Chapter 10: Lady and Emma go shopping
Lady woke up Saturday morning feeling oddly refreshed. Anna and her friends had left him alone at school for the most part and his time streaming games every night had been relatively fun. It was the first time in a while where he could say that he had a good week at school.
As he washed his face and stared in the mirror, he was almost surprised by his own complexion. The once deep bags under his eyes were growing shallower and Lady wondered if it was due to the absence of nightmares this week. He had only awoken from nightmares on Tuesday morning and Thursday morning which was low compared to the frequency with which they had been occurring the past year.
After eating an apple for breakfast, Lady decided to go to the grocery store and get the essentials. He had a fair bit of money saved up from his job but only brought what he needed putting the rest under his mattress. As he headed out, he wondered if he should also stop by the convenience store and use the gift card given to him by Sara. He quickly discarded the notion as it would risk him running into Sara again.
As he walked to the grocery store, he began to take notice of the many small shops and stores around town. Lady knew little of the town he was living in due to having spent most of his time in either orphanages, foster homes, or hospitals. He was never really allowed to go outside, most people told him it was because of his condition. Lady finally reached the grocery store which was the opposite direction from school, but far closer.
He grabbed one of the plastic baskets by the entrance and walked up and down the aisles, careful to steer clear of other customers. As he filled the basket with items from his mental grocery list, it quickly grew in weight. As he was walking he bumped into a person dropping the basket and falling backwards. To his surprise, there was no crash from the basket hitting the ground. Lady opened his eyes cautiously to see a young woman with a black ponytail. “Ms. Sierra?” he said cautiously. She was standing in front of him with one hand holding his basket and the other arm outstretched
He graciously accepted her hand and she pulled him off the ground. “Thank you” Lady said quietly as he looked at the ground in embarrassment. “That’s alright sweetie, are you okay?” She asked. Lady nodded his head softly. “Are you out shopping?” She asked. “Yes mam, I just need a few groceries.” He replied. “I’m not very good at cooking but I’m trying to learn since I… well nevermind.” He was about to mention that he was living alone but for some reason thought it better to hide that. Emma’s eyes lit up as she said “I’m a pretty good cook. Why don’t you come over for dinner and I can teach you?” Lady immediately rejected the idea while shaking his head. “There's no way I could Impose like that Ms. Sierra. I’ll be fine on my own, I can just look up recipes.”
Despite his protest, Emma continued insisting until he finally gave in. The two continued walking through the store as Emma filled Lady’s basket with the ingredients for spaghetti. “So Ms. Sierra-” “Just call me Emma sweetie” “So Ms. Emma, are you sure your family won’t mind if I join you for dinner” Lady asked. Emma shook her head, “I live alone actually and I don’t mind at all. If anything, It will be nice to finally have a meal together.” I’m sorry” Lady apologized. “I overheard rumors from some of the students that you were engaged.” “You shouldn’t believe everything you hear,” she responded. There was a sinister glint in her eyes as the words left her mouth.
Despite the small blunder, Lady and Emma continued shopping until they had everything they needed for dinner. Lady tried to pay but Emma insisted that she should cover the costs. As they left the store, Lady never questioned why Emma didn’t have a basket when he bumped into her and Emma never noticed the malicious stare trained at her back since she had first run into the boy. The two drove to a nearby café and had a light lunch before driving home.
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Lady and Emma reached her house and Emma set her grocery bags on the floor as she fished her keys out of her pocket. Lady cautiously entered as she swung the door open and ushered him inside. As he walked in, the first thing he noticed were several cardboard boxes that were stacked in a pile in the foyer. “Did you just move?” Lady asked as he gestured at the boxes. “No,” Emma responded. “I was just doing some cleaning recently and decided to get rid of a few things.” The two continued further into the house and set the groceries on the kitchen counter.
Emma turned to Lady, “It’s a bit too early to eat, do you want to watch something on tv?” While she had phrased it like a question, she pulled him by the arm towards the couch without giving him a chance to respond. “Um sure” he responded as she sat down next to him. Their shoulders were touching and Lady suddenly became very aware that he was alone in the house with a woman. He knew she was older and had likely just invited him out of courtesy but he couldn’t stop his heart from beating. “What do you want to watch?” she asked. “Lady?”
His focus was only on the feeling of her body pressing against his and he became lost in his thoughts. A sharp pain on his thigh suddenly brought him back. “Ahhh. I’m sorry Ms. Emma, I was zoning out. Did you say something?” She chuckled and asked once more, “Is there something specific you want to watch?” Lad shook his head lightly, “I’m fine with anything.” As Emma flipped through the channels, Lady couldn’t help but notice that the hand she had used to pinch him and wake him from his daydreaming was still resting on his thigh. Emma finally settled on a true crime show and the two quickly became invested.
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One of Emma’s arms was wrapped around Lady’s shoulder while the other was still resting on his thigh. Her breathing was heavy and the scent of her perfume was wafting off of her delicate skin. I am water. I am a rock. I’m a field of grass. Keep calm. This isn’t affecting me. Keep calm. The show’s narrator had taken the two through the harrowing unsolved case of a serial killer. Emma was so focused on the show and had been holding onto Lady for sometime now for support as the victims were brutally offed one by one. Lady would have likely also been frightened or disturbed by the story if it wasn't for the woman currently pressed up against him.
When all hope seemed lost, a low growl suddenly arose from the couch pulling the two from their respective focuses. Emma nearly jumped as she pulled Lady towards her into a tight hug. As the two slowly separated, the noise appeared once again and it became evident that it had arisen from Emma’s stomach. “I guess I should start on dinner now.” She said as she got up and turned away from Lady to hide the growing blush on her face. Was she startled by her own stomach growling? Cute. Lady turned off the Tv and followed her into the kitchen.
Emma gave him a curious look as he entered before suddenly remembering that she wasn’t just cooking but teaching them how to cook. She guided Lady through the steps as he boiled the noodles and made the sauce. It was a simple dish but he still looked happy when he finished and his smile warmed Emma’s heart. If only everyday could be like this she thought to herself. As the two set the table they were interrupted by the ring of the doorbell. Emma made her way to the door and looked through the peephole before scoffing and turning away. As she sat down at the table, Lady gave her a questioning look. “It was just some sales person” she said as she sat down and began serving herself a generous helping of spaghetti.
After a minute or two, the doorbell rang once more before the person at the door became impatient and began knocking. After nearly a minute of knocking, Emma’s phone rang. “I’m sorry Lady, you can start eating without me. Let me take this call real quick” she said as she excused herself from the table. Lady could hear her talking to someone on the phone in the other room. “No. I’m not opening the door….. I have a guest over, just come back tomorrow….. Why the hell should it matter to you….. Come back tomorrow to get it or fish it out of the trash tonight….. I’ll call the police if you do that….. You don’t live here anymore….. It’ll be on the front porch tomorrow morning, don’t call me ever again.” She returned to the table as though nothing had ever happened. Her eyes were slightly puffy.
“Thank you for everything today Ms. Emma'' Lady said as he aimlessly twirled the spaghetti with his fork. “I’m sorry if I was a bother.” Emma stood up furiously “Of course you weren't a bother” She walked over to him and wrapped him in a tight hug. A tear trickled down her cheek as she suffocated the poor boy in her cleavage. “Thank you for coming over today” she whispered. “Thank you for indulging this selfish woman's request.” The two hugged for several minutes before Emma let go and returned to her seat.
After finishing dinner, Emma insisted that Lady stay the night. He had adamantly refused and she only relented when he agreed to let her drive him home. After dropping him off, Emma made a mental note of where his apartment was before returning to her own house. She set the boxes that had been sitting in the foyer out on the porch before locking the door. She curled up on the couch where the two of them had watched Tv earlier and fell asleep.