Welcome to the A to Z Challenge! I am excited to share with you some meet cutes (and maybe some sexy scenes) throughout the month of April! Richard is going to be chiming in with a few of his characters from his Hallmark story, too! Here is the next installment, but stay tuned every day (except Sundays) this month for a short scene! Like and comment, and maybe I’ll continue the more popular stories in May!
– Jayden
Ah yes, the toy aisle of Target. The place where nostalgia burrows its way into our lives. I push my daughter’s stroller down the aisle and look at the toys that are making a comeback. I swear I had that exact stuffed dog when I was little. I pick up the box the dog is in because I can’t help but look at it. It has little tiny puppies in its velcro belly. I think mine had four puppies, but it could come with up to six! I put it in the compartment on the stroller I was using for a cart and was just about to push on when I saw a toy that didn’t belong.
A yo-yo was sitting on the shelf behind the dog. I used to love playing with a yo-yo. I could do (simple) tricks and everything. It was a fun time in my life. But now, I try to catch my one-year-old daughter before she tumbles out of my arms instead of trying to wind up a yo-yo. I wouldn’t trade her for the world, but being a single mom is hard work. Her father left me when I found out I was pregnant. I’m sorry she won’t get to know him (his choice, not mine), but my dad is an amazing grandfather, so I’m glad that she’ll have a good male role model anyway.
But I’m still responsible for her, and she’s a lot to juggle. I glance at my watch and realize that I need to hurry before she gets cranky. It’s almost time for her nap, and I would really like to be home before that.
I head toward the baby section and nearly run into another stroller. “Sorry!” I say.
“No problem,” says the dad, pulling his stroller back. He has a daughter who looks to be about the same age as mine.
He waves me on, and I keep going toward baby items. I realize that he’s following me. I feel like this could be the beginning of a horror novel, but he’s pushing a stroller, so that seems unlikely.
When I get to the diaper aisle, I turn and pull the stroller over to the side. Crap. The diapers I like are on the top shelf, and there are none pushed to the front. I might have to either climb the shelves (which I shouldn’t do) or get help (which I don’t want to do). I just want to get out of here. Ugh! If Yasmine falls asleep before we get to the car, I’m either trapped in Target or resigning myself to a cranky baby all afternoon and evening.
I reach up and stretch on my tippy toes, trying to get there, but I’m failing.
And then, the guy with the stroller is pulling into the aisle. “Can I help you?” he asks.
“Sure,” I say. “That would be great. Thank you.”
He reaches up easily and grabs a pack of diapers. “Just one?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he says.
“Your daughter is so cute. My daughter sleeps that way, too,” he says.
I turn and look, and sure enough, both of our strollers have girls sleeping in the same position, with their heads lolling to one side and their hands curled up in a cute way. Son of a gun, she’s asleep.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, seeing my reaction.
“Now that she’s sleeping, she won’t nap if I try to take her out and put her in the car. So… I guess I’m going to be wandering around Target for a while.”
“Will she sleep if you stop walking?”
“Yeah,” I say.
“Great, do you want to get a cup of coffee at the cafe? My treat. My daughter is also sleeping.”
I look him up and down, look at his sleeping baby, and think, why the hell not? “That would be lovely.”
Check out what’s going on with other A to Z Bloggers on the Master List, and come back all month long! Leave us a comment if you’re participating, and I promise to visit your blogs, too!
J R Vincente 