The bed was rumpled, her cell phone and a notebook were on the nightstand. The curtains were drawn today, the room dark.
Hayden closed the door behind me, and I wondered why she'd need to talk to me privately.
"What's going on?" I asked, pulling out the wooden chair from the desk to sit.
Hayden remained standing. "I need to go shopping."
I blinked. "Your father won't take you?"
Her eyes darted away, and she said softly, "I need feminine products."
My eyes widened as I took in that information. "Oh. Is this your first time?"
Hayden shook her head. "No, but I've never had to deal with this while living with my dad."
Because she'd never technically lived with her father before. "You want to go with me to the store so you can pick out what you need?"
"Yeah, but can you tell Dad I'm tagging along with you? That way he won't ask too many questions."
"I don't like lying to your father." The idea made me uncomfortable, but I understood being embarrassed about this topic when talking to your father.
"Please," Hayden implored, and I couldn't say no. It was a fairly innocent request designed to avoid embarrassment.
I could relate to that. "If he asks me for specifics, I'll have to tell him the truth."
Hayden sighed. "Okay."
"You need to go now?" I asked, needing a break from staring at the laptop anyway.
She nodded. "Yeah."
"Okay, I'll get ready." I stood and tucked her chair under the desk.
On the way out the door, I stopped in the kitchen where Marshall stood on a small ladder installing the upper cabinet doors. He'd gone with white for the top cabinets. "I'm going to the store, and Hayden asked if she could tag along."
"Yeah, okay," Marshall said absentmindedly, his attention on the door in front of him.
I breathed a sigh of relief. "We won't be gone long."
He glanced over at me then. "Can you pick up fish or something we can grill later? Maybe some macaroni or potato salad?"
"Of course."
"I'm hoping to get these installed today," Marshall said, his face one of concentration and determination.
"They look great. Are you sure we can't reimburse you for the costs of the paint and your time?"
He shook his head. "Nah. This is my thank-you to Blaire for letting us stay here."
Hayden appeared in the doorway. "We're leaving."
"See you later," Marshall said as we walked out.
Outside, Hayden asked, "He wasn’t curious about what we were doing?"
"He was focused on the cabinets." It wasn't like I was taking her to buy alcohol or cigarettes. This was an innocent errand. One I wouldn't hide from Marshall if he asked me about it.
"Thanks for doing this," she said as we got into my vehicle.
