Find a bathroom

Emily gripped the stroller’s handles a little too tight as she rounded the corner past the pharmacy, heart thudding, her face still hot. She didn’t want to risk adjusting herself in the middle of the store—not with people watching, not with every aisle suddenly feeling like it had too many eyes.

She needed a bathroom. Now.

But when she got to the public restrooms, a laminated sign on the door made her freeze.

OUT OF ORDER
Sorry for the inconvenience!

“Perfect,” she muttered under her breath, glancing down at Chloe, who was sucking on her pacifier with sleepy, oblivious contentment.

Emily hesitated a second. Then turned the stroller toward the small, unmarked hallway beside the loading dock sign. The employee breakroom had to be there.

She knocked lightly at the door, then pushed it open just enough to lean in.

Four men sat at the table inside. A microwave beeped. A sports radio station murmured low over someone’s phone speaker. Every head turned.

All men. All young. Twenty-somethings, probably. Grocery stockers, judging by the matching polos and name badges. The room smelled faintly of cologne and microwaved burritos.

“Hi, I—” Emily cleared her throat, keeping her tone even. “Sorry to bother you, I just—uh, I think my shirt’s…” She trailed off, motioning vaguely to her chest. “Can I use your restroom to fix it? The main ones are out of order.”

One of them—tall, lean, curly hair—stood immediately. “Yeah, sure. No problem.”

He stepped toward her, then looked at his buddy. “Jake, keep an eye on the little one?”

Jake grinned wide. “Oh, I got this. No rush, man. Take your time.”

The other two guys at the table snorted into their sandwiches.

Emily’s stomach fluttered again—not quite nervous, not quite anything she could name. The tall one didn’t say anything else, just gestured for her to follow as he led her past the vending machines and the lockers to a narrow door in the back.

His hand hovered near her lower back as he opened it.

“Right in here,” he said, smiling slightly. “You’re good.”