Sweet Talk

Last week Erik and I went to the grocery store for a few things. From his perch atop the shopping cart, he worked the crowd at the store, chatting to the ladies in a very different manner than he did the gentlemen. When a man failed to turn his head our direction, he went through his usual routine of replicating the noises an all-terrain vehicle would make, "vroooming" and practically begging for attention. I went about my business plucking items from the displays and shelves, politely nodding and smiling at the new friends we made, feeling another remnant of my shyness shrivel up and fall away, as it tends to do on any public outing with Erik. Remembering how horrified this used to make me feel makes me smile in itself.

In the baking aisle I bent down to grab a package of walnuts. As I did this, I heard Erik greet someone new who had ventured down the same aisle.

"Hi, sweetheart!"

I straightened up and tossed the bag into the cart, turning my face up to see an attractive woman about my age with a surprised, amused expression on her face.

I grinned at her and said, "You'll have to excuse my son. He's a bit forward sometimes."

She giggled as if she had just met Brad Pitt, and we continued on our way, leaving nothing but new friends in our wake.