"Finn, do you think you could go find where they keep the baking powder in this place? This store is just so disorganized. I mean, really. The hot sauces were next to the garbage bags. Where's the logic in that? There is none! Not to mention..."
Rachel continued her ranting about the grocery store's "dismal and impossibly frustrating" set-up to her husband while pushing the cart, which was made somewhat difficult by her protruding belly. Finn absent-mindedly agreed, holding their two year old son, keeping him entertained by making funny faces.
"I'll take a look and see if I can find the baking powder," Finn replied to Rachel's original request, once she had finally finished her spiel, ending on how "alphabetizing salad dressings would be beneficial to shoppers and greatly improve the customer's experience".
"Thanks, babe. Are you going to take Sean with you while you look?"
"What do you say, buddy? Wanna help me find something for mommy?" Finn asked, directing his question to their son, Sean. Sean broke out into a little grin and simply clapped his chubby little hands in response.
"Okay, while you two do that, I'm going to go see if I can find the bread in this God-forsaken place. Honestly, this is the last time we ever try a new grocery store."
"You sure you don't want me to push the cart?" Finn inquired, his brows furrowed in concern, "I don't want you to exert yourself."
"Finn, your concern is endearing, but don't worry, I'm fine. I can certainly handle it."
"Okay, if you're sure. I'll come find you once I have the baking powder."
Finn knew better than to question his wife any further. She was nothing if not determined. Not to mention stubborn. Especially when her pregnancy hormones were in full effect.
Rachel made her way down the aisles of the grocery store, on a hunt for bread. She didn't get very far, however, before she started to turn a corner at the end of the aisle and nearly ran into someone with her cart.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I - "
"Rachel?"
Rachel was mid-apology when she heard that familiar voice and saw the face that belonged to the voice. She immediately froze as she recognized who exactly it was she nearly bowled over.
"Shelby."
"Well, this is quite the suprise," Shelby responded, still slightly startled, "Wow, look at you!" she continued, taking in Rachel's obviously pregnant state, "How far along are you?"
Rachel, getting over the initial shock of Shelby's sudden presence, managed to collect herself.
"Almost eight months," she replied in a somewhat indifferent and cool tone, while placing a hand over her swollen abdomen.
"This is kind of crazy for me to wrap my head around," Shelby said with a light laugh, while looking at Rachel.
Rachel simply nodded tersely, clearly tense. Just as Shelby opened her mouth to say something else, Rachel heard some noise to her left and turned and looked down to the far end of the aisle. Shelby saw Rachel turn her focus and followed Rachel's eyes.
She saw a tall man, holding a young boy in his arms. The boy was pointing at something and began to babble something to the man, who nodded and looked towards where the boy was pointing.
Shelby glanced back over to Rachel who was smiling lovingly at the man and the child. The man turned his head slightly and caught the eye of Rachel, and a dimpled half-grin crept onto his face. He whispered something into the boy's ear, who then whipped his head in Rachel's direction. The boy's face lit up in a smile, much like the man's, and he began to squirm in the man's arms. The man crouched and set the boy down and the young child toddled towards Rachel as fast as his little legs would carry him. The man slowly stood back up, and followed the boy to Rachel.
"Mommy, mommy!" the little boy began to shout as he flung his arms around Rachel's legs, beaming up at her.
"Hey baby," Rachel replied, grinning back down at the boy. At that time, the man had reached Rachel and flashed her a smile, once again picking up the boy when he stretched his tiny hands up to be lifted.
"I found the baking powder. And the bread. They were both next to the canned soup," he said, chuckling lightly. The man turned as he finally glanced over saw Shelby standing there. Shelby quickly took note of him looking curiously at her and realized he likely didn't know who she was.
"Hi there. I should probably introduce myself. I'm Shelby, Rachel's mo-"
"Finn, you remember Shelby? The coach of Vocal Adrenaline? From when we were in high school?" Rachel quickly cut in, speaking to Finn as she shared a meaningful look with him.
Finn held Rachel's gaze a moment longer before he looked away and acknowledged Shelby.
"Yes, I remember Shelby. Nice to see you. I'm Finn, Rachel's husband," Finn replied, not unkindly, as he stuck out his hand.
Rachel, having cut off Shelby quickly and bluntly, left Shelby slightly dumbfounded. But she quickly recovered, shaking hands with Finn.
"Oh, Finn! Of course! Now I recognize you. I thought you looked familiar! You were the male lead in New Directions with Rachel. It looks like things turned out well for the two of you," Shelby spoke, looking between Rachel and Finn, "And who's this little guy?" Shelby asked, smiling at the boy in Finn's arms and looking to Rachel for an answer.
Rachel continued to simply stand there, no longer participating in the conversation, her eyes hard and her lips in a straight, tight line.
"This our son, Sean," Finn answered when Rachel didn't, as Sean sleepily leaned his head against Finn's shoulder.
"He's adorable. He looks just like you, Finn. Except for his eyes. Those are Rachel's eyes," Shelby said brightly, glancing at Rachel. Rachel said nothing, only tensing up further, her poker face still in place.
Finn smiled softly, almost sympathetically, at Shelby at Rachel's lack of response.
"And congratulations to both of you, by the way. Another one on the way," Shelby said, motioning to Rachel's stomach, in an attempt to break the slight awkwardness at Rachel's silence.
"Thank you," Finn replied graciously, for the both of them.
"Do you know the gender?"
Finn paused, quickly glancing at Rachel out of the corner of his eye, before responding.
"A little girl," Finn said somewhat cautiously. He looked back over at Rachel, seeing the a small crack in her mask of indifference, the slightest bit of hurt creeping it's way onto her face; the deeply buried pain of being a daughter without her mother in her life.
"Well that's exciting!" Shelby exclaimed, unaware and unable to see the minute change in Rachel's demeanor at her latest question, "Little girls are definitely wonderful. They're quite the life changers. I know it was for me, anyways," Shelby continued, completely oblivious to the way she was affecting Rachel.
The expression on Rachel's face morphed from hurt to a mix of betrayal and anger at Shelby's words.
"We really should get going," Rachel finally spoke again, her voice blunt, "Sean needs to get home for his nap soon."
"Oh, yeah, for sure," Shelby all but stuttered out at Rachel suddenly speaking again, in that detached tone that was so unlike Rachel, "It was good to see you guys."
"Yeah, it was nice running into you," Finn replied, a tad bit uncomfortable at this point, as Rachel began to turn the cart and push it the other way to leave.
"You seem like you're a great dad, Finn," Shelby spoke directly to Finn, earning her a quick smile, before he turned to follow his wife, "And Rachel?"
Rachel slowly shifted and turned her body to face Shelby as she spoke to her one final time.
"You seem like you're an amazing mother."
Rachel's jaw visibly clenched as she stiffly nodded her head a turned to leave once again, Finn following her while carrying Sean.
Shelby watched them leave, as Finn kissed the top of Rachel's head, murmuring something in her ear, causing her to lean into him while he pulled her closer with his free arm, their son falling asleep in his other. Shelby always thought that when Rachel was sixteen and entered back into her life, that it was already too late; that she'd missed out on too much by that point. But seeing Rachel again, Shelby couldn't help but realize how much she'd truly missed out on.