her down on a chair. She grabbed her spoon and Bradley cut up the spaghetti into small pieces for her. "You have to blow on them because they're very hot!" Bradley advised and Lea nodded.
"How old are you Lea?" I asked.
"I'm two!" She held up two of her fingers and I smiled.
"You're so big and so smart!" I complimented her and she blushed, grinning. She then shoveled some spaghetti pieces on to her spoon and blew on them before carefully eating her first bite. "Yummy!" She said, making me smile.
"I'm glad you like it!"
++++
"You don't have to help, really!" I groaned when Bradley continued to put the plates into the sink even though I told him to leave them there.
"Let me help!" He chuckled. "It's the least I can do."
I gave up with a sigh and watched him wash the plates. "Lea told me you're a singer." He suddenly said and I raised a brow.
"She did?" I asked, looking back at the girl. I didn't think she'd recognize me.
"Yes, I didn't recognize you but when she told me you're the one who sang that poker face song it clicked. Lea always dances to it when it comes on on the radio." He explained.
"That's probably my biggest accomplishment." I said, making him laugh.
We finished cleaning up the kitchen and when we walked back into the living room we found a sleeping Lea on the couch. She was cuddled into one of the big pillows and snored lightly. "I think we should head home." Bradley said, making me nod.
"How are you getting home?" I asked as he picked Lea up into his arms. The toddler wrapped her arms around his neck and continued to sleep.
"I can walk back to the supermarket, my car is parked there." He said.
"No way, I'll drive you home." I offered and before he could even attempt to argue, I was out of the room and slipping into my sneakers.
He decided to let me help and not fight me. Not that he had a chance anyway.
++++
"Thank you." He said as I parked in front of his apartment building. It wasn't a nice neighborhood and I heard some people yell around, probably rowdy teenagers. I looked at the cracked walls of the building and the gang graffiti on the walls while he got out of the car, Lea still asleep in his arms.
"Hey." I softly said, trying to be quiet so Lea wouldn't wake up. "Call me if you need anything. I'm actually free this month so if you need a babysitter let me know! It would be an honor to take care of such a precious girl." I said with a smile and handed him a piece of paper with my number on it. He grabbed it and smiled.
"I'll definitely give you a call."
And with that he was gone.
What's your favorite kind of candy?