Blair stole a glance at Wesley's face as she took her phone from him. Somehow she felt that he didn't want her to move out. But since he hadn't said anything otherwise to make her stay yet, she was afraid that she might be wrong. "I might never need it. After I move out, most probably, I won't have a reason to trouble you anymore," she reminded him in a sad, low voice.
It wasn't impossible that such would be the case. She had been out of touch with Wesley for a long time after she had moved out of the Hillside Apartments, just like she had been out of touch with him after she had gone abroad.
Silence fell inside the car. She was waiting for him to say something.
But Wesley didn't. He started the engine, and the car ran through the exit of the apartment complex with only its engine to break the silence. Even that hum felt like silence in the awkwardness of the situation.
Sadness took hold of Blair, as if something was clutching at her heart. She couldn't look at him, nor did she want him to see her sad, so she turned to look out the window. For the first time, she really didn't feel like talking even though she was around him.
They arrived at the supermarket pretty soon. It wasn't that far through car. Blair unbuckled the seat belt and was about to get out of the car when Wesley grabbed her arm and stopped her.
"There's an umbrella in the trunk. Wait here. I'll get it."
He got out and brought the umbrella from the trunk. Then he opened the passenger door and carried Blair out of the car.
"Are you coming with me?" Blair asked, looking at him longingly. She wanted him to.
"Yeah. I can help you choose. I know her likes and dislikes," Wesley answered.
That made sense. As Cecelia's son, he sure knew her better than Blair did.
They walked towards the supermarket with him holding the umbrella for the both of them. There was one second when Blair was one step behind. Only then did she find out that most of the umbrella was over her. Wesley's left shoulder was all wet. What was this man doing!
Blair was moved. But since he had already made it clear that he didn't like her, she thought that he was doing this only because he was a gentleman.
She looked up at the umbrella and moved closer to him so that it could shield both of them.
Distracted, she didn't notice the puddle on the ground. "Be careful!" Wesley suddenly called out.
She couldn't dodge it, but he was quick enough to pull her into his arms before she stepped into it.
Blair looked down at the puddle and told him, "I'm wearing white shoes. I would be damned if I had walked into it. Thanks."
Wesley didn't respond. However, he made sure that he didn't let go of her until they had reached the entrance to the supermarket. Locked in his arms, Blair was so flustered she didn't even know where to put her hands. Luckily, it wasn't a long distance from the puddle to the entrance. While Wesley was folding the umbrella near the door, Blair calmed herself down and straightened her clothes.
After they entered the supermarket, she got a cart. Instead of browsing around, they went straight to the household essentials aisle. "What toothbrush and toothpaste brands does your mom like?"
"I don't know." 'Is there a difference between those brands?'
"What kind of towel does she use? Any specific requirements?"
"I have no idea." 'Just towels. Aren't they all the same?'
"Does she prefer milk or yogurt?"
"I'm not sure." 'I like neither.'
Blair rolled her eyes at him. 'Are you sure that you are her son?' "Does your mom like snacks?"
"I..." Looking at her glum face, he changed his answer from "I don't know" to "Yeah, she does."
Sadly, that answer brought him a load of new questions. "What does she like best? Dried mangoes? Nuts? Chips? Does she like oats or other cereals?"
"I don't know." There were those three words again.
Blair felt helpless. 'Didn't he just claim that he knew his mom's likes and dislikes? This guy knows nothing!'
Blair selected a few snacks. Some of them were her favorites and some were taken at random. Wesley picked up a packet of snacks from the cart and asked, "Is this for you or my mom?"
Blair looked at the corn curls in his hands and asked, "Why can't it be for the both of us? If your mom doesn't like it, I'll eat it all." After giving it some thought, she put the packet of corn curls back on the shelf and took a bigger packet. "If we both like it, that packet would be too small. So, the biggest packet will be better."
Wesley picked up that packet of corn curls from the cart and compared it with her face. "It's even bigger than your face. I wonder if you will have to bury your face in the bag when you eat."
Blair thought about it, but she couldn't figure out why she would have to bury her face in the bag to eat. 'Alas! He sucks at making conversation, let alone cracking jokes.' "That's not funny," she said with a straight face.
Wesley didn't mind. They continued wandering around to choose food and drinks.
Afterwards, they came to the kitchen supplies section. Blair looked back at Wesley, who was pushing the cart behind her. With a smile, she picked out some items she liked.
At the checkout, Blair took out her phone and opened the QR code to pay, but Wesley stopped her while waving his wallet in his hand. "Allow me," he said.
"I can pay. I have money in my WeChat account," Blair insisted. A lot of products in the cart were for her. She felt embarrassed letting him pay.
Wesley took her phone away to stop her and handed the checkout assistant $700. "Is that enough?"
The checkout assistant's eyes glistened when she saw Wesley, a handsome guy in a uniform. When she realized that he was talking to her, she was so excited her hands were shaking. She counted the cash and replied, "Yes, it will cover.
Blair noticed the woman's reactions. She snorted scornfully inside and moved closer to Wesley. Then her eyes shifted towards a cooking mold and told him, "You work too hard. I'll make you some dessert for you to take to work tomorrow." In case Wesley said no, Blair had made it a statement not a question.
Busy bagging the things, Wesley didn't pay much attention to what she had said. "I don't like dessert," he said honestly.
Blair felt embarrassed. But then Wesley added, "You know what? You can ask Mom to take it with her. She will love it." His father spoiled his mom. So, despite her age, Cecelia was still childlike in more ways than a few.
'He said "Mom" instead of "my mom."' Blair was happy. Women were sensitive. The checkout assistant heard everything Wesley said. When she heard him say "Mom" to Blair, she cast one more look at Blair.
Then she saw that it was a beautiful woman standing beside Wesley. They didn't look alike at all. They couldn't be siblings, so she assumed that they were a couple.
The checkout assistant felt her heart shatter into pieces. She continued working with her head lowered.
Blair felt great when she saw how a potential rival to her love had been crushed. To be honest, she wasn't much of a rival! After all, it was only an assistant's crush on Wesley and not the other way round. She volunteered to carry one of the bags and made her way to the exit.
Wesley was carrying a bigger carrier bag. But even so, he tucked the change into his pants pocket hastily, caught up with Blair, and offered to take the bag from her.
But Blair declined. "Mine is not heavy. The one you're carrying is full of beverages. It's already heavy enough."
Wesley looked at her and retorted, "Maybe! But you're so frail. What if it triggers your fever?" Before she could refuse, he had taken the bag from her.
Blair didn't know what to say. 'I'm not as fragile as he thinks.' She was a bit defensive. 'I was sick only once when I was in England, ' she thought.