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Coconut flour, vitamin e, almonds, what were you forgetting? Your daughter ran ahead of you and ran down an isle. She loved Whole Foods and couldn’t resist running around. You followed her and watched as she grabbed a box of cereal off of the shelf. She quickly held it up to you with that cute little grin on her face, “yummies?” You scrunched your nose and tried to be nice, “Sorry sweetie, we still have the last cereal you picked at home, remember?” She looked disappointed and went to go put the cereal back. She started running off again and you followed behind her. Then you heard her yell, “DADDY” and you took off to go grab her. You were a single parent since the father didn’t want to be in the picture and your daughter often complained about wanting a dad.
You turned the corner of the aisle and saw your daughter running towards a strange man. You left your cart, took your purse, and started sprinting towards her. By the time you had reached her she was already latched on to the man’s leg. He was looking down at her and laughing, “where are your parents?” You grabbed onto her and pried her off of him, and then held her hand.
“I am so sorry sir, she’s just a little hyper and-”
He shrugged and chuckled, “Hey it’s no big deal, kids will be kids.”
“Sweetheart, can you apologize to this man?”
“It’s uh- it’s Calum actually.”
She looked up at him and smiled, “Sorry Cow-um”
He looked over at you and laughed, “Close enough for me. Thank you munchkin.”
“That’s what mommy calls me!”
Calum raised an eyebrow at you, “Really?”
You grinned, “She’s my munchkin.”
Just then your daughter tugged at you hand, “Mommy, I’m hungry.”
Calum took this opportunity right away, “Well, would you guys maybe want to grab lunch at the restaurant when you’re done shopping?”
You, thinking he looked sweet and trustworthy decided that this wasn’t a bad idea. You finished your shopping and he finished his. After you had both taken your groceries outside, you met back inside to eat lunch together. You ordered mac and cheese for the kiddo, and sushi for yourself. Calum ordered himself some hot wings, not even considering the fact that it’d be a tad more messy than he’d prefer. As you got to know each other you realized that you had a lot in common. And he seemed to get along really well with your daughter. He helped her with a word search and coloring and she loved him.
As you were eating, Calum dropped a hot wings straight down the front of his crisp white shirt. He turned a tinge red and did his best to clean it up with his napkin. Your daughter immediately saw this and whispered to him, “It’s okay, I do that too.” He laughed off the situation and continued to talk to you about where you were from and things of that nature.
“So, what was it that your mom calls you again?”
She said in a chipper tone, “Munchkin!”
He stroked his chin in a ridiculous manner and glanced over at you, “Ah, yes, hmm, so when can I call your mom again?”
You blushed and looked over at your daughter who was smiling and waiting for you to answer, “How’s Tuesday night?”
Calum’s eyes lit up and he said happily, “Tuesday sounds great.”