“Probably. When do you think you’ll be back?”

If she pushed the speed limit, she could be home in an hour. She would also have to stop at a grocery store or a drugstore to have a bag with something in it when she returned.

“About forty-five minutes.” Tori knew he was not going to wait more than a half hour, so forty-five minutes was a safe time frame. If he was still home, she could always say she had gotten stuck behind a slow-moving vehicle. They had a lot of them where she lived. Tractors, mobile homes, wide loads. All common in that area.

“OK. If you’re gonna be that long, I’ll head over to Ringo’s now,” he said, his tone of voice signaling his indifference.

“Have fun.” Tori squeezed out her best attitude. She was truly relieved she could postpone the conversation, at least for a while. She showed no signs of being six weeks into her pregnancy, so she had a little time. Time to think. Something she had neglected to do a long time ago.

Tori took the next opportunity to make a U-turn and head home. She did a mental inventory of the refrigerator and the pantry. There were a few things she could use. Thirty minutes later, she was pulling into a supersized grocery store. It was three times the size of the one closest to home. She pulled into the massive parking lot and found a spot close to the entrance. It was nearly six. Dinnertime for most people, which meant the store wasn’t crowded. She grabbed a shopping cart, walked through the automatic doors, and pulled a sanitary wipe from the large dispenser that held a sign that read:

SAFETY STARTS HERE

She wiped the handle of the cart and continued into the large, well-lit store. It was like being in an amusement park for foodies. She was dazed for a moment, not being able to remember what she actually needed. The place made you think you needed a whole lot of everything.