• • •
The next morning, I dragged Merrick out on a Saturday shopping trip to get things for my new apartment. I was going to get the keys on Monday, and I needed to get a bed before I could move in, so that was first on my list.
“What do you think of this one?” I lay back on a plush-top mattress and made Merrick do the same.
“I’m not sure. How about you get up on all fours so I can see if I’m gonna like it.”
I pulled the pillow out from behind my head and whacked him in the face with it, laughing. “I’m serious. A good night’s sleep is as important to your health as eating right and exercising. What bed do you have? Yours is really comfy.”
Merrick shrugged. “No idea.”
My nose scrunched up. “Oh.”
Merrick looked over and his forehead creased before a look of understanding crossed his face. “It’s not because another woman picked it out, if that’s what you’re thinking. Well, one did. But she was an interior designer. I hired someone to pick out everything I needed when I moved in.”
“She chose your mattress too? What if you didn’t like it?”
He shrugged. “I’d get a different one, I guess. She picked out everything. I basically just showed up one day and moved in.”
“Did you give her direction, like colors and stuff?”
Merrick shook his head. “Nope.” He looked around the mattress showroom. There were two salespeople, both currently helping other customers. Then he rolled on top of me and started jumping around, making the bed move up and down.
“Oh my God,” I laughed. “Stop it.”
He jumped a few more times before planting a chaste kiss on my lips. “This one will work. Let’s get it.”
After the mattress store, I dragged him to HomeGoods. For a man who didn’t even want to pick things for his own apartment, he was incredibly patient. My cart was soon full of bedding, candles, housewares, and even a stuffed pig, which I couldn’t resist buying for my soon-to-be niece or nephew. The checkout line was twenty deep when we joined the end of it. A little girl sat in the seat part of the cart in front of us. She had braces on her legs, and she pointed to the pig in my cart.
I smiled. “Aren’t you adorable?”
Merrick had been scanning messages on his cell, but he looked up at the little girl. He seemed to squint like she looked familiar, but I didn’t think anything of it, and he resumed scrolling on his phone.
“Puh! Puh! Puh!” she yelled, pointing to the pig again.
Her father turned around to see what his daughter was getting excited about. He smiled at the little girl and spoke as he simultaneously began to sign. “That’s right. Puh for Pinky, your pig.” The man looked at me. “She’s deaf and just started working with a facial-prompt therapist to learn sounds. She has a pet guinea pig named Pinky, and all stuffed animals are him lately.” Reaching into his cart, he pulled out a small stuffed frog. The little girl reached for it, making a Puh sound again. “I already got suckered into buying one today.”
The line moved up, so the guy pushed his cart forward. I followed, but Merrick didn’t. When I looked up, I found him staring at the little girl.
My brows furrowed. “Merrick?”
It was like he didn’t even hear me. He just kept staring. I finally rested my hand on his arm.
“Merrick? Are you okay?”
Through my peripheral vision, I saw the guy in front of me turn back around. Merrick’s eyes shifted to him and narrowed to daggers. My head volleyed back and forth. The man was also now staring back at Merrick.
Feeling a bit freaked out, I stepped in front of Merrick and nudged him a bit. “Merrick. What’s going on? Talk to me.”
He shook his head. “Nothing. I’ll meet you outside, okay?”
“Yeah, sure. If you’re okay?”
His eyes shifted from the man to the little girl one more time and held for a moment. Then he stormed toward the front door.
I blinked after him, unsure what the hell had just transpired, before turning back to the man with the little girl.
“Do you two know each other or something?”