Nothing to Offer

"Oh! Hey!: Barbara plastered a smile to her face. "Oh my God; how have you been?"

"Huh?" Brian looked over at the haggard, puffy face of his ex-wife.

"You come here a lot? I usually go to Super One, but..." Barbara prattled.

"Uh yeah, I uh, we come here all the time; support local, you know?" Brian said, clearly uncomfortable.

Barbara did not see Britney as Britney put a bag of sweet potatoes into Brian's buggy. She heard Josette continuing to sing her annoying little spiel, heard the clang of Brian's buggy, but continued to smile and chatter.

"Hi, Miss Barbara; O.M.G. You have any idea how old and fat you look?" Britney asked, putting an arm around Brian's waist.

"What?" Barbara shrieked, stunned. "Brian! Who is this little..."

"Oh come on, Miss Barbara, you don't remember me? I remember you," Britney asked.

"Barbara, this is Britney Houghton, remember? Little Britney? Used to live across the street from us?" Brian said, face still flushed from discomfort.

"How dare you?" Barbara snarled at the impertinent young woman.

"How dare I tell you what everyone's already thinking?" Britney smiled. "Easy. But how dare you? How dare you stand there, fake smile all over your puffy face, flirting with my husband?"

"Your..." Barbara gasped, stunned.

"Remember? The man who has nothing to offer you?" Britney challenged. "What changed?"

"Your hus..." Barbara mouthed, still stunned.

"Yeah, this Saturday," Britney said, waggling her engagement ring at Barbara. "Right when the sun goes down, we're exchanging our vows."

Barbara stared in shock at the expensive looking ring the little strumpet wore.

"Halloween's always been my favorite holiday," Britney went on. "You wouldn't remember that, though. You were always too busy pretending to be too busy to take me trick or treating. But Brian always dressed up like Dracula and took me because Daddy was too sick and Momma was too tired from taking care of Daddy."

She again put a possessive arm around Brian.

"I loved it; loved every minute I was with the most wonderful man in the world. And come this Saturday? I'm going to be with him forever. So, just jump on your broom and fly off, Granny, but you ain't getting my man," Britney smirked. "So, he still ain't got nothing offer you."

Barbara burst into wails and ran from the store, leaving buggy, purse, and child behind.

"You can't see me, I'm not here," Josette declared when Brian approached the buggy.

"What? Oh my God, who said that?" Brian asked, looking all around.

Josette giggled.

"I could swear I just heard someone," Brian said.

"Brian, come on," Britney said.

"Sweetheart, Barbara left her purse right here; we can't just leave it here," Brian said, pointing to Josette.

"You're right," Britney said.

"Britney, does your basket talk? This one does," Brian said.

"What? No, mine doesn't," Britney agreed.

"Here I am!" Josette announced, giggling.

"Oh!" both Brian and Britney gapped, as if amazed.

"Where'd you come from?" Brian asked the girl. "I looked all over and I didn't see you there."

Outside, Barbara reached her car, then realized, to her horror, that she had left her purse, and her child inside the store.

"How dare, I cannot believe," Barbara sobbed out. "That, God damn that little bitch!"

She didn't even have her cell phone to call her mother for help.

And, much to her embarrassment and shame, she was sure that Josette was screaming and crying at the top of her lungs right now, attracting the attention of everyone in the store.

Inside the store, Brian was pushing the buggy with the once again invisible Josette while Britney pushed their buggy. They paused on the canned vegetable aisle so Britney could grab the canned tomatoes.

"I sure do wish that pretty little girl would come back; I don't know what her mommy came here to buy," Brian said to Britney.

"I know," Britney agreed. "Can you reach those?"

"She came here to get me candy and ice cream," Josette declared.

"Who said that? I don't believe it," Brian said.

"Here I am!" Josette again announced.

Red-faced, lips drawn tight, Barbara again entered the store. There was no loud screaming, no loud wails.

"Oh God, just great," Barbara snarled to herself, imagining that the manager probably had her daughter in his office right now.

She would be mortified to have to admit to the manager that she had actually abandoned her child. She racked her brain, trying to think of a plausible excuse, one that didn't make her look unhinged, or like a bad, neglectful mother.

"There you are," Brian said. "You left your basket and since it's a magic one, I thought you might want it back."

"Magic..." Barbara wondered aloud.

"Yeah, this little girl keeps popping up in it," Brian said, relieved to return Josette to her mother and finish his own shopping.

"Sorry I was a bitch to you," Britney mumbled.

"Even though you deserved it," she said before she and Brian rounded the corner.

Josette whined; wanting the nice man and woman to be with her, rather than her unhappy mommy. Barbara had to grip the buggy's handle to keep from slapping the brat.

In a police cruiser, Glen did not look over at the grocery store; he just complained of being hungry, of the pain from his stomach wound, of being transferred from the DeGarde Lock up to the Bender Lock Up. Even though the transfer was to keep him safe from the Latin gang that had sworn to avenge the 'disrespect' Glen had for them, Glen still complained.

"He tried to grab the gun out of my holster; had to defend myself and my partner," Officer Ritchie Himmer said to Leanne Pyle. "What you think?"

"Sounds reasonable to me," the red head agreed.

Glen knew they were just talking, just making idle threats, but clamped his mouth shut.

**-**

Just as the orange sun touched the horizon, a door on Batio Street opened. Then, in the dying light, Britney appeared on the arm of her mother.

Sally, acting as Brian's 'best man' did gasp, "She's so beautiful!"

The arch over the walkway, her arch, had been decorated with white streamers and flowers woven through the latticework. Brian smiled as Britney paused for a moment underneath the walkway.

"I wish Daddy was here," Britney whispered to her mother.

"He is, Sweetheart," Kathy whispered back.

On a street a few miles away, Barbara fought hard to keep the annoyance out of her voice and the anger off her face as her little witch whined to go to 'one more house' before calling it a night.

A pregnancy test had confirmed it; she was definitely pregnant.

She wondered briefly if the Roebucks would be able to seize the house of a pregnant woman. Barbara worried her brain; how could she use this pregnancy to her advantage?

Her parents had been so thrilled when she'd been pregnant with Josette. Now, knowing that her husband was a wasteful, philandering, murderous drug addict, she doubted that they'd be very excited about this pregnancy.

"Trick treat!" Josette squealed when an older woman opened the door.

The sun gave up its last few rays, painting the sky a dark, almost ominous orange-red, then violet began to descend.

"Wanna go that one," Josette pointed to a large house across the street.

"Fine," Barbara sighed, remembering that impossible little bitch telling her, just as the sun went down, and her last door would be slammed shut.

"I hope you're happy, Brian Harris," Barbra thought bitterly. "I hope you're happy."

"I hope you're happy, Brian Harris," Johnny Flowers said, patting Brian on the back. "I hope you're happy."

"He is," Kathy answered.

"He will be," Britney smiled a knowing little smile.

THE END

*****

*Author's Note: I write these stories for my pleasure. I post them here for your enjoyment.

I do thank you sincerely for reading my stories.

Disclaimers: Yes I need an editor-minute I become a professional author, I will get one. Until then, Microsoft Spellcheck gets the credit, and the blame.

Yes, it jumps around too much, it's in the wrong category, there's too many people to keep track of, it's too long, it's stupid shit and I suck.

And, I am aware that the vast majority of the 'BTB' crowd will absolutely loathe, despise this tale. But sometimes, the best revenge is to simply move on and to thrive, despite the pains of infidelity and divorce.

Also, please note, I do not read emails. The majority of them were so vindictive and spiteful that I have taken to simply deleting them without opening them.

Really? You hate me and hate my stories that much? Then don't read them. Your computer keyboard does have a backspace key, right?

Have a phenomenal day.