“No, I didn’t ask him to. This was kind of my idea anyway, and he’s so excited about his upcoming trips. Although, he and Sasha seem to be getting along well, which makes this a whole lot easier. Since I took the reins on this one, I was worried if things wouldn’t go smoothly…” She trailed off for a moment and then pivoted. There wasn’t enough time for her to really delve into all of that anyway. “It’s just a complicated situation, as you know, and so there were a lot of ways that this sort of thing could go wrong.”
Joshua nodded. “I understand. But if there were any two people who could figure it all out, it’s you and David.”
“You think?”
“I know,” he insisted. “I’ve always really respected the way the two of you have navigated your relationship over the years. I know of a lot of couples who wouldn’t be able to do what you guys have. It could be really messy, but instead you handle things well. Like two people who, genuinely care about each other.”
She felt her face warm from the compliment. “Thanks for saying that. It hasn’t always been easy, but I do think we’ve done better than expected. And when it comes to Sasha, it’s not like I need help from David, so he’s welcome to leave on his various trips without feeling guilty or anything. Sasha’s a very responsible young woman and her baby is a joy. Things are going just fine… for now.”
He raised a brow. “Why do you sayfor now?”
“Well”—she chewed the inside of her lip—”the kids are all coming home for Thanksgiving… And they don’t exactly know about Sasha... Or rather, I haven’t talked to all of them about it. I’m not sure who knows what at the moment, to be honest, and I’m worried how they’re going to react.”
“I’m sure they’ll be thrilled about the idea,” he said confidently. “Why wouldn’t they be? This is a good thing you’re doing, a great way to help someone in need, so what could they have against that?”
“It’s just… there are some things about the situation that I know my kids are going to have issues with.” She waved it off. “But I don’t mean to take up so much of your time complaining. You’ve got vegetables to sell, and I should get back to the car. How much do I owe you?” She glanced over her shoulder, but there weren’t any other shoppers trying to get his attention. She liked talking to Joshua.
“For the stuff in the box? Nothing. That’s on the house.”
“Not that I really have time to argue with you.” She gave him a look. “But Joshua, you have to stop giving me free stuff. It can’t be good for business.”
“I’ll decide what is and is not good for my business, thank you very much,” he said. “And since the first day you came to my little booth here, you’ve been one of my best, most loyal customers. Over the years, you’ve spent more than enough money here, which is why I insist on giving you some free stuff every week. If you don’t like it, then I guess you’ll just have to stop dropping by.”
She smirked. “Aww, I couldn’t do that. You’d miss me too much.”
He chuckled and shook a finger at her. “You know what? It’s true. I’d be sad if you stopped coming by....” A gentle smile formed in his eyes. “Seeing you is my favorite part of every market.”
Blushing, she glanced away. But her eyes widened when she spotted Sasha standing just a few feet away, staring drop-jawed at them.
Oh no. How long had she been there?
What had she heard?
“Uh, well, anyway,” Callie said nervously, taking a step back. “It was good to see you. Thanks for the veggies and I hope you sell out the rest of your stuff.”
He furrowed his brow a bit, clearly confused by Callie’s quick shift in demeanor. “Yeah, that’d be great. It’s never happened before, but I suppose there’s a first time for everything.”
She forced a laugh and shot another look in Sasha’s direction. The young woman hadn’t moved. “Right. I sort of just said that without thinking. But who knows? Maybe today is the day. I’ll—I’ll see you around.”
“See you next week?”
She nodded, but then said, “Uh—maybe. Maybe not. I’m not sure what my schedule looks like. Sorry, I have to go. Bye!” She rushed over to Sasha and hooked arms with her. She dragged Sasha away from the booth and towards the parking lot. “Hey, what’re you doing here? I thought you were waiting for me by the car!”
“David was worried you might’ve gotten sucked into a conversation with a friend or something,” she said.
Callie scoffed. “It’s been, what? Five minutes. I was on my way.”
“I’m just relaying the message,” Sasha said. “According to him, you’re known towander.” She put a strange kind of emphasis on the last word, signaling to Callie that she’d heard enough of her conversation with Joshua to make a couple unsavory assumptions.
Gulping down her anxiety, Callie did her best to laugh along like everything was okay. “Okay, fine. He’s notcompletelywrong in saying that. I can get easily distracted, and I like to stop at almost all the booths. But really, there’s no reason for him to act like it’s some kind of crime! I have a lot of friends who are vendors here and I like to catch up with them.”
“Like that guy back there?”
“Joshua?”
“If you say so.”
There was no mistaking Sasha’s tone. The young woman was convinced she’d seen Callie doing something wrong, and Callie was going to have to work a little harder to ease her concerns.
