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Andre was a good man, Shirley would swear it on the bible, that her children's father was a good man. He had made mistakes and Shirley had learnt to find peace. It's what the Lord would do, so Shirley forgave with a bright smile on her face and told anyone who cared that she was with a good man.
He was a good man, and sure he was too much of a mommy's boy to stop his mother's passive aggressive comments towards her and he'd never eat all of her baked goods,
“Jesus- Shirley, we don't need more brownies-”
He didn't let her play her gospel as loud as she wanted but he was a good man nonetheless.
But good men had limits like every man did and one of Andre's limits, which had oddly made her mad, is that he would not go grocery shopping with her.
“I don't see why I should go,” he'd said. “You already know what to get, baby, I'd be dragging you behind. You won't need me there.” Shirley liked company. Shirley didn't want to be stared at. Andre knew that.
She'd got annoyed about it and had complained and Andre had looked at her as if she had gone mad, that made her pissed. But she never brought it up again and Andre never offered to go. It wasn't really him that made her mad, it was the fact that Shirley didn't want to buy the amount of goods she bought without a man with a big appetite around to justify it.
She always bought the food she would make for her boys and she'd sneak a tub of ice cream,cookies and any other thing that her mother had said “made her fat” for herself, she presumes someone would think they were for her kids if it wasn't for the way she'd freeze up when the skinny white girl at the cashier, who had a pretty smile and freckles would get to them.
She felt even worse for it when Andre left her for a woman who played temptress with other women's men. The Lord would forgive her for thinking such things. She decided then, after crying about her divorce when the boys weren't around, she'd enroll in Greendale Community College because she didn't want Jordan and Elijah to see their mother putting her energy in hating a man who had moved on and for another reason, she wanted her life back.
*
By 2011, Shirley was happy. She had new friends, friends who loved her even if she spoke sweet words with malice dripping from them. She had another son, which had given her a scare for a while, but it was alright cause she loved him and it was Andre's. Oh, she was also back with Andre.
But it was different now, and she hoped God would forgive her for thinking like this, Andre didn't make her feel as happy as when Jeff Winger would dance with her and twirl her around as if she were a princess, Andre didn't make her feel as happy as when Annie would go with her for manicures, Andre didn't make her feel as happy as when Abed would invite her to watch movies she'd never watched before, Andre didn't make her as happy as when Pierce would take them out for road trips and he'd always pay for their food, mostly out of the need to be better than Jeffrey.
Andre definitely didn't make her as happy as when Britta and Troy would take her grocery shopping.
“God, I hate dairy. Makes me feel sick.” (Lord please forgive her for using your name in vain)
“Are you lactose intolerant?”
“No, thinking about the fact that it comes from animals makes me sick.”
Shirley can practically hear Troy roll his eyes. She's picking out baking ingredients and food for herself and Ben because Andre's out with Elijah and Jordan at his mother's house. Shirley can't stand her. She goes to pick jam for tomorrow's breakfast .
“Sweet! Honey!” Troy goes to reach for it but he's holding their cart in one hand and Shirley's purse in the other. His face turns puzzled and sad.
“Boy, would you go get a bigger cart.” Shirley says, because he's been whining about the cart’s weight but refuses to go get another one because-
“But- it's too far back,” Troy whines that too, “Just give them to me and hurry up.” Britta says, taking the cart away from him. She tumbles to the floor because of its weight and Troy runs for a bigger cart before Britta changes her mind, sliding on the tiles on his way there. Shirley gets the honey for him.
“I wanna make brownies instead, ” Britta says in a tired voice, Shirley shakes her head. “I know what you'll do with them.
” Britta says, “I don't smoke or take weed anymore, ” Britta can't lie, “but- on those rare occasions where I do smoke, I smoke environment friendly ones,” Britta says this with a sense of pride that makes Shirley second guess about teasing her.
“That's nice, Bri-tta,” Shirley sing songs instead, because she can be sweet and life at Greendale has taught her to love more than ever but that doesn't stop her from giggling a bit when Troy runs back with the cart and falls straight on his butt.
*
When they get back to Shirley's house, Britta puts on My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.
“I don't get this cartoon,” Troy says, “Why do the flying ponies decide the weather? Can't the weather decide the weather?”
Britta shrugs, eating some of the chocolate icing, “Britta! Stop that!” Shirley hears the intro song playing and Troy hums along to the tune and Britta sings it aloud in a way that makes it seem that she doesn't know she's singing it
"Big adventure
Tons of fun
A beautiful heart
Faithful and strong
Sharing kin-"
“Applejack's my favourite, ” Troy sighs that out in a blissful way like he can't help it. What a sweet boy. “She's really honest and nice and I- um I don't know.. like.. that? I also think your baby's crying.” he says this all in one breath that it takes Shirley a minute to hear Ben's screaming.
“Oh jeez, Ben, baby!”
*
The cakes in the oven, the icing has already been used due to Britta and Troy sneaking licks when Shirley was distracted.
“Awww, he said my name,”
“He said mine earlier. ”
“Sure, Britta, why would a baby just say your name,” Troy scoffs.
Shirley's trying to hurry with Ben's food because Troy and Britta are fighting while sitting in one chair which definitely does not fit the both of them and Shirley's so very worried they're gonna drop her baby.
“Hey Shirley, you ever wanted a girl?” Troy asks, handing Ben over to her.
“I'm content with my boys…but I've always wanted to braid hair and watch rom coms with a sweet baby girl.”
“Awww, Shirley, I'm right here if you want to,”
“You're not a kid Britta,”
Shirley giggles and shocks herself when it turns into a laugh and soon they're all laughing. She loves the sound, the sound of her laughter mingled with her friends' laughter.
*
The cake almost burns because Britta and Troy are not the right people to ask to set an oven. It's not her best cake, it's a bit burnt and has barely any icing, Troy and Britta eat it like it is anyway.
“I'm so happy you're my friend,” Troy tells her blissfully, his head against her shoulder “You're the best.”
“Oh, that's nice!”
“Andre's a fool if he thinks there's something much better than eating cake with his lovely wife.”
“Oh, that's…nice?”
With her baby in her arms and her friends by her side she thinks for a second that Britta's right. Any man should be lucky to eat her baked goods and any man should be absolutely thrilled to be seen with his wife in a damn supermarket and she thinks she's gonna buy two tubs of ice cream when she goes shopping because a woman who takes care of three kids, cleans the house and her husband deserves to treat herself.
And later that night when Britta texts her saying she loves her with a bunch of cat gifs and Troy sends a picture of Abed eating the leftover cake she packed for him with a toothy grin, she goes and hugs her kids, promises to make them brownies and thanks the Lord because it's what she wants.