Crowded
Nick, Jackie and the kids had had a great day. They had enjoyed an afternoon at the park, it was the first time that Johnna had been to the park with them. Now the family was at the store so Jackie could buy what was needed to make spaghetti. It was extremely crowded in the supermarket.
"Jackie, I've got to get out of here, I can hardly breathe." Nick said as he held Houston with one arm.
He grabbed Jasmine's hand and turned and walked away, leaving a very surprised Jackie with the basket and the baby. She grabbed Johnna's car seat which was in the back of the basket and went after Nick and the two kids, leaving her groceries behind in the cart.
"Nicky, what was that about, are you alright?" she asked once she had found them in their van.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't take all the people, I felt Closter phobic." He said breathing shallowly.
She finally understood, ever since his kidnapping he didn't like being in small spaces or in large crowds without much room to move.
"You ok?" she asked as she touched his arm gently.
"Yeah, I'm alright. Sorry." He said as his breathing returned to normal.
"It's ok, don't worry about it." She assured him with a smile.
Then she added "Listen, we can either go home and order a pizza, or I can go back into the store and buy just the few things I need to make the spaghetti and you can stay in the car with the kids, it's up to you."
"I'd rather just go home and order pizza." He said.
"Ok, that's fine. On my way home from work tomorrow I'll stop and get the things I need for the spaghetti and that's what we can have tomorrow for dinner." She said.
"Thank you." He said with a smile.
He wished the kidnapping no longer bothered him but it did, certain things would trigger horrific memories, he suspected that he would have to deal with that the rest of his life but luckily for him Jackie was very understanding and also very supportive.
They went home and ordered two pizzas: one pepperoni and one supreme, without mushrooms because Jackie hated them.
After dinner they enjoyed a relaxing night at home as a family. Nick's horrific ordeal didn't cross his mind for the rest of the night!