would be ready.
Very few situations can leave a man feeling as helpless and lost as being turned loose and alone in an unfamiliar grocery store. It had taken every ounce of courage Brady could muster, but he had fought the urge to turn tail and run back to the car where Gruff was waiting. He knew from his passenger’s hungry eyes that to come back empty handed would not be tolerated.
Gruff was already a bit perplexed at being left alone in the car even with the windows all partly down, and adding injury to that insult would surely result in some kind of backlash. The last thing Brady wanted were Gruff’s little surprise packages scattered throughout the house. Best to keep him happy, Brady concluded as he pushed his rickety shopping cart aimlessly up and down the aisles.
He hadn’t thought to make a list; that was his first mistake. Grocery lists had always been Karen’s responsibility. Since Karen’s death, the bulk of his shopping had been done via Chinese take-out menus. Sadly, Bedlam Falls was lacking in that department, thus he would be forced to resort to the dreaded grocery store. He could find the alcohol pretty easily in a grocery store, as for where the canned foods were in relation to the fruits and vegetables; Brady was at a complete loss.
His last solo excursion into a grocery store had been the worst shopping experience of his life. Shortly after they had been married Karen had sent him to the corner market for a box of tampons; Brady had been mortified. He only vaguely understood the mechanics involved in using a tampon and as he stood in front of the shelf, eyeing what appeared to be an endless sea of options; Brady could feel a growing wave of panic growing inside. There was regular, super, and super plus; whatever that meant. Add in the confusion of the pads, both maxi and mini and some even with wings. Brady was as close to a full blown panic attack as was humanly possible sweat, pouring from him as he looked furtively over his shoulder at the imagined glares of the other women in the store. His only other experience related to choosing a specific size of anything for Karen had not ended well. While they were dating Brady has picked out a sundress at a swank, over-priced boutique. He had wanted to surprise Karen for her birthday; and oh what a surprise it turned out to be. Brady had learned the hard way about the difference between a ladies size four and fourteen. Karen had been outraged that he would even consider her a size fourteen. Her reaction had flooded his thoughts as he stood in front of the tampons. Brady had cringed at the thought of what the reaction would be to the wrong size in this instance. Fortunately, he had grabbed the “regular” sized box and not a word beyond thank you had ever been mentioned.
Brady steered his squeaky cart towards the checkout. Beyond beer and dog food, he didn’t know what else he had picked up, but the cart was nearly overflowing. He glanced at his watch, twenty minutes, not too bad at all, as if it were some kind of race.
The line was horribly long and it felt like an hour before Brady was able to start unloading his items onto the conveyor belt. As he watched the items make slow progress towards the register, he was struck by just how haphazard his shopping had been. Plus, it screamed bachelor. There were Funyons and beer, frozen pizza, ice cream and the assorted toppings, Cocoa Puffs cereal, pop tarts, and an odd mix of other items that he had no recollection of tossing into the cart. He was pondering this when a voice stirred him from his jumbled thoughts.
“I.D. please, sir.”
Brady felt his face redden as he reached for his wallet to retrieve his driver’s license. He handed it over and added sheepishly, “Sorry, I was just ….thinking.”
The cashier took his license and studied it carefully. Brady raised his eyes from the groceries to the woman’s face as she spoke.
“You forgot the bananas,” she stated and then smiled. “I seem
Very few situations can leave a man feeling as helpless and lost as being turned loose and alone in an unfamiliar grocery store. It had taken every ounce of courage Brady could muster, but he had fought the urge to turn tail and run back to the car where Gruff was waiting. He knew from his passenger’s hungry eyes that to come back empty handed would not be tolerated.
Gruff was already a bit perplexed at being left alone in the car even with the windows all partly down, and adding injury to that insult would surely result in some kind of backlash. The last thing Brady wanted were Gruff’s little surprise packages scattered throughout the house. Best to keep him happy, Brady concluded as he pushed his rickety shopping cart aimlessly up and down the aisles.
He hadn’t thought to make a list; that was his first mistake. Grocery lists had always been Karen’s responsibility. Since Karen’s death, the bulk of his shopping had been done via Chinese take-out menus. Sadly, Bedlam Falls was lacking in that department, thus he would be forced to resort to the dreaded grocery store. He could find the alcohol pretty easily in a grocery store, as for where the canned foods were in relation to the fruits and vegetables; Brady was at a complete loss.
His last solo excursion into a grocery store had been the worst shopping experience of his life. Shortly after they had been married Karen had sent him to the corner market for a box of tampons; Brady had been mortified. He only vaguely understood the mechanics involved in using a tampon and as he stood in front of the shelf, eyeing what appeared to be an endless sea of options; Brady could feel a growing wave of panic growing inside. There was regular, super, and super plus; whatever that meant. Add in the confusion of the pads, both maxi and mini and some even with wings. Brady was as close to a full blown panic attack as was humanly possible sweat, pouring from him as he looked furtively over his shoulder at the imagined glares of the other women in the store. His only other experience related to choosing a specific size of anything for Karen had not ended well. While they were dating Brady has picked out a sundress at a swank, over-priced boutique. He had wanted to surprise Karen for her birthday; and oh what a surprise it turned out to be. Brady had learned the hard way about the difference between a ladies size four and fourteen. Karen had been outraged that he would even consider her a size fourteen. Her reaction had flooded his thoughts as he stood in front of the tampons. Brady had cringed at the thought of what the reaction would be to the wrong size in this instance. Fortunately, he had grabbed the “regular” sized box and not a word beyond thank you had ever been mentioned.
Brady steered his squeaky cart towards the checkout. Beyond beer and dog food, he didn’t know what else he had picked up, but the cart was nearly overflowing. He glanced at his watch, twenty minutes, not too bad at all, as if it were some kind of race.
The line was horribly long and it felt like an hour before Brady was able to start unloading his items onto the conveyor belt. As he watched the items make slow progress towards the register, he was struck by just how haphazard his shopping had been. Plus, it screamed bachelor. There were Funyons and beer, frozen pizza, ice cream and the assorted toppings, Cocoa Puffs cereal, pop tarts, and an odd mix of other items that he had no recollection of tossing into the cart. He was pondering this when a voice stirred him from his jumbled thoughts.
“I.D. please, sir.”
Brady felt his face redden as he reached for his wallet to retrieve his driver’s license. He handed it over and added sheepishly, “Sorry, I was just ….thinking.”
The cashier took his license and studied it carefully. Brady raised his eyes from the groceries to the woman’s face as she spoke.
“You forgot the bananas,” she stated and then smiled. “I seem
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