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“Mooommy!!!!” Nathan screeched in his high chair as Zoe finished taking his food out of the blender. He was still struggling with solid foods a bit, and she didn’t have the time to help him eat, so she figured some blended veggies would hold him over.
“Just a minute sweetheart, mommy’s got your lunch!” Running around the counter, she finished pouring the veggie blend into a sippy cup and handed it to her son. “I’ll be right back down, okay?”
Dex had left his lunch at home that day, and Zoe was in a bit of a rush to bring it to him and run to the store to grab more groceries for the week. Unable to make a trip the day before, she was down to just a few older vegetables and a nearly empty milk jug, and she had put the majority of food left in her husband’s lunch box to make sure he wasn’t working on an empty stomach.
Hurrying up the stairs, Zoe scampered off to their bedroom and threw on a pair of boots. Fall had set in and a cold breeze blew through their town along with a light drizzle. She had made sure to dress Nathan in rain boots and a warm coat. Nabbing her purse and a jacket, Zoe took the car seat on her way back downstairs and ran out to the car to get it set up. The garage doors opened as Zoe unlocked her Bootlegger and locked in the seat. Her thoughts raced back to Nathan as she ran back inside.
“Alright hun, you ready to go meet daddy at work?” Zoe put on as bright of a face as she could, though in reality she was barely holding back her teeth from shifting under stress. Nathan was terrified of his mother when she wasn’t completely shifted, so she resisted doing so around him.
“Yay daddy! We gonna go see daddy!” Nathan clapped his hands excitedly as Zoe picked him up, and with her free hand reached over to take Dex’s lunch box. She glanced back and saw his bottle still sitting Moving her eyes to the clock, she gritted her teeth. Ten minutes till his lunch break.
Zoe carried Nathan to the car and got him buckled up before climbing into the car herself. Turning the car on, she backed out and pressed the remote garage opener to shut it while pulling into the street. She tensely drove to Ultor business building, also the home to the town’s famous bar and grill, “Ornate Dinery,” and pulled into the parking lot, bringing the lunch and her son with her. Nathan fussed in her arms.
“I wanna walk!” He pouted. Zoe groaned a bit.
“Sorry Nathan, but we have to hurry!” She kissed his forehead. “You can walk when we’re leaving, okay?”
“Okay.” He grumbled but ceased fussing in Zoe’s arms. Sighing thankfully, Zoe got into the elevator and went up to the business floor. She bounced on her toes, knowing Dex’s lunch started about five minutes ago, hoping he wasn’t too hungry or upset. After all, when he had called earlier he WAS pretty irritated he had left his lunch at home.
When the doors opened, she walked over to the receptionist desk and the person sitting there looked up.
“Hi, I’m here to see Dex Jackson? I’ve got his lunch box,” Zoe explained, holding up her delivery. The receptionist glanced over at Nathan. “Oh, and I’ve got my son.”
The lady placed a clipboard in front of Zoe and passed her two visitor stickers. “Sign there and head on back. The break room is down the hallway and to the left. You’ll find it easily.”
Zoe smiled. “Thank you.” Grabbing a pen from the tall pebble-filled glass, she wrote down her information on the visitor sheet and went to the door, where the receptionist pressed a button and unlocked the door.
Holding her son close to her as she walked, Zoe headed down the hall and kept her eyes peeled for her husband. As she entered the break room, she looked around until she spotted Dex sitting at a table browsing his phone.
“Hey!” Zoe called out to him and he looked up, a warm smile spreading across his face.
“Hi there!” He said back, obviously looking at Nathan, who reached his little hands out for his father. “Daddy!!” As the three of them got close, Dex took Nathan in his arm and kissed his nose, tickling his chin with his finger, and Nathan giggled. “How’s my little man?”
Zoe couldn’t help but smile, though she rolled her eyes and cleared her throat, holding up his lunch box. Dex smirked and kissed Zoe softly on the cheek. “Thanks Zo.” Zoe flicked his cheek and snickered. “That’s for calling me by a nickname outside the house.”
They went back over to the table Dex had been sitting at and sat down. Unzipping his lunch box, Dex reached in and pulled out the food Zoe had packed for him the night before. Inside he found a turkey sandwich, apple sauce, and a pear.
“Sorry, I was going to head to the store after dropping off your lunch,” she mumbled, placing her hands on the table and fiddling with her fingers. She felt bad she couldn’t give him a more filling lunch and hoped he wouldn’t be grumpy later on a relatively empty stomach. She dropped her head down a bit and shifted her ears under her hair. Dex noticed his wife was upset and he put his other arm around her, giving her another peck.
“Don’t worry about it Zo, I love all your lunches.” Nuzzling her with his head, Dex felt Zoe purr and rub her head against his. Then she poked his side and he awkwardly flinched.
“Like I said, no callin’ me nicknames when we’re not home,” she whispered. Dex simply chuckled softly, kissing her again.