Page 38 of Taming the Boss

“Yeah. But what about the one in the line you liked?” Maddie asked. “I didn’t see the tag.”

“No.” There was no keeping the sharpness out of my tone and she cut her gaze to me. “He’s right. It’s summer. Too hot for a blanket.”

“The one he liked wasn’t a blanket.” She hiked him up higher on her hip. “It was a throw. You know, like for movie nights with popcorn and some funny flick. Family time. Or hey, maybe for Spider-Man.”

I frowned, feeling as if I’d been dropped down on a strange planet. “People do that stuff?”

“You’ve never watched a movie with your family?”

I started to ask what family then just said nothing.

She pursed her lips and then she sidestepped around me to go to the section I’d just found the blanket in. A moment later, she turned, apparently not bothered by the fact Owen had grabbed a hank of her long wavy hair and was now aiming it toward his mouth. She now held a magenta throw with a unicorn on it with streaming rainbow hair and tap shoes.

Tap shoes?

Owen took one look at it and dropped Maddie’s hair to grab the throw. Nearly losing his hold on the carousel lights in the process.

I rushed in to save his other prize as he again buried his face in the throw, giggling.

“Is that the one then?” Relief saturated my voice. Again, not my mother’s brand, so it was perfect. Even if I had no clue what he needed it for.

Didn’t matter.

“Yes. For movie night,” Maddie said definitively. “Do you want to hold that or the lights?”

Owen shrugged, but he obviously couldn’t carry everything so I put it in the cart next to the toaster.

And he started screaming.

Crying was too tame a word for the sounds that emerged from his mouth.

“Give him back his carousel,” Maddie said in a soothing voice, bouncing him on her hip as if he was a baby. Instantly, he quieted, wrapping both arms around the carousel lights once I returned it to him.

On the way back to the checkout area, Maddie chattered brightly, asking my son if he’d seen a selection of movies while I brought up the rear, still pushing the cart. Like me, he’d seen nothing. But since she was asking about what I assumed were kids’ shows from the names, that wasn’t too surprising.

Not that I’d seen any recent adult movies, either. It had been so long since I’d watched a movie or taken time to relax, I truly didn’t know the last one I’d seen.

Who had time for stuff like that? I’d just recently moved across the country, for God’s sake.

Shopping at this store evidently completed, we finally rejoined the line. It took the better part of half an hour to pay for our items, but then she suggested we walk down to the Food Lion since it wasn’t far. Owen still carried his throw, but he’d consented to bagging up the carousel. And luckily, our bags weren’t heavy so I left behind the cart.

To sweeten the deal, she set Owen down on his feet and he grabbed for her hand, leaving her other hand free for me.

Yes, I took it. Shamelessly.

She narrowed her eyes at me and opened her mouth to say something before thinking better of it and returning her attention to my son. Yet again, she started asking him about movies and kids’ TV shows and all manner of entertainment things I knew absolutely nothing about. Then she landed on cartoons, which I figured out just from the silly names.

“We need to watch Bubble Guppies,” she declared, tossing me a look as if to daring me to argue.

“Bubble Guppies?” Owen repeated. “What’s that?”

He’d asked what I wasn’t brave enough to. Maybe she’d forget about it if we just moved on.

“Oh, it’s the cutest show. It’s good for all ages of kids. I mean, not like over 11 or so probably, but Care Bear still watches it at ten. She loves it. I’d never seen it until she came over one day and asked my Mom to put it on. I love it too.”

“A children’s cartoon?” I asked dubiously. “You really enjoy it?”

“Oh, absolutely. It’s so much fun.” She squeezed my hand in encouragement. “You should watch it with us. Right, Owen?”

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