ALMOST HEAVEN

Chapter 21

"And you're sure we're out of brown mustard?" Laurel asked as she stood in front of the condiments on the shelve.

"Positive, angel. I just forgot to put it on the list. I used the last of it on those deviled eggs we brought over to Mellie's earlier this week. Speaking of which, are eggs on the list? Because we need them, too."

Laurel was studying the jars and bottles of brown mustard but she stopped to pick up the piece of paper that was laying on the child seat of the grocery cart. She scanned the list. "Yep, they're on here. So is sesame oil. That should be right around here."

Clyde crossed the aisle looking for the oil while Laurel grabbed the jar of brown mustard she wanted.

"You sure it's here?" asked Clyde.

"Should be," Laurel said as she searched the shelves. "This side is the international foods aisle, such as it is. Look up there. Is that it?" Laurel pointed to the top shelve. Clyde stepped closer.

"Looks like it. You want me to pick you up so you can reach it?" Clyde asked with a grin.

Laurel laughed. "Very funny, Clyde Logan. Could you please get that for me?"

"You sure? I could just lift you up." He turned to her and put both of his hands, prosthetic and real, around her waist and pretended like he was going to lift her.

Laurel laughed as he stood before her, his hands on her waist, and a very earnest look on his face, which quickly morphed into a silly face. "You don't want me to lift you up, angel?"

"I do not, Clyde. Don't you dare." Clyde turned back to the shelf with a big grin and reached up to the top shelf and grabbed the bottle of sesame oil. He put it in the cart and then looked up and down the aisle. He and Laurel were the only ones on the aisle. There was hardly anyone in the store this early in the morning. He put his arms around Laurel as she picked up the list again.

The next aisle over, getting ready to turn down the aisle Clyde and Laurel were on, a young woman had stopped her cart and had been listening to Laurel and Clyde's conversation. She had recognized Clyde's voice right away.

'This must be that woman he's going to marry,' Britney thought to herself.

Britney had been surprised when on Christmas Day, a girlfriend had sent her an Instagram post that was from Mellie Logan. It was a picture of Clyde holding a woman close to him as he held out her hand to the camera to show off the beautiful diamond ring she was wearing. The caption was 'Guess who's getting married?' They both looked very happy.

Britney had stared at that picture. She had immediately hated the woman. She couldn't believe that Clyde was serious enough about someone that he was going to marry her. And that ring. It was gorgeous. When they had been dating, he had made it very clear to Britney that marriage wasn't an option in the near future and probably not in the distant future either.

Britney regretted the way things had ended between her and Clyde. She really only wanted to make him jealous by flirting with Mike but somehow she had ended up sleeping with Mike. And Mellie Logan had been only too happy to tell Clyde about it when she found out.

She remembered the day Clyde had confronted her about Mike. He had asked her to meet him up at the bar. Britney had no idea he knew about Mike. When she walked into the bar, it had been a quiet afternoon. It was Britney's lunch hour from the insurance office she worked in. She had gone into the bar wondering if Clyde was jealous over her flirting with Mike. She hoped he was because if he got jealous enough, he might decide that he had to marry Britney to keep her all for himself.