Devil's House

Imagine Seeing You Here

Grocery shopping day had become one of Ryan's favorite times of the week. It gave him a chance to get out of the house - to drive his Lotus and enjoy the city he loved so much. Besides, doing the shopping was another way he could contribute to the house. Not everything came down to dollars and cents. Ryan taking on the household grocery shopping meant it was one less thing Chester had to do when it came to providing meals for everyone, and Ryan felt good about that.

Anything he could do to help the house run smoothly, he was up for. Especially if that something took work off of Chester. After the meltdown in the closet, everyone in the house was moving a little slower around each other. It had caused a small reset to their foursome, with Mike making sure he was giving his attention to Chester and Ryan making sure to let them have their space. He knew the small efforts were having a positive effect on Chester's overall mental health, and that's all that mattered.

When they first moved into the house, Jason had hung a blackboard up in the pantry, which served as the household grocery list. Everyone could add to it, and no questions were asked. Ryan saved all the receipts and at the end of the week, Mike and Chester would pay back half of whatever was spent at the store.

It was a system that was working, and Ryan was glad to be at the center of it. On grocery day, everyone got a reminder at breakfast for last minute wants from the store. It was usually Mike who would pop up from his place at the table to scribble something down on the blackboard before coming back to finish his breakfast. It always made Ryan laugh.

He added ice cream and bacon this morning, Ryan chuckled to himself as he pushed the grocery cart down the next aisle. Julien was big enough now to sit in the seat safely in front of him with a special cushy pad that Jason had bought. It made sure the baby wouldn't fall over to either side, and, as Jason stated, it kept Julien from the germs on the grocery cart.

That always made Ryan laugh too, every time he strapped the puffy seat into place before situating their son in the middle of it. Julien's cloud blanket - the one he'd come home from the hospital with - was there, too, stuffed all around the baby's middle to keep him from falling forward. He wasn't quite big enough to balance himself yet, but Ryan knew it wouldn't be long and his son wouldn't need any of the extra padding and blankets to ride in the grocery cart.

"We need Cheerios," Ryan told Julien as they walked by rows of dry cereal. He had the household list in one hand, his other on the cart as they went slowly. Julien was in a good mood, slobbering on his fist as he took in the sights and sounds of the store. There was no reason to rush.

After finding Jason's heart healthy cereal, they turned the corner right into the produce section. It was a part of the store Ryan was comfortable in. After living with Talinda, he'd learned how to pick out fruits and vegetables, and over time he'd perfected that skill. He knew a good potato from a bad one. Ripe bananas from rotten ones and the best firmness for cucumbers.

He checked his list and kept a running conversation with Julien as they picked out oranges and strawberries. A batch of carrots and a bag of potatoes before stopping in front of the mushroom section. Chester had written down three different kinds of mushrooms for a pasta dish later in the week. It was going to take a minute to track down all three and pick out the best specimens of each to add to their cart.

It was there in the produce section that Rob Bourdon stood frozen, watching his ex-lover with his baby as Ryan moved not six feet away from him. Rob was holding his breath while he listened to Ryan talk to the baby, showing him a package of mushrooms before shaking his head and returning them to the shelf. It happened three more times before the baby grabbed at a package, and Ryan laughed as he leaned over to put the chosen package in the cart.