Baby and Me by Sheri McComb

I stood in the frozen food section thinking about the irony of buying frozen food when it was like the frozen tundra outside. The forecast for Michigan was 12-14 inches of snow with high winds. It was supposed to start around noon, but as usual the weatherman was off by several hours and it had started early this morning. I looked at my phone to check the time. Crap! I had to hurry if I was going to make it home in time to watch the game. My boyfriend Chad and I were having some friends over to watch the MSU vs. UM game. Both of us were huge basketball fans. This was the big rival game of my alma matter MSU and his, UM. We had a great group of friends who were split on who they rooted for and we always had fun watching together. I was in charge of buying the beverages and had stocked up on beer and wine earlier in the week. Chad was in charge of getting the food and snacks and of course, had forgotten all about it. Hence, here I stood staring into the freezer trying to decide between chicken wings and mozzarella sticks. Chad was home cleaning up our messy apartment. My head bopped to the music I was listening to in my earbuds. Tunes made grocery shopping more fun. I had stood in the chip aisle changing my Spotify list and had lost track of time. I glanced into my cart to see what I had picked up. Dorito’s, Chips, Oreo cookies, and pop so far. I still needed to get some dip for the chips. I finally grabbed both the wings and the cheese sticks (you can never have too much of either, right?) and tossed them in my cart. I wandered over to the dairy aisle to grab the dip. Thinking I was done I headed up toward the check out lanes. I could see through the big windows at the front of the store that the storm was ramping up. It looked like a sea of white out there with the wind blowing the snow sideways. I hoped my Sorrento would make it through that snow. Thank God for four-wheel drive. I stopped on my way to the cash registers when I saw an end cap with M & M’s on it. That would make a cute snack since Michigan was the theme of the game today. Smiling to myself I picked up a bag of plain and a bag of peanut M & M’s. Tossing them in with the other goodies I wheeled around and pushed my cart to the front of the store. Just then, the music stopped and my earbuds went silent. I looked at my phone and could see I’d lost my internet connection. It was then that I felt like something was off. It seemed kind of dark, but maybe that was from the storm outside. I got to the front of the store and looked around. I was expecting to see lines, but I didn’t see any. In fact, I didn’t see anyone. ‘That’s weird,’ I thought to myself. ‘Where is everyone? I haven’t been here THAT long.’ I pulled my earbuds out.

           “Hello?” I called feeling silly. “I’d like to check out please.” All I heard was the wind outside. What the hell? 

           “Hey!” I yelled louder. “Is anyone here?” I walked back and forth looking down aisles for a check out person. “C’mon! I need to get going!” I was getting irritated now. I walked over and peered out the window again at the front of the store. I couldn’t see any cars, but that didn’t mean much because I couldn’t see ANYTHING. The window fogged up with my breath. I abandoned my cart and started walking up and down aisles. No customers and no employees to be found. I started to panic a little bit wondering if I was in the “Twilight Zone” and aliens had taken everyone. Chad and I joked sometimes about one or the other being left behind when the end of the world came. I didn’t see any clothes or fillings on the floor so that probably wasn’t it. I laughed at myself. I didn’t believe in aliens and I was pretty sure the rapture hadn’t occurred.

           I finally walked to the back wall of the store where the “Employees Only” sign was in front of the stockroom. Feeling like an imposter I walked through the curtain. There were boxes stacked haphazardly and a forklift sat off to the side. 

           “Hello!” I yelled again, exasperated. I looked in every corner of the back room, the restroom, and everywhere I could access and there was not a soul there. I stood there trying to come up with a plausible reason why I would be the only one in the store. I took my phone out of my pocket to check Twitter and Snapchat, then remembered I had no service.

           They had to have closed the store because of the weather. Okay, that’s what I get for wearing earbuds in the store. I must have missed the announcement, but how in the hell did they not know I was still in here? Who was the dumbshit employee who was supposed to make sure everyone left before closing? I’d fire his ass. 

“Well, I guess we’ll have to have liquid refreshments during the game and no snacks. Screw it. I’m taking the food. That’s what they get for leaving me in here,” I thought to myself. I was bagging up my food when I thought I heard a noise. I froze, straining to hear. Yes! A baby was crying somewhere in the store. That meant I wasn’t alone! I dropped my bags on the check out counter and jogged toward the sound. I rounded the corner of the diaper aisle ready to hug the mother of that baby, stranger or not, but pulled up short when I saw no mother in that aisle. What I DID see was a baby seat, the kind with the handle, sitting on a cart with a not-very-happy infant in it.

           “Hello!” I yelled starting to feel like this was the only word in my vocabulary. I walked up to the baby, getting a glimpse of two little fists pounding the air and a little red face screaming. The baby looked to be about 3 months old. I only knew this because I had a niece the same age. I assumed it was a girl by the pink blanket and purple sleeve I could see every time she shook her little fist. 

           “Hey, little one,” I said in a soothing voice. “Where’s your mama? You can’t be here alone.” I jiggled the carrier a little bit and the baby didn’t stop screaming, but at least brought it down to a quieter cry. She stared at me, a lone tear running down her face, probably wondering who in the hell this stranger was. I stroked her hand and she stopped crying, yawning instead. 

           “Oh, you’re tired,” I said pushing the cart around the corner. Looking both ways and seeing nothing and no one I finally came to the realization that I was the only one here. This was the most bizarre thing that had ever happened to me and I wasn’t liking it. Who leaves their baby in a store? Did the mother forget her or do it on purpose? I started thinking about the implications for the baby if I hadn’t been listening to music and had left with everyone else. 

           “Well, shit . . . I mean shoot,” I said looking at the baby guiltily. I guess she was too young to know what I was saying, but the habit of watching my language around children was drilled into me by my sister who had three kids. 

           The baby started to cry again reminding me why I didn’t want children for a long, long time. I looked in the cart to see if there was a diaper bag or anything, but all I saw were food items and baby items not yet paid for. Thinking maybe she’d stop crying if I picked her up, I unbuckled her from the carrier and gently picked her up. She smelled like baby powder and I put her over my shoulder and patted her back.

I felt weird holding some stranger’s baby, but would be thrilled if the parents came running to accuse me of kidnapping. That was an empty hope, because no one did. I caught a whiff of urine and had an aha moment. She was wet and needed changed.

 “Guess I’m changing a baby,” I thought. I walked over to the shelf and perused the diapers. I grabbed a box of Pampers for 3-month-old babies. I awkwardly tossed them into the cart with one hand and dragged the cart to the front of the store. I grabbed the pink blanket and spread it on an empty check out counter. I laid the baby on it and ripped open the diaper box. I unsnapped the sleeper the baby was in and changed the diaper like a pro. I held the wet diaper away from me distastefully and finally dropped it in the wastebasket under the cash register. The entire time I was changing her, the baby stared at me with her blue eyes. She was a beautiful little thing and I wondered again what kind of mother she had. I was going to call CPS the first chance I got. Call CPS. What a dumbass I was. I had my phone and didn’t even think about texting or calling anyone. I pulled it out of my pocket and hit speed dial for Chad. Beep, beep, beep I heard the no service tone. I looked at my phone and hit speed dial again with the same result. Done with it all, I hit 911 and put the phone to my ear. Beep, beep, beep. Are you kidding me? I tried to text Chad and several other people and none of them went through. Chad must be worried about me. It was hours past when I should have been home. 

           The baby was still watching me and put her fist in her mouth. She started to fuss again and I had the feeling she was probably hungry. This was not my day. Feeling sorry for myself I picked her up and went back to the cart with her carrier in it. As I strapped her in, she began crying in earnest.

           “Shh, shh, shh,” I said as I pushed her to the baby food aisle. Looking at all the different formulas I was at a loss. Then I noticed the can of powdered formula in the cart that the unfit mother of this baby was going to buy. 

           “Thank God for small favors,” I said as I read the back. It was obvious I was going to need a bottle and water. I walked through the baby section of the store until I saw bottles and grabbed one off the shelf. I pushed the cart back to the stock area where I had been before. There was a breakroom that I had peeked in when I was looking for life forms. I took the cart into the breakroom and talked to the baby while I washed the bottle.

           “So, you and me are stuck here together. My name is Jenna and I’m going to call you Baby since I don’t know your name. I’m making you a bottle so just be patient.” I finished mixing the formula and popped it in the microwave for a few seconds. I grabbed the bottle and got Baby out of the seat. I sat in a chair and fed her. As soon as I put the bottle in her mouth she sighed and began drinking. I watched her as she grabbed my hand and stared into my eyes. Okay so maybe I do want kids sooner rather than later, but the jury was still out on that. When she finished the bottle, I grabbed a dish towel from the counter and threw it over my shoulder, burping her like a pro. After she burped a quite unladylike burp, I put her back in the carrier and pushed the cart back to the front of the store. I went down the Hostess aisle grabbing a box of Twinkies on the way. Hey, a girl’s gotta eat. I parked the cart next to me and I hopped up on the checkout counter and opened the Twinkies. The first bite was heaven and I thanked my lucky stars I was stuck in a grocery store and not a laundromat. I looked over at Baby and saw she was going to sleep. Hopefully that would give me quiet time to think. 

           What am I going to do? I looked at the thin blanket Baby had and knew that was no barrier to the wind and snow outside. I half considered going “shopping” in the baby department to get Baby a snowsuit and car seat, but dismissed the idea thinking about the disastrous consequences of being stranded in a blizzard with an infant. No, me and Baby were stuck here and would have to wait til the storm let up. I tried calling and texting Chad again and punched in 911 but still had no service. 

           I closed my eyes in frustration. I’m missing the game. That thought snuck in and immediately I felt selfish when I thought of the circumstance Baby was in. She was way worse off than me, being left by her mother or father or whomever left her here. She was sound asleep and I gingerly got off the counter and walked over to the magazines. I might as well read if I’m going to be stuck here. After the third People Magazine I was getting antsy.

 I went over to the front windows and stared out. The wind and snow weren’t letting up and I had no idea how long we were going to be stranded here. I felt like crying, but knowing Baby was counting on me to take care of her kept me grounded. I sat down on the floor and leaned back against the window wall. I put my head in my hands and that is when I thought I heard something. My head popped up and I jumped to my feet. Yes! I could hear a faint buzzing sound, but where was it coming from? I checked on Baby then stood still trying to ascertain the source of the noise. Then from outside the window I could see a small light getting bigger and closer. I watched it get closer until I realized what it was. It was a snowmobile, no two snowmobiles! Their lights got brighter and the buzzing of the engines grew louder. It was so loud and annoying! I blinked a few times feeling odd. I opened my eyes wide and realized I was home in my warm bed, dreaming. I laughed, climbing out of bed.  I could smell coffee so Chad was already up. I moved the curtain aside and looked at the white wonderland outside my window. I was definitely sending Chad to the store today!