Page 36 of Feeding Hope
Deciding ignoring him was the best way to go, I put a box of lasagna noodles in my bag, then a jar of sauce, and made my way back to the cooler for a bag of mozzarella cheese. I went over to the day-old bread rack and grabbed a loaf. Finally, a quick swing past the fake wagon built into the side wall with a few fruits and vegetables left. Since they were out of meat sauce, we’d make do with zucchini lasagna.
Making my way up to the counter with my bag, my stomach plummeted to the soles of my feet. Natasha and Soleil, two ofthe beautiful people from school, volunteered today. Could my mortification get any worse?
Soleil blushed as she took my bag from me, checking off my items. However, Natasha geared up to make a scene. I watched Soleil repackage my bag, wishing she worked faster. There were only four items. How much time could it take?
Speaking to Soleil, she said, “I can’t wait to go home tonight. Our housekeeper is making us chicken cordon bleu with real mashed potatoes, fresh green beans, and triple chocolate cake for dessert.
I noticed the irony of Natasha bragging about her fancy meal, despite supposedly wanting to help the less fortunate, as she volunteered at a food pantry. The whole scenario was ludicrous.
Mrs. Faulkner, one of the church ladies who helped run the food bank chose that moment to bustle up to the counter, her demeanor so cheery it was the direct opposite of the venom I faced at the counter and the weather I would soon face outside.
“Hello, Lyrical! Did you walk all the way in the storm today?”
“It wasn’t so bad.” I have been lying too much lately. To her. Jesse. Myself. It was exhausting.
She clucked her tongue in chastisement as she looked out the window. “This storm is getting worse. You’re going home, girls. Do you need a ride, Lyrical?”
“Thanks, but I’m good.”
“You really shouldn’t be walking in this.”
“She won’t be, ma’am. I’m driving her.”
Natasha stood behind Mrs. Faulkner with a mixed expression of fury and horror. The idea of Jesse giving me a ride sent her to the verge of a stroke.
She gathered herself. “Hey, Jesse! I didn’t see you there. I’ve been meaning to speak to you. The Snow Ball is just two weeks away, and I was wondering—”
“Sorry, Natasha. I already have a date.”
“You… you do?”
“Yup.” His hand reached out for my bags from Soleil. “You two drive safely.”
“We will,” Soleil chirped.
Silently, we walked out of the store side-by-side. When we reached the curb, he put his free hand to the small of my back and steered me toward his car. Too cold and too mortified, I allowed him to open the passenger door, usher me inside, then once I was safely within, he closed the door on me and rounded the back of the car. With my grocery bag behind his seat, he started the car and turned the vents for the heat in my direction. Rather than buckle up and head out, he exited the car, brushed off the accumulated snow from the short time we spent inside, and then returned to the driver’s seat.
“Buckle up, Lyrical.”
Like a zombie, I buckled my seatbelt, then turned my head to watch as the world moved past my window while he drove.
When he pulled up to the curb in front of our apartment, he put the car in park but made no move to get out. I tried to pull on the door, but he put out a hand to keep me in place. “Lyrical, look at me.”
Everything in me wanted to open the car door and run away. Too proud to actually follow through with my impulse, I compromised by looking down at my hands, now nicely warmed by his gloves.
My nose stung. My throat constricted. Tears threatened to spill down my cheeks, and I fought to hold them back.
“Please, Lyrical.”
A strangled sound came from inside me. Something broken and desperate, but still I resisted his request. Two fingers reached for my chin and gently turned my face toward him.“Don’t you dare let Natasha make you feel small,” he ground out.
Chapter Four.
Jesse
Snob, I was not. A person’s financial standing meant nothing to me. But clearly, I was naive about how rough some of my classmates had it. The apartment building sat on a lot with a gravel lot behind it. Snow covered the few cars that were present, but most of the spaces were empty because people were likely still at work.
The fact that she visited a food bank for her family’s meals showed things were less than ideal.
