Page 57 of This Mate Thing

He hurries up the stairs, and I nuzzle Simon one more time before stepping away and grabbing one of the boxes.

Simon doesn't speak, but grabs a box too and follows me across the street to my car."I'll have him back in time for dinner."

"Okay."

"How does it work with payment?"

Simon sighs and grabs the paper.I run back for the last box while he reads.When I put it in the trunk, he motions at a number."We're to transfer the total to this account."

"Great."I scan the sheet for the sum and whistle when I find it."Expensive cookies."

"Mmm."Simon looks a little pale.

"Don't worry, I'll fix it."

"I guess we can wait to pay for the cookies until everyone has paid for the cookies, so we have the money, I mean."

I want to hug him."Sure."

Ira runs toward us, and I hand him the paper."You're in charge, bud."

He widens his eyes."I am?"

"Sure."I catch Simon's hand before he can move away."See you later."

He nods but doesn't meet my eyes.

"Booster seat."I look at Ira."Go get it."

Shortly after, we're ready to go.Simon is hovering, and I can't help but smile."Take a nap or something."

"What?"He stares at me.

"You'll have a few hours to yourself.Enjoy them."

"I...eh...I'll--"

I pull him close and whisper near his ear."And think of me while you do."

He huffs and shoves at me, but there's a smile playing on his lips, and it's all I care about.I squeeze his fingers and climb into the car."Ready?"I look at Ira, make sure he's strapped in properly.

"Yes."

"Off we go then."

When we've driven for a few minutes, I turn out on the shoulder of the road and flick on the hazard lights.Ira stares at me when I grab my phone.

"I have an idea."

"Okay."

I reach for the sheet of paper as I log into my bank."I'll pay this."I gesture at the sum at the bottom of the sheet."Then the money we get from the cookies we'll use to buy Christmas gifts for Simon."

Ira's eyes are wide as I tap in the number on the bank app.

"Can we do that?"

"Yes."I turn the screen so he can see."Here, it says paid.So the cookie company has gotten its money, and now we can use the money we get for the cookies for other things."I show him the photo I took of Simon's letter to Santa."See, I cheated."