Chapter 37

“I didn’t know there was a test I had to pass,” Grady complained

“If you knew, you would have been entirely awkward and fakey-fake,” Linh said as they pushed the cart down the grocery aisle. “Put the Oreo’s back on the shelf, Grady. If you want cookies, tell me what kind you like, and we’ll make them together.”

“You’ll think I’m weird,” Grady said, stroking the package before returning it to its place on the shelf. “Ginger snaps. Those are disgusting,” he said, pointing at a bag of ginger cookies with the cartoon kids dancing around the cookies.

“We’ll have to borrow some candied ginger from the restaurant,” Linh said. “Ginger snaps with pieces of candied ginger in the dough are, like, top dog on the cookie list.”

“Top dog?” Grady said. “Now, you sound like grandpa.”

“My grandpa,” Linh said. “They were best friends. What would Claire like in the way of cookies?”

When Grady explained that Claire was limited in her exposure but up to trying almost anything, Linh pulled a second five-pound bag of flour from the bottom shelf. “When I send you to the store, only buy unbleached flour.”

He wanted to ask about this new expectation of being sent on errands, but he decided to hold his peace for the moment. By the time they returned to the front of the store, the cart was full, and the majority of the items were not common to his purchasing history. She even put the liter bottles of soda back on the shelf, sending him over to the produce section to buy more limes. He was a tad worried. Laia Alvarez was the cashier too.

As Laia scanned the items on the belt, she asked Linh, “Are you dating Grady, now?”

“Oh yes,” Linh gushed before leaning forward and speaking in a stage whisper, “You should have bedded him while you had the chance. It’s been nonstop amazing. After the first time, I thought I would never walk straight again, but here we are. Isn’t he handsome?”

Laia looked a bit pale, but she politely agreed. Grady continued to bag the groceries, quietly and efficiently. Considering his recent interactions with Mrs. Trang, he decided that the apple did not fall far from the tree. Glancing at his phone, he saw the Weed N Feed was closing soon, and they needed to pick up Claire; she had insisted she could do her own shopping.

Claire had a pile of goods sitting on two flatbed trolleys outside the exit door. Grady backed up the truck, and the three of them loaded all her finds. The owner stuck his head out the door and told Grady that he should send Claire to do all his shopping because she was not a skinflint and appreciated quality workmanship. Grady was almost afraid to ask how large the bill was. He rolled down the tarp and secured the load.

As directed, he drove to the restaurant and pulled around back. Linh dragged the three of them inside. Claire immediately went to explore, ahhing and oohing over everything in front of her. One of the cooks finally took her to a safe corner, warning her to stay put. Linh returned with her mother and a pink thick plastic tote filled with items labeled in various Asian scripts.