to buy one for me either. It wouldn't be right for me to ask them to keep a secret from Tyler.
And I wasn't willing to order one online and risk using my name someplace where Christopher or Carl could see my address, but I needed information. I didn't know much about pregnancy. If I was pregnant wasn't I supposed to feel nauseated?
Tyler paused the cart in front of the cheese display. “Are you okay?”
With Tyler right beside me, I couldn't even Google it. I’d have to do that when I got home. Should I buy some prenatal vitamins, just in case?
Yes. I should. If I wasn’t pregnant, it wouldn't hurt me to take them for a few weeks. Better safe than sorry if a baby was involved.
Shit. I was so screwed.
“I think it's um. That time of the month. Just a headache from hormones.”
I took a deep breath and focused on the types of cranberry sauce cans that were laid out in front of me. Out of the corner of my eye I caught a flash of pale blonde hair. Pale blonde hair that looked exactly like Jenny's. My entire body jerked. I grabbed onto the shelving.
Tyler was a few feet away inspecting beef jerky. He hadn't seen my reaction. I let go of the shelf and edged closer to the end of the aisle. The woman walked by again. I couldn't see her face but I could see the threadbare jeans and the ratty sweater she wore.
“Jenny,” I whispered.
The woman turned and picked up a jar of pickles.
I could see her profile now. My shoulders slumped. Maybe it wasn't Jenny. I wasn't sure what I was thinking. Without some serious assistance, financial and logistical, Jenny never could make it here on her own. She wouldn't even know where to start. But that didn't mean someone couldn't drive her here.
I managed to collect myself, and Tyler didn't notice anything unusual. I took the cart from Tyler, needing something to hold onto. “I'll drive.” I pushed the cart to the vegetable section and started picking out sweet potatoes. Despite having looked at canned cranberry sauce, I wasn't going to use any canned ingredients. I was going to do the entire meal from scratch.
After filling the cart with items for me to practice with for Thanksgiving, Tyler and I paid and then loaded the truck with our purchases. As soon as I lifted the last bag, my eyes caught movement in the corner of the parking lot.
My arms tightened, and my fingers gripped the plastic of the bag. A man stood by a car diagonal from us. He looked just like Christopher. My father’s partner.
I stayed there, transfixed, just staring at the man.
I found Tyler's arm on my lower back. “Ava. I know there's something wrong. What is it? Tell me right now.”
“There's a man in the corner of the parking lot that looks just like Christopher.” For once I was honest with him. It felt good. I stuffed the bag of groceries in the truck. “Come on, let's get out of here.”
Tyler's gaze was still on the man. He backed the truck out of the parking lot, but instead of pulling onto the street, he drove straight toward the man.
“Duck down,” Tyler said. “Crawl in the back, and put your entire body on the floorboard.”
“No! Don't engage with him. You don't know what he's like,” I pleaded with him.
“I have no doubt he's a monster, especially after what he did to you. But I've confronted men like him before. If it's him, he's not leaving this parking lot.”
Fuck. What did that mean? I unbuckled my seatbelt and slid down to the floorboard in the backseat, cramming my body. “Why back here?”
“In case the airbags go off. I don’t want it hitting your head or neck.”
Oh my God. Was he going to ram Christopher’s car? Run over him? I couldn't say I disagreed with either decision.
As we inched forward, Tyler exhaled harshly. “It’s not him. It’s just a guy taking a smoke break.”
I rose from the floorboard and crawled onto the seat, desperate to see for myself. He was right. It wasn’t Christopher. It was just some guy.
First I thought I saw Jenny. Then Christopher. Was imagining them so close a result of stress? Or was it some kind of early pregnancy symptom?
If I was pregnant, surely all these adrenaline rushes weren’t good for the baby. I was going to have to take up meditation or something like that.
I sank into my