Meeting in the grocery store

Gabriella's point of view


I had just entered the nearest grocery store, because I needed some last minute supplies for my girls' night in with my four best friends, Cate, Shar, Kels and Tay. I had everything, except the ice cream, which was a definite must in my friend group. Shar would go nuts if she didn't have cookie dough ice cream.

So I walked over to the frozen good aisle and when I arrived there I saw two little boys just standing there without parents. The oldest couldn't have been older than seven and the youngest boy, who looked really scared couldn't have been older than four, maybe five. I was wondering where their parents were, because I couldn't find any adults around them. They were looking scared and lost and I couldn't just leave them like that and decide to walk over to them and help them find their parents.

I slowly approached and decide to introduce myself first.

"Hi, I'm Ella. What are your names?" I asked both boys in a calm and soothing tone. I don't think they were really scared of me, because I didn't look different from most people. I had long curly dark brown, almost black hair, which goes to the middle of my back and dark chocolate eyes. I was wearing dark blue jeans with a plain green t-shirt. My voice was very soft while I was speaking to the boys.

Then the oldest boy decided to answer the question.

"I'm Brady and this is my little brother, Luke" the oldest boy said.

"Hi, Brady! Hi, Luke! Do you know where your mommy and daddy are?" I asked them, trying to keep them calm, until I could find their parents.

"I don't know where daddy is." Brady said and I could hear the panic in his voice.

"Brady, it's okay. Do you know where your mommy is?" I asked, because he didn't say anything about his mother and it is possible that the boys don't know their father.

"Mommy left long ago" Brady said in a sad voice. "She didn't want us anymore!"

When he said that I was really shocked. Which mother wouldn't want these two handsome little boys, who were so adorable, so friendly and so well-behaved from what I could see at first view?

"So, you are here with daddy?" I asked them and they both immediately nodded yes with their little heads. So, they did still have their father, they just lost him in the store. I decide to just go looking for him with the boys.

"Come on! Let's find him and bring you boys back to him. He must be worried. Where did you last see him?" I asked.

"In the store, in the cookie aisle. We wanted ice cream. We lost our daddy when we came here." Brady explained to me in a sad voice.

"It's okay! We will find him." I said soothingly.

"What does your daddy look like?" I asked them

"Daddy has blue eyes and brown hair and he is very tall." Brady said

"Okay! Let's go now!" I said.

I extended my hand to the boys and Luke, the youngest, grabbed it immediately. Brady hesitated for a second, but then he grabbed my other hand. We walked through the story, first going back to the cookie aisle, but we couldn't find the father of the boys there. Then we walked to the other aisle, but we couldn't find him. After five minutes I decided to go to the register to ask the person at the counter to call for their father.

A few seconds later I heard the intercom come on;

Shoppers, can we please have your attention. We are looking for the father of two little boys, Brady and Luke. They are lost and are looking for their daddy! Please come to register one, where they will be waiting for you! Thank you for your attention!

A few minutes after the announcement was made, a young father came looking for the boys. He had three little girls, two little baby girls in a stroller, who couldn't be older than four months old and one little girl, that couldn't have been older than two, maybe three. His breathing was heavy and he had a frantic look on his face. He had clearly been running and he was definitely worried about his sons.

"Brady! Luke! Where have you guys been?" he asked them and I could only hear worry in his voice, not anger. Brady immediately let go of my hand and ran to his father, but Luke kept clinging to my hand.

"Daddy, we were looking at the ice cream. When we turned we didn't know where you were. And then this pretty lady found us and helped us! We looked, but couldn't find you." Brady rushed out.

The father looked up at me and his piercing blue eyes bore into my chocolate brown ones. I felt a spark shoot through me. He was looking at me and Luke and he had a questioning look on his face, directed to his youngest son. I don't know what that's all about, but maybe the fact that Luke still hadn't let go of my hand.

"Hello. My name is Troy. Thank you for helping my boys, euh…" he introduced himself.

"Hi! I'm Gabriella. And you are welcome. They were just standing in the frozen goods aisle and they were looking quite scared and lost and I couldn't just leave them there in full blown panic." I explained.

"Thank you so much Gabriella." he said. "I'm quite surprised that Luke is still holding on to your hand. He is very shy and he doesn't take to other people fast. If I had suspected someone to run to me it would have been Luke and not Brady. He doesn't really like strangers and the only people that can touch him are me, his grandmother and grandfather from my side of the family and my best friend since childhood, Chad." Troy explained his strange look at Luke holding my hand.

"Well, they are both sweethearts. Actually, it was Luke, who was the first one to take my hand. Brady was more hesitant." I said.

"Even so, thank you so much. I just turned around for one second to tend to Hayley and when I turned back they were gone. I was panicking and trying to find them, but wherever I looked I couldn't find them anywhere." he explained.

"It must be difficult raising five kids on your own and to take them all to the store. I'm glad I could help you find them, but I should let you go now. You probably need to get the kids home." I said.

"Yes, I probably should. The girls need their bottles soon and if I don't get them home in time they going to cry." he explained and then he turned to his youngest son "Lukie, can you come to me. The lady has to go home and so do we." he said, but that only made Luke cling harder to my hand.

"I guess your son has a different idea. He is squeezing my hand tighter." I said. Then I turned to the little boy. "What's wrong Luke? Why won't you go to daddy?" I asked

"I wanna stay with you. You saved me!" Luke said in a super sweet voice.

"Oh, Luke! I helped you because you lost your daddy, but you can't stay with me, your daddy would miss you very much." I explained to him, but the only reaction he had was to squeeze my hand even harder.

I looked at Troy and silently told him that he wasn't going to let go of my hand.

"I know she helped you Luke, but you can't stay with the lady. We have to go home to grandma and grandpa and uncle Chad. Don't you want to see them?" Troy asked the little boy.

Luke seemed to contemplate what his father said, but suddenly he screamed.

"No, no, no, no! You can't leave me too. I wanna stay with you. Please don't leave me too!" he screamed.

That really shocked me and I think Troy was shocked too. I don't think he really coped with his mother leaving them and not caring about them. He may be young, but that doesn't mean he doesn't experience his mother's rejection. He had become really attached to me in this short period of time. I saw the look of confusion on his father's face and he looked at me with a look of desperation on his face.

I looked back at him.

"Troy, do you have anything to do?" I addressed Troy

"No, I just needed these groceries and then we only need to go home for dinner." he answered me.

"Do you mind if I take you all to McDonald's?" I whispered to Troy. He nodded his head and I decided to address the little boy.

"Luke, do you want to go to McDonald's?" I asked the little boy. "Then you can play a little and you don't have to leave me just yet, but after that you have to go home, because you have to sleep at home." I just wanted the little boy to stop crying and be happy again. I already felt a connection to the little boy and I didn't want to see him get more hurt.

The father looked relieved when Luke immediately stopped crying and agreed to go to McDonald's.

We were still standing at register one and Hayley came over to me.

"Can I hold your hand?" she asked in a very quiet, but sweet voice.

I was really touched by her question and of course I wouldn't mind that she held my hand. The kids were all just so sweet and nice.

"Sure sweetie, you can hold my hand!" I said and I immediately saw her face light up.

She came over and took my free hand. With these two little kids, one on each hand, Brady holding on to the stroller and Troy pushing it, with the twin girls inside, we walked out of the store and went to McDonalds. When we arrived there, we were very lucky, because there weren't many people present in the place.

I just decide to ask them what they wanted to eat and get it for them.

"Okay, guys! What do you want to eat?" I asked them. I immediately got different answers from the kids.

"Nuggets!" Hayley and Luke yelled, while Brady yelled "Burger".

"Fine, why don't you go play for a while and I'll get the nuggets." I said and the kids let go of my hands and they ran to the playground and started going down the slides and into the pool with the colored balls in it.

I turned to Troy to ask him what he wanted.

"So, what do you want, Troy?" I asked.

"Oh, it's fine. They are my kids and I should go and get the food, as well as yours for finding the boys." Troy argued.

"You don't have to do that. It's fine. It was my suggestion and I should go and get the food. You didn't plan to come here and I asked them if they wanted to go. Just let me get them and you the dinner. I argued back.

"Gabriella, Luke didn't want to let go of you. If you hadn't suggested this, we would still be in the store. Luke would be crying, Hayles would become cranky, because she doesn't like to go to the shops and Izzie and Danni would become hungry, because it's been a while since they last had their bottle." He argued back again.

I noticed that he wasn't going to bend to my will and decide to just take the easy way out and give in.

"Fine you go" I relented.

"So, Bella, what do you want to eat?" he asked me. I noticed the new nickname and I was actually glad that he had given me a different nickname. I had never heard Bella before. Shar always said Gabi-Ella, Kels always used Gabi, Cate used Gabs and Tay also used sunshine to address me, while Chad always said Gabster, Zeke Gabs, Jase used Elle and Ryan used sing star to address me.

"Well, I always take the chicken nuggets as well." I said.

"Okay, I'll go and be right back." he said and with that he left.

I searched for a table and took the stroller to sit on the table, near the playground, where I could look after the kids, until their dad was back. It had been five minutes or something like that when one of the twins started to cry. I immediately took the girl out of the stroller, trying to calm her down, while keeping the other twin sleeping. I think she was hungry, because Troy it had been a while since she ate. A couple of minutes later Troy came back and found me with one of the twins in my arms. He looked confused and there was another emotion as well, but I couldn't really figure it out.

"What's wrong?" he asked me concerned.

"I don't really know. She woke up and started to cry. I think she might be hungry, because you said it had been a while since she last ate, so maybe that's what's wrong." I said really fast.

"Yeah, she probably is." he said and he set the food down for the kids and yelled for the kids to come eat their food and they immediately came to the table, sat down quietly and started eating their food.

"Do you have a bottle in their diaper bag?" I asked.

"Yeah!" he said, looking at me confused.

"Why don't you go and ask the person at the counter if they could heat it up. They should have something where they can heat the bottle up." I explained myself.

"Oh, sure!" he said and he walked back to the counter.

The kids were finished with their food and had gone back to the playground and I had finished my meal as well. A couple of minutes later, Troy came back with a heated bottle and wanted to take the girl out of my hands, but I thought it was better if he ate his dinner.

"Why don't you eat your dinner and I'll give her the bottle?" I asked.

"Sure, if you want to!" he said back

"Yeah, I don't really mind and otherwise your food will be cold." I said and took the bottle from him. I gave the bottle to the little girl in my arms and she immediately started to eat her food.

When Troy was finished we started a conversation between us, trying to get to know each other.

"So, the only thing I know about you is your name? What else can you tell me about yourself?" he asked me.

"Well, let's see. I am Gabriella and I turn twenty-one on 14th December. I was born in California and moved to Albuquerque when I was five, after my dad died in a car-accident. I lived with my mother, until I moved back to California to go to Stanford. I skipped a few grades in middle and high school and at university and that is why I am going to start my internship at the hospital in February, because I decided to take a few months of, before starting. I coupled pre-med with English literature and creative writing and I wrote a book, that became a bestseller, but I used a nickname to publish it, to keep my privacy. I am currently working on my second book. My favorite food is mac and cheese; my favorite colors are blue, green, lavender, yellow and yes, even pink. My favorite movie is A Walk to Remember and my favorite book series is Twilight and the classics. Well, I think that's it. What about you?" I asked.

I can't believe I already said that much about me to a practical stranger, but I just felt so comfortable in his company that I couldn't but just be honest with him and say as much as I could to him. If he asked questions I would probably answer them as well.

"Well, let's see." He mocked me. "I am Troy and I am turning thirty-one on 18th October. I was born in Albuquerque and I moved to Los Angeles for my job as an LA Laker when I turned 18 and I haven't left LA since. I live with my children and my best friend Chad, who helps me with the kids. My parents live next door. I married my ex-wife when I was twenty years old, four years later Brandon (Brady) was born, followed by Lucas (Luke) three years later, then Hayles (Hayley) two years later and four months ago Isabella (Izzie) and Daniela (Danni) were born. My ex-wife, Addison, left me and the kids just two days after the twins were born and it came out that she had been cheating on me ever since we were married. I had finished college with a business degree and a degree in education, via online courses. I am still with the Lakers, but I don't know for how long and then I really want to become a coach at a high school. I don't really have a favorite book or movie, but anything Disney goes in my household. My favorite food, and don't laugh, is mac and cheese, my favorite colors are brown and blue, because those are the colors of my children's eyes. And I think that's it!" he finished.

Oh, wow, he really explained a lot about himself. I didn't know he was famous. I think he must feel comfortable with me as well.

"So, who looks after the kids when you have practice or when you are playing games?" I asked. I am just too curious for my own good.

"Well, my mom has been looking after them, when I have practice, but most of the time it's late in the evening and mom comes over, because the kids are already asleep and when I have games dad takes Brady, Luke and Hayles to the game, while mom stays home with the twins, because I don't want to expose them to the outside world yet.

"That's a really good arrangement you have there!" I said.

"Yes, I know. I am very lucky to have parents that can help me with everything, because I don't think I could manage to do this on my own." he explained.

"If you ever need help, I am always willing to help. I already love those kids and I can't explain what happened when I first saw the boys, but I just feel a pull towards your entire family. I am so sorry. You don't want to know all this and you probably think I am some sort of stalker or sick person." I said to him.

I really can't explain it. I just felt an electric pull towards this family and I really wanted to help them with everything and make it easier on him. Maybe part of it was because I have never had a traditional family with a mom and a dad. My dad died on my tenth birthday and the older I get the more I forget about him and that's something that is killing me. I never had any siblings, just always best friends, until I had to move again. It was always me and mom, until we moved to Albuquerque and we settled down here and I had a steady group of friends. And I think seeing this big family without a mother and the love the father had for his kids sucked me in. It's really difficult to explain, but that is something that I am experiencing now.

"No, I really don't think so. I actually had the same feeling towards you. I felt an immediate pull towards you and I can't explain it either. It seems that Luke and Hayles already love you, that's very clear. Especially for Luke, this is strange, because he doesn't really like to be touched by strangers, only my mom, dad, Chad and I can touch him. Hayley is very and she doesn't talk much and Izzie doesn't want her bottle from anyone except me and sometimes my mom. She is very picky on the people that can feed her." he explained.

Wow. This is just strange. We both feel this special electric pull, we can't seem to explain and the kids already feel comfortable around me. I thought that maybe they were used to strangers, because of their father's work.

"Thank you. It's just a bit weird, the way we both feel this pull!" I said to him. "I shall get your kids and then I'll leave you to go home, because I think they are way past their bedtime. It's already 10 pm." I explained. "And the girls must be wondering where I am and where their food is." I joked.

"Oh, I'm sorry to have kept you so long. I didn't know you had to go to your friends' home." he said.

"Don't worry about it. I didn't tell you for a reason and I don't have to go to my friend's house. I live with those girls and they can wait! Normally I am the only one at home: Tay is with Chad, while Shar is with Zeke and Kels goes to Jase, while Cate goes to Ryan." I explained to him. "I can be late for once; they'll just have to deal with it." I finished.

He got this strange look on his face, like he was confused and contemplating something.

"Wait, back up. Your friends are Taylor McKessie, Sharpay Evans, Kelsi Neilson and Caitlyn Scott?" he asked.

"Yes, we have been best friends since I moved to Albuquerque and was moved up a few grades in middle school and we all came here for college." I explained to him. "How do you know them?" I asked.

"I know them because they have been my best friends since diapers. We went to kindergarten, elementary school, middle school and high school together and then we moved here for college. We always played basketball together and now we are all playing for the same team." He explained. "So, how is it possible that are best friends have been together for four years and counting and we have never met each other!" he asked.

"Well, they always go out on Friday night and I could only come on the first Friday, because I have dance lessons and competitions on Friday and Saturday." I said.

"Well, that explains something, because I could only go out on the last two Fridays of the month. I had an arrangement with my wife, that she got the first two Fridays and I got the last two Fridays of the month to go out with my friends, while she was looking after the kids." He explained. "So, you are the girl the girls are always talking about. Ever since my ex-wife left us, they have been talking about you and trying to get me to go out on the first Friday of the month so I could meet you." He further explained.

"Well, maybe you should come next Friday, so we could play a little joke on our friends. After all they have been trying to hook us up ever since your divorce, only we never played along with their games and we never met before. I'm so curious about what they would say if they knew we have met each other without them." I said.

"Yes, I'd love to join you to get back to them! They were really annoying and bugging me the entire time about coming. Now that I met you, I'd really like to get to know you better, because I really feel this magic pull towards you!" he said.

"Yes, me too! Me too!" I said.

AN

This was the first chapter of the new story. Hope you liked it!