“Don’t you love grapefruit this time of the year? It’s simply the best,” Mom said, admiring the fruit in her hand, almost as if it were a prize she’d won at the county fair. “When you have a kid, you have to name them Winter, and that’s an order.”

Putting apples into the cart, I raised my brow at her. “Winter? Thanks, but no thanks. When I have a kid, I’m going to name them Glennjamin,” I said. She placed the grapefruit in the cart, and we walked to the meat aisle.

“You give your kid that terrible name, and I will call Child Protective Services to take my grandbaby away from you,” Mom said. I had a sneaky suspicion she probably wasn’t kidding. Too bad she doesn’t know I’ll settle for the middle name.

“Well, anyway, kids might not be a distant dream,” I said, grabbing one of the plastic bags for the meat.

Mom turned around so quickly she dropped the chicken in her hand. “You’re dating someone? You got a surrogate? You’re adopting? Wait, are you having it? What are the donor’s traits? They don’t have a big nose, do they?” Tilting her head into her hand, she closed her teary eyes. “When I was pregnant with you, I couldn’t help thinking of the day my little muffin in the oven would grow up and get some of her own little cupcakes.”

“Whoa, relax, woman. No one is having a baby right now. I just found a really cool girl, that’s all.” I snickered as I put a tray of beef cubes in the plastic bag and into the cart.

Mom wiped her tears and, turning her smile upside down, said, “You really shouldn’t get my hopes up like that. I almost started planning the baby shower.” Turning around, she went back to inspecting the chicken again.

“You really shouldn’t get all worked up like that.” After we got all the meat we needed, we ventured to other parts of the store. Along the way, I explained everything about Ruth. “So yeah, she needs major work on her profile. Other than some minor inconsistencies, she’s such a splendid girl, and I feel so happy when I text her. I think I finally found a good one.”

“This Ruth girl sounds great, honey, but when are you going to meet her?” Mom said, looking at two different ketchup bottles.

“Uh… well… I mean… eventually. But you know this new way of dating. Everything has changed. So, you gotta ease into it a little.”

“You’re right. This new way of dating is a bit confusing compared to how it used to be. Dating was so easy, you could find your soulmate in a café.” We finished shopping at the store and went home.

Once we were home, I got out of the car and opened the trunk. Behind me, I heard a whistle. Turning around, I saw Vin walking over to me. “Hey, Autumn, you were amazing in that raid last night!”

“You know me, the best wizard in Nightmare Chasers. I didn’t get to max level by luck. But you need to give yourself more credit. We probably wouldn’t have been able to make it without your shadow army helping us in battle.” He chuckled at this.

When I looked behind him, I saw Summer pull into their driveway. Vin, following my gaze, looked back to see his sister getting out of her car. “Hey, Summer.” Looking over, she waved at him, and then, when she caught my gaze, her face soured. “Are you guys still fighting?”

“Yeah, you know her. She can hold a grudge for a while,” I said, taking some bags out of the trunk.

“Hmm, I’ll talk to her. She can’t stay mad at you forever,” Vin said, walking over to help with the bags.

“Thanks, dude, and thanks for helping with the bags!” I said, walking inside.