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August pried his fingers out of the dashboard and checked to see if they left an imprint. Dorothy let her classic car slide to a stop in the icy parking lot of the Walgreens convenience store.
"Crazy women drivers!"
She turned off the ignition and gave him a blank stare.
"What?"
He shook his head in disbelief. They nearly died six times on the way to the store and she honestly had no clue how bad her driving was. Instead of bothering to explain what he knew she would never comprehend he looked across the snowy parking lot. The red glow of the sign bounced off the flakes of falling snow.
"Have you ever even been in a Walgreens, Dot?"
She buttoned up the black and white fur coat.
"There's a first time for everything, darling."
She reached for the door handle but August didn't move. He put his gloved hands under his arms and tried to warm up.
"I'll wait here. Whatever is so urgent we had to risk our lives for I'm sure you can find."
She glared at him.
"I need you to help me."
He unfolded his arms and blew on his frozen fingers.
"It's Walgreen's, Dot. It's not rocket science. It's call commerce. Remember you have to give them money before you walk out of the store with something."
Her eyes turned as cold as the air outside. He ignored her and slouched down in the seat.
"Hurry up, I'm freezing," he added.
She growled and opened the door. He jumped slightly as the car rocked with the force of the slammed door. August watched his wife strut across the parking lot. Her four inch heels and black leather pants caused her some inconvenience as she navigated the snow and ice. August shook his head at the sight. He wished he had a video camera. Too bad no one else was around to see the tall, elegant lady in high heels and diamonds prance into Walgreens in the middle of an epic snow storm. He was sure if there was a reporter nearby she could have made headlines.
He turned on the key she had left in the ignition. He cranked the heat up full blast and pointed all the heat vents toward him. He planned on keeping the heat that way even after Dot got back. Served her right for nearly killing him on the way there.
August leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes. He refused to move until the heat kicked in and unthawed his ears and fingers. With eyes closed he contemplated his wife's behavior.
For the last week Dot had been acting strange. The fact she didn't just ask one of her enormous house staff to make an errand run for her struck him as odd.
Ever since they married, August noticed a distinct softening of her personality. The change came on so gradually he doubted she realized it, but the dark black of her ruthlessness had lightened into a pale gray. From the bits and pieces of overheard conversation he understood her business had not erupted into success as she had been confident it would.
He knew this was in part due to the fact that her normally vivacious business tactics had become less potent now that he was in her life. With his eyes shut and the car slowly warming, August smiled to himself. Inside he felt warm too. His wife was on a new and exciting path. Her potential had no limits now that it was unlocked. August felt partially responsible for helping her find her way. He liked being her conscience.
His turn of thought led to yet another. Maybe she didn't send her servant to the store because she wanted to spare the poor maid a drive on the treacherous roads. Maybe. The possibility helped warm August.
Cruella De Vil stepped through the automatic doors of the store called Wall-Greenbush-Something and brushed the snow from her fur.
She looked around. The cash register was to her left. A lone employee looked up from her cell phone.
"Hi. Welcome." The greeting was less than enthusiastic.
Cruella lifted her nose and ignored the peasant. She walked down the outside aisle and passed a wall of different make up items. Her heels clicked on the tile department store floor. She hated being in a place that attracted so many common people. At least the blizzard kept the store half empty.
She rounded the corner toward the back of the store. Her search reaped no results until she found the row of toothpaste and dental supplies. She suspected she neared her goal. She slowed her walk and the action attracted the attention of another employee. The pimple faced boy looked up from the shelf he stocked.
"Can I help you find something?"
She looked him from head to toe and did not hide her disgust.
"No."
He swallowed. She knew her tone was harsh, but she wasn't about to ask for what she wanted, let alone ask some ugly little teenage boy. Cruella strolled down the aisle of allergy medicine, humidifiers and aspirin. At the limit of her patience she growled and prowled down the next aisle. She finally found the object of her search.
Cruella put her hand on her hip and took in the wide array of choices presented to her. She put her hand over her mouth and narrowed her eyes. Mustering her courage, she reached out and picked up one of the rectangular boxes to examine the fine print.
"Finding everything alright?" Another employee asked.
The unexpected visitor surprised Cruella so much that she dropped the box and stumbled forward. Her gloved hand landed on the shelf. She succeeded in balancing herself but clumsily knocked over half dozen more boxes.
Cruella clenched her teeth and closed her eyes. When she opened them she looked down at the pile of pregnancy tests strewn across the floor. The employee quickly bent down and started gathering up the mess.
"Oh, sorry, hun. I didn't mean to scare you."
Cruella almost never felt embarrassed. At least this employee was a kindly looking middle aged woman. She stood up with her arms full.
"Find what you're needing?"
Cruella smirked.
"I…" she hesitated. The woman shoved the tests back onto the shelf. "I need to get my husband. I refuse to do this by myself. The little… darling, wanted to stay in the car."
The woman nodded.
"Need me to go kick his butt in here?"
Cruella usually hated most people she met. They rarely amused her and almost never understood her. On this rare occasion, Cruella hid a smile at the camaraderie she shared with the older woman. Cruella stroked the fur near her neck.
"No, darling. I'll do it. I'm an expert, actually." Cruella strutted passed the woman and turned.
"But, thank you."
The woman saluted Cruella without making eye contact. With her momentary insecurity now gone, Cruella braved the cold.
August felt himself on the brink of a peaceful sleep in the toasty car. A blast of cold air hit his face and left traces of ice crystals. August jetted alert. He opened his eye and saw his wife towering over him. His other eye opened. She stared him down with savageness in every fiber of her being.
"August, stop being a jackass and get in here and help me!" The wild command might have scared him if he didn't know her so well.
She was his wife, and so the unexpected order irritated him. He sank deep into his seat, with no intention of appeasing her current whim.
"Come on, Dot, pull up your big girl panties. I know you can do it. Buying something at the convenience store is not that hard."
He reached for the door to pull it closed but his wife refused to move. It was then he really looked at her for the first time in days.
"Yes, but I've never purchased a pregnancy test before. Have you, darling?"
Her sarcastic tone was the last thing he heard before the door slammed. His fingers narrowly missed a nasty accident. She left him in the car and walked back toward the store.
He opened the door and started after her. His mind raced. He stopped her by grabbing her arm.
"Dot, are you…?" He tried to read her expression through the flakes of snow. He could not formulate the words.
"Annoyed with you? Yes."
He didn't care if she wouldn't talk to him for a week. Even the thought that she might be…
"Dot. Do you think you are…?"
Her expression softened slightly. He loosened his grip on her arm.
"I'm not sure, darling." Her eyebrows lifted. "Hence the test."
He let go of her and turned a complete circled in the parking lot. His head felt like it might float away with the drifting snow. He started to move in what felt like slow motion but Dorothy did not follow. He turned and gave her a questioning glance.
"If you saw a fully restored classic with the door open, engine running and key in the ignition, would you steal it?" She put her hand on her hip. August narrowed his eyes and then looked around her to the car in the distance.
"Sorry," he said as he passed by her. "I'm a little delirious with excitement."
Her lips curved upward only a little as she looked at him from under her brow. He jumped into the passenger side of the car and reached across to grab the keys. He turned all of the heat vents to the driver's side then locked the door and closed it. When he reached Dot's side he wondered if his wife was really as calm about the whole thing as she appeared to be.
August's stomach twisted into knots of hope, happiness, and fear. He might be about to become a papa. A real papa. He wished his own papa could see him. Geppetto never thought he would have a son. August shook his head. Geppetto would never believe he had a grandson or granddaughter as well.
"What are you thinking?" Dot asked as they entered the store together.
"I wish I could call my papa. Tell him the news… if we have news."
Dot stopped. She blinked a few times as she looked at him.
"I didn't know your father was alive. You said you didn't have family."
August took her hand as they walked toward the back of the store.
"He's not in the picture."
He knew the cryptic comment peaked her curiosity and he scolded himself for even bringing up the subject. He suspected that somewhere down the road Dot would call him out about his papa being alive. Geppetto's life, however, was not the one that concerned August at the moment.
Dorothy stopped in front of a large shelf.
"See. A million options, darling. Which one do you think?"
August brushed passed her and examined the different labels. He tried to read the small print but his head buzzed with excitement. He looked over at Dot and found her deep in concentration over a box as well. August put the carton back on the shelf and left his wife for a brief moment. He found a basket and returned. With no ceremony he tossed about six different cartons into the basket. Dot looked from the basket to his eyes.
"But we only need one." She waived her hand in the air.
"Might as well stock up."
"For what, darling? The baby apocalypse?"
August ignored her comment and took her by the hand. He led her back around the store and to the front cashier. The woman behind the counter put down her phone and looked into the basket. August watched her face turn slightly red as she looked back up at the two of them. Her eyes darted from Dot to August and back to Dot.
"What?" Dot dared the girl to speak.
August wanted to somehow warn the employee not to answer his wife, but his clandestine signals went unheeded.
"This is totally the last thing I would have expected you to buy." The poor kid looked like she regretted the words almost before she finished saying them.
Dot's lips curled into a wicked grin. She placed her gloved hand seductively on August's chest. He saw his own surprise reflected on the face of the person across from him.
"Now, now, don't be jealous." She kissed his cheek. "He's my love slave."
The girl's face turned an even brighter shade of red. August felt sorry for her, so he wiggled free of Dot's hold and picked up the plastic bag.
The employee cleared her throat.
"Twenty four eighty five."
August handed her the bills.
"He's not too bright about money though," Dot gave August a look. She turned back to the cashier. "But I don't need him for his brain."
She winked at August and then strolled out of the store as if she owned the place. August shook his head and met the eyes of the cashier. Dot sufficiently embarrassed all present except herself. August knew she was too self-obsessed to see anything wrong with her behavior.
"She's like that," he offered. "We're married." He flashed his ring and felt a little insulted by the look of shock on the girl's face.
"I'm glad she's not gonna be my mother," the cashier said.
August decided the judgmental cashier deserved the embarrassment. People who insulted his wife never ranked with him.
As he joined Dot in the parking lot he reassured himself that the cashier was wrong. Dot herself was even wrong. In spite of everything indicating otherwise August knew Dot would prove to be a loving and compassionate mother. Not for a moment did he doubt. He was too in love to see anything but his happy ending.