Lover's Rock Leap

chapter 3

After work, Charlie drove Warren and Winnie home as Warren called Salem from the car. Warren sat in the backseat with Winnie, and she leaned against him resting her head on his shoulder.

"Hello?" Salem answered.

"We're on our way home right now." He said, looking down at Winnie.

"Oh good. Did you go to the grocery store yet? Because I forgot to add butter to the list." She replied.

Warren frowned. "No, I forgot about the store completely." He looked up at Charlie in the rearview mirror. "We gotta make a stop at the store."

Charlie saluted him. "Gotcha."

"You still have the list?" She asked. "You still have the money?"

He felt his jacket pocket, pulling out the crumpled yellow page and folded bills. "Still have the list. Still have the money." He confirmed.

"Okay good. And thank you. I was thinking we could just do pizza tonight. It's nothing big, the kids would love it." She reasoned.

"Yeah, yeah, sounds good. I'm gonna call home to check on Grayson." He told her.

"Okay. I gotta go, but I love you." She replied.

"Love you too Sale." he said quickly.

"LOVE YOU SALEM." Charlie called from the front seat, though Warren had hung up.

He dialed up the home phone, waiting through four rings before an answer. "Hello?" Grayson croaked.

Warren jerked his head back in surprise. "Have you been sleeping this whole time?"

"Is Gray okay?" Winnie asked, sitting up.

"I'm all good. I got up for a bit earlier to eat lunch and take some ibuprofen, but I ended up passing out on the couch." He replied.

Warren nodded to himself. "Winnie, Charlie, and I were going to the store before coming home. Salem wants to do pizza for dinner tonight."

"Pizza's good. Did she tell you we needed toilet paper? 'Cause we're on the last roll." He murmured.

Warren looked over his list. "No. But I'll get some. And she told me something else I needed to get; I'll know it when I see it."

Winnie tilted her head up to look at Warren. "She said butter." She mumbled, yawning.

He snapped his fingers. "Butter. Won't forget it again, steel trap." He tapped the side of his head.

"The day your mind becomes a steel trap they'll have genetically modified pigs to fly." Grayson added.

"Okay, love you too." Warren muttered.

"Love you, Gray." Winnie jumped in.

"Winnie says she loves you. We'll see when we get back from the store." He said, letting the call drop.

It wasn't long until they pulled into the store parking lot. A little grocery store just a few streets off from their house, in the same parking lot as a pharmacy, bank, pizzeria, massage parlor, and such.

Charlie paused at the key in the ignition, turning around to face them in the backseat. "Did you want me to just run in?" He asked.

Winnie sat up then, pulling at her buckle. "I wanna go in." she said simply.

"We can all go in." Warren agreed.

Warren helped Winnie out of her buckle, the trio starting into the store. They stopped at the cart corral to grab a red plastic cart with a loose wheel, Charlie holding the cart steady for Warren to lift Winnie into the basket. He shrugged out of his black jacket, laying it on the bottom of the basket for Winnie to sit on.

"Alright, gimme the list." Charlie said, extending his hand as he stood on the back of the cart, pushing him and Winnie aimlessly into the bakery section.

"I..." Warren paused, feeling his pockets for the page, though Winnie had already found it in the pocket of his jacket, handing it to Charlie alongside the grocery money. "I thought I had it. I mean, I knew I did."

"It's okay Ren. Looks like we need milk, eggs, bread, sliced cheese, juice, and tampons. Easy peasy, in and out." Charlie threw the cart into the dairy section, running after it to make Winnie laugh.

"And butter. Salem said don't forget butter." Winnie added.

"Of course, we won't forget anything. Here hold onto this," Charlie opened a cooler door, handing Winnie a pack of stick butter. "And this. And these, don't drop them." He handed her a pack of sliced cheese, turning around to grab two gallons of milk. She was giggling the whole way, setting them down in the cart beside her.

It was a quick trip through the grocery store, running down aisles, Charlie tossing random things to Winnie while Warren tried to keep up. They were laughing the whole way to the car, putting things in the trunk, joking they'd put Winnie in the trunk.

Charlie pointed to the pizzeria. "Should we pick up dinner now?"

Warren looked lost as he nodded. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, let's just get it now." He shrugged.

They crossed the icy parking lot covered in melting snow and sludge, Warren picking Winnie up to avoid the ice. He carried her into the little pizza place, holding her as they stood in line. Three pizzas would take about half an hour, and they decided to wait inside rather than out in their frosty car, though it would keep the groceries fine.

Warren and Charlie coughed up pocket change for Winnie to play at the little arcade dimly lit in the corner beside the counter. They ended up sitting in an empty booth that faced the counter to keep an eye on her.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Warren spoke up.

Charlie nodded once. "Sure. What's up?"

Warren chewed his bottom lip. "You've never like..." He stopped. He wasn't sure how to say what he wanted to say without it coming off as uncomfortable. "Like, you've never had a thing...for my sister, have you?"

Charlie pulled his eyebrows together in bemusement. "I...what?" he sputtered. "I'm dating a Portuguese goddess, and you're worried I'm trying to fuck Salem?"

Warren snapped upright, shaking his head. "No, no, I'm not saying—I know you're with Lena, I just mean in general, you've like...never looked at her...like that."

Charlie sighed, running his hands over his face. "Ren, I've known Salem since she was a kid, man."

"You know what I mean, not when you met her just, I don't know." Warren muttered.

"Rennie, I've never wanted to fuck your sister." Charlie said blatantly. "I've known her since she was like, 8, she's basically my sister at this point. I know she's a very beautiful girl, but come on, she's family."

Warren nodded. "I know, I'm just...I don't know, making sure."

"Making sure of what?" Charlie asked. "That I'm not a creep?"

"Making sure there's nothing else to pile on."

***