Chapter 8

Tracy was bubbly like a small child in a penny candy store with a whole dollar bill to spend. She bounded around laughing, twirling, dashing from item to item. She'd pick something up, give a little squeal, laugh, then put it back down.

Unable to contain her glee she ran up to me and jumped up catching her arms around my neck. She gave me a series of quick kisses, excitedly saying over and over, she couldn't ever remember having been in a store this large, ever, ever, ever, in her whole life.

I wrapped my arms around her, holding her tightly to me waiting for her to calm down a little. Not that I wanted her to. I was immensely enjoying seeing her so happy after being abused for so long, by so many people.

After she settled down a bit Tracy told Maggie and me when she was in foster care, she never went shopping for clothing. They'd just bring a few pieces of used clothing to her and whether or not it fit, that was what she had to wear.

Very infrequently she'd get something new. Usually no more than a couple pair of jeans and one or two tops in a year or two.

In the winter she never had more than just one coat which was usually threadbare and that was that.

Everything they gave her, new or old, she had to take care of because it had to last. If something wore out, it wasn't ever replaced. Worse than that, if she outgrew something, well ... she still had to wear it.

We'd worked out a flexible shopping list on the way from the parking lot at dockside to Walmart. We settled on her needing at least a pair of sneakers and black flats for her feet. A package or two of socks and some underwear.

"Sexy!" she said she wanted. "I like thongs and low cut briefs. They make me think of sex," she giggled.

"Yes," I softly said to Tracy, with a hint of slyness in my voice. "Me of all people knows you like sex."

"And so do you," she quipped.

We both laughed and continued our deliberations on her trial shopping list. We started with the basics. First she'd need another pair or two of shorts. She'd need a couple pair of slacks or jeans to wear when the weather got colder and a couple of nice tops or a blouse.

"Oh, and perhaps a bra or two," Tracy mused. "I really don't think I need any support there but under a thin blouse you can see my tits!"

She started to blush so she put both her hands over her face eyes and mouth laughing into them.

"I like seeing your Tits!" I told Tracy.

She looked up at me as I said that. I smiled back at her, raised my eyebrows and flicked at an imaginary cigar just as Groucho Marx would do. I received a backhanded swat on my shoulder for that remark.

Softly she questioned in a serious tone, "Do you really like my tits?"

"Yes my love," I said. Then I leaned slightly over toward her, rubbed my palm lightly over her thigh and confirmed, "I really like them." Holding that broad smile on my face I told her, "I can't wait until they are completely healed so I can play with them more."

A smile spread across her face as she said, "You're a Perv!" Then more softly she added, "But I love you for it."

By then we'd arrived at the Walmart parking lot and our jaunt through the store started. Like I said, Tracy loved the new experience of being able to run free and just enjoy.

I didn't know how much she could see, but every once in a while, she would get real close to something, peel up her sunglasses and peer at it. Then with a huge smile on her face she'd turn to me and tell me, "I like this one," and we'd add it to the cart.

Maggie showed up and joined Tracy in the quest for clothing. We'd agreed that she could select lots of stuff. Then we'd go through the basket, take the best items and keep to the $100 budget we'd agreed on.

We'd been working through the girls tops part of the department when Maggie held up a sweater against Tracy. Her hand came down over the weave and a melted look spread over her face.

"Oh, it's so soft," she sighed. "I just love this. This would be great!" Smiling, she brought it over and put it in the baby seat part of the cart so she would not forget it in the Grand Scheme of things.

She whispered to me that she'd never had a sweater or anything so soft before. Just on edge of bubbling over Tracy said, "I love it! And maroon is my favorite winter color too."

I surreptitiously checked the price tag and laughed to myself. It was on discount sale and only $7.50. Maggie had done well. It was a real bargain find.

Maggie looked over at me and pointed to the dresses. I nodded thinking a dress would make Tracy feel more woman than a girl.

Upon seeing my response, Maggie bent over and whispered into Tracy's ear. Tracy stood up, placed her hand over her mouth in surprise and started laughing. She ran over to me and told me, "Maggie told me that she wanted to buy me a dress."

"That's nice," I said.

"But, then she said, that I should wear it with no undies and give all the guys, you included, hard-ons."

I laughed and shook an extended finger at Maggie as Tracy bounded back over to her. Together they quickly picked out a nice sun dress for her to wear until the weather changed and added a nice plaid wool skirt to the cart for when it did.

With a few more selections, Maggie and Tracy came over to me and the cart. We all started to sort through the things that had been selected. The, 'Yeas' were left in the cart and the 'Nays' were draped over my arm to be put back on the racks.

I mentally added up the price of the 'Yeas' that had remained in the cart. When we finished making decisions, the total was about eighty-five dollars.

Pointing to a sign hanging from the ceiling in the distance I said, "Off to the shoes," and we went over to select some footwear for Tracy.

She wanted to browse through the sneakers telling us her size was a five and a half. She was going up and down the aisle and as before she occasionally she raised her sunglasses to check the size printed on the boxes.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the elderly sales person looking at us. We just went on with our shopping and I thought nothing of it when she reached for her telephone.

"Red sneakers is what I want," Tracy asked. "Is that OK?"

"Whatever you want," I told her. "They're going to be on those things at the end of YOUR legs, not mine."

As had become her habit when I made a smart remark, I received the appropriate 'Swat' to a shoulder and we all laughed.

I was glad that Maggie had suggested a dress and that they had selected a nice skirt too. There would be occasions where a little 'Dress Up' would be necessary, like when we went to get her registered for home schooling.

To round out our shopping for Tracy's clothes, we went to the jacket part of the petite department. We settled on a fluffy nylon jacket that had a detachable hood and removable fleece liner.

That way, it would be a great jacket for the fall. It wouldn't be to warm to wear then and later, with the hood attached and liner inserted, it would be great for the colder months. Powder blue, Tracy told us, was a color she just loved.

From there, we went to the grocery section and Tracy got another cart. It was a joy to see a huge smile on her face as she navigated through the aisles. I could tell she didn't have perfect vision as she bumped into a lot of things, but she was having such fun and that's what counted.

As we went by the fish counter, Maggie said she wanted Salmon tonight and we got a nice looking fillet. She wanted to make it with an Almond crust and my mouth just started to water.

"I've never had Salmon," Tracy chipped in. I told her she would like it, "Specially the way Maggie cooks it."

We got the almonds and bread crumbs Maggie would need for the Salmon. Then we added the usual staples we needed like eggs, bread, milk, cold cuts and a few snacks of chips and a package of Ring-Dings.

Tracy squealed as I dropped that package into her cart. "I love those," she said. "They're the Bestest!"

"Well, then. Let's get TWO!" I told her.

They were on a Two-For-Five Dollar special so it made sense to get two packages. Maggie just shook her head at me and smiled. Then she mouthed at me, "You're so bad."

I smiled back at her and made a kissing motion with my lips at her. She swatted the air toward me in a 'Stop That' motion.

We also selected some fresh broccoli heads along with bake-able potatoes to round out the evening's festive meal.