Play It Again

Hattie Branson

I wake up in Wyatts room and look around, noticing that he isn't here.
I stand up and walk to the washroom to brush my teeth, then walk down the stairs into the kitchen where I am welcomed by Julie's bright and contagious smile.
"Morning hun!" she chimes,
"Good morning" I smile, "I hope I'm not being too much of a burden on you guys."
"Of course not! I love seeing your beautiful face around here! So refreshing compared to the grumpy men of the house" she laughs and I join in.
"Did you sleep alright?"
"Like a baby" I chuckle,
"I'm glad, can I offer you some muffins?"
"Oh is that what smells so delicious?" I ask, Julie nods as she pushes the tray towards me. I take one and begin to eat it as Julie gets back to work preparing what looks like lunch.
"Can I help with anything?" I offer,
"Actually now that you mention it, I'm out of a few things, if I give you a list would you feel comfortable taking my car into town to get them?"
"Anything to help out!" I exclaim,
"Wonderful," she smiles and pulls out a notepad and begins to write some very detailed notes, "do you know your way to the store?"
"I think I've driven past it a couple of times"
"Perfect! Any questions just call Wyatt, he'll know."
Wyatt's moms SUV is fairly new, and I have to make sure I take good care of it. I find the only store in town and begin my walk across the parking lot. I look down to the note and begin to read her very detailed list with brand and size of each item, which surprisingly makes my job a whole lot easier.
"Excuse me hun, could you reach the jar of pickles on that shelf? My back isn't what it used to be and I can't seem to be able to get it myself?"
"Of course!" I chime, turning to where the old lady is pointing, I grab the jar and hand it to her.
"Thanks dear!" she says as she places the jar in her shopping cart, "I don't think I've seen you around here before, with a smile like that, I'm sure it's not my old age."
"Oh, I live in the next town over, but I'm shopping for my boyfriend's mom." I explain,
"No wonder you have a little boyfriend with those looks!" she chuckles and playfully swats my arm. "Who might this lucky fella be?"
"His name is Wyatt Langston" I smile,
"Oh! What a handsome boy! I remember him from my school secretary days! Way back when he would've been in kindergarten!" she exclaims,
"That's wonderful! This is definitely a small town!"
"Oh, I heard about the boy's father, how are they doing?" she asks, with a hand on her heart,
"I truthfully don't know many details but I know it's not looking so good, Wyatt has taken over the farm now and is working really hard to keep it running by himself."
"Isn't that too bad, I ought to bake them a pie or a casserole" she shows me a toothless smile.

I finish getting the items and load them into the car. The drive back was nice and quick.