Ooookayyyyy but now i must know everything about this walmart mommy butterfly catching interaction pls
Okay but imagine being Mary, you’ve stopped in at Walmart on the way home and you’re now just browsing for crap you don’t really need. And then you see a tiny girl crying at the end of one of the aisles.
Mary’s heart squeezed in her chest as she took in the girl, her tiny sneakers flashing with lights as her shoulders heaved. Mary hurried over to her.
The little girl looked up, tears running down her face and her curly hair bounced as she shook her head. Mary dropped her basket and crouched in front of her, swiping her tears.
“Hey, did something happen? Is your Mummy or Daddy with you?”
The girl sobbed harder. “I don’t have a Mummy. And my Appa said I could look at the dogs in a bit but I just really wanted to see.” She pointed to the wall of stuffed animals behind her. “But then I looked back and he wasn’t there.”
Mary’s heart squeezed a little more, “Can I help you find your Appa?”
“I’m not supposed to talk to people I don’t know.”
Mary nodded, “Very smart. If we introduce ourselves we aren’t strangers anymore right?”
The girl nodded, “I’m Kate.”
“It’s great to meet you Kate, I’m Mary. Should we find your Dad?” Mary held out her hand, smiling at the adorable little girl.
Kate took a deep breath and took Mary’s hand. “Okay.”
“Now, what does Appa look like?”
“Um… he’s bigger than me and he has a…” Kate frowned, “I don’t know the word. Hair here.” She pointed to her top lip.
Mary chuckled, “He has a mustache.”
“Kate?!” A frantic voice called behind them the sound of footsteps pounding to catch up with them. “Oh my god! KATE!”
“He looks like that.” Kate said pointing at the man sprinting towards them.
His eyes looked a little wild and his dark curls were falling in his eyes and he sprinted towards them. He ground to a halt and nearly fell to the floor in front of his daughter.
“Kate. Please don’t ever scare me like that again.”
“I just wanted to see the dogs.” Kate said quietly, and then louder. “And you were looking at socks for a long time.”
“It was a reasonable amount of time.” His shoulders heaved as he wrapped his arms around her. “You can’t wander off like that okay? That was really scary.”
“Mary was gonna help me find you.”
Kate’s father seemed to notice there was someone else present for the first time and his eyes widened in surprise as he took her in. The same deep eyes his daughter had. There was something familiar about him that Mary couldn’t quite place and she felt her cheeks go inexplicably warm under his gaze
“Hi, I was just going to take her up the front.”
The man pushed his hair back from his eyes and he took his daughter’s hand as he stood up. “Thank you, for looking out for her. Anything could have- just thank you.”
Mary nodded, “It’s not a problem.”
He nodded, “I’m sorry, I’m Tharman. I’m being rude, I just… god I thought I was having a heart attack.”
Mary finally placed his face. As though he was staring back at her from a photo frame. “Sorry, I… do you….? I think I live next door to your parents.”
Tharman looked stricken, “Sorry?”
“You just… you look familiar. And your mum is always trying to set me up with…” Mary trailed off, mortified that she’d let it slip but there was something about him and the way he was pointedly not noticing his daughter stuffing a plush stumpy legged corgi into his abandoned basket beside some socks patterned with monkeys.
Tharman’s eyes closed. “Mary. Mary who lives next door to my mother.”
“Guilty apparently. Small world.”
Tharman stared at her for a moment before he cleared him throat. “My mum’s talked a lot about you.”
Their eyes caught together for much longer than they should have and Mary finally cleared her throat. “Well, I should get back to my- I’m glad we found Appa, Kate.”
“Mmm,” Tharman sighed, lifting his wiggling daughter up to rest on his shoulders. “And you’re staying right up there, troublemaker.”
“Okay.” Kate shrugged, her elbows resting on her dad’s head.
Mary waved. “Well, I might… see you around some time.”
“Happy to help.” Mary smiled turning to walk away when she heard a sharp intake of breath.
“Actually, maybe I could take you out for coffee some time. Just to… thank you properly.”
Mary’s heart stuttered, “yeah. Yeah, I think I’d like that.”