Teen Dad Series

Grocery Shopping (Luke & Asher)

"What do you want for dinner?" Luke stared down at the grocery list in his hand, leaning against the cart's railing. Asher was seated in it, kicking his feet around as he stared at the array of meat in front of him. Usually Luke picked something that he knew for a fact he couldn't ruin, but he wasn't cooking tonight and wanted to give Asher the option of picking. Let Ashton figure it all out. If it was gross, they could just blame him. Asher scanned through the options for a moment, deep in thought. 

"Shrimp!" Asher announced, pointing towards the seafood area.

"You're allergic to shellfish." Luke reminded him, looking up from the list. Asher pouted. "You can pick something else though."

"I've only had shrimp once in my life." Asher mumbled, bowing his head down. "It was really good. I just want to have it one more time. I won't ask again, promise." 

"Yeah, but we had to take you to the hospital, remember?"  Because you're allergic." Luke had the memory burned in his mind. He'd never been more freaked out than the time Asher had stopped breathing after going to some restaurant. The little shrimps had seemed so harmless. Luke thought that the worst they could do was give him bad breath. It had become a lot worse in not a lot of time. "Sorry, but I would like to keep you alive." Now was the time to distract him. Luke gestured towards the hamburgers just in front of them. "We could make cheeseburgers. You love those."

Asher shook his head slowly. "I just want shrimp."

There was nothing Luke hated more than being unable to give Asher what he wanted. The kid was far from spoiled but he also wasn't the type of kid that wanted much anyway. He didn't demand toys or candy constantly. He was generally a pretty satisfied kid. It was just times like this taht made it hard to say no. But there was no possibility of a yes with this. 

He tugged on his beanie and glanced around, trying to think of what to say. There seemed to always be something with Asher that he had no idea what to do. How was he supposed to make this better?

Luke bent down to look him in the eyes. "I know, and I'm really sorry, but we can't buy the shrimp. It's too dangerous. They're not good for you." When Asher didn't respond, he sighed. "I'm not eating them either, you know. So you're not alone or anything. None of your uncles are eating any shellfish. We're in this together, okay?"

"Okay." Asher mumbled. There was a pause of silence and the, "Can we get ice cream?"

"We have popsicles at the house." Luke said, smiling down as Asher's face lit up. "Mikey bought them while you were at your karate class."

"Really?" Asher asked excitedly. "I want that for dinner!"

Luke laughed and ruffled his hair. "Of course you do."