Hope in Our Hearts by Lydia Proffitt

Chapter Four

CHAPTER FOUR

Where there is no vision there is no hope.

- George Washington Carver

When Jason's iPhone alarm sounded, he turned it off and routinely slipped into the shower. He shaved his face because he could not stand it if his beard got long. He pulled on a pair of jeans and threw on a t-shirt. He contemplated on whether to bring a jacket but ultimately decided against it. August in Wilton Creek was pretty warm with summer lingering, but the leaves were changing colors showing the arrival of autumn.

Jason grabbed his keys off the desk in the corner of his hotel room and remembered he needed to pick up a few groceries from the store before checking out a one-of-a-kind diner for lunch. He figured (since he was in town) he could write an article about it and taste their hamburgers for himself. Jason shut the door of his truck and headed in the direction of a small grocery store, thinking it would be better than Walmart––since he somehow always left Walmart with more stuff than he needed and less money in his wallet.

Priceless was just down the road from where he was staying. The store was a small grocery store, but there was a lot of people in the parking lot. Jason was impressed by how clean it was on the inside since the exterior looked a little run down.

Jason grabbed a red cart and began weaving through the isles. He grabbed groceries here and there. Then he rounded a corner to enter the frozen food section. He pulled his cart back as another customer's cart leaped out.

"We've gotta stop meetin' like this," the woman said, half laughing.

"You probably think I never pay attention to where I am going."

"Ehh, that's a normal man thing, and––in your defense––buggie directioning can be pretty tricky when the wheels are a little messed up."

"Lucy right?" he said smiling from ear to ear. Man, she is pretty, he thought. Funny too.

"You got it, and you're Jason, right?"

Jason smiled noticing the country accent behind her words. He was happy she remembered his name. When he finally takes his eyes off her, he looked down and saw an infant in the buggy seat.

How did I miss him? "Yes, I am. I don't think I have met this little fella. Who's this little guy?"

"This is Kale, my son."

Jason noticed the way she said it. She was full of pride like most mothers have. Jason knew she seemed very genuine. He found it very attractive.

"Well, I can see the resemblance. He has your eyes."

Kale's eyes were an unmistakable blue just like his mother's. Lucy looked down at her smiling baby.

"Are you running low on cookies?" Jason asked, nodding toward the three boxes of Chips Ahoy cookies in her shopping cart.

"Kale is a compulsive eater," she said, lying.

Jason chuckled along with Lucy.

"No, really I am teaching my kids about fractions," she said. "I figured cookies would capture their attention better than anything else. Plus, I want to start the school year off fun before we really dive in."

They both made small talk for a couple minutes. Jason kept the conversation going by talking about anything and everything under the sun. The more they talked, the more Jason wanted to listen to what she had to say. He continued to nod to let her know he was still paying attention.