Triple the Love

Grocery Shopping Suprise

Jack

“Peanut butter…” I murmured as I scanned the jars on the shelf. I finally spotted the one I liked and grabbed two jars and set them in my already full trolley.

“Why don’t you just ask Maggie to do the shopping for you?” Tori asked as she pushed her own trolley. I groaned as I shook my head.

“Maggie is great, but this is the type of shopping I have to do for myself,” I argued as we headed to the next aisle.

“But she does the shopping for the vineyard,” she pointed out, and I actually rolled my eyes as I stopped in front of the large array of spices. I scanned the shelves and grabbed what I needed. “I’m just saying, since you hate shopping…you could just ask her to help you out,”

“I could, but I won’t,” I stated firmly. As much as I appreciated Maggie, I wasn’t interested in her doing my personal shopping. Tori was right though, I hated shopping, and judging by the amount of groceries I already had in my trolley, I had left it for far too long.

“Whatever…so how are things going with Corey?” Tori then asked. I sighed softly as I picked out a few more spices and turned the trolley to head to the next aisle. I didn’t want to admit that things between Corey and I were strained. Our relationship hung on the balance of whether Hank would come around or not. It was infuriating.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” I admitted as we stopped in front of the large array of sauces.

“Jack…”

“I know, but I just don’t want to talk about it,” I repeated. Corey and I didn’t talk about Hank. We had both agreed that we would wait for him to come to us. That we would give him time. One thing I had quickly realized was that Hank wasn’t just avoiding Corey, he was avoiding me too. It hurt, even if I didn’t want to admit it.

“Well, I think you should just…” Tori’s voice trailed off as her phone started to ring. I turned my attention back to the sauces while she dealt with the phone call. I took a bit longer to pick the ones I wanted as I waited for my sister. “Sorry, Jack…you are going to have to finish your shopping alone. I have a client waiting for me at the office,” she explained apologetically.

“Of course,” I said as I leaned over and kissed her cheek. Tori smiled before she grabbed her trolley and hurried off. I watched her for a moment before I turned my attention back to my own trolley. I still had to get a few things, so I headed over to the next aisle. I picked out a few toiletries and finally, I headed over to the produce section. I froze when I spotted Hank. There he was, inspecting some apples. My heart started to race as I stared at him. I hadn't seen him since that day Corey and I had basically ambushed him. That had been three weeks ago. Things had been hard since that day and Corey, and I were barely holding on by a thread. A mixture of nerves and anticipation bubbled up inside of me. This was my chance to talk to him. “Hey, Hank,” I called out as I desperately tried to keep my voice steady as I walked over to him. Hank glanced up and, for a moment, I couldn’t read his expression. He was guarded, but at least he hadn't stormed off like I had feared he might.

“Hey, Jack,” he greeted me with a nod of acknowledgment. While he wasn’t saying anything else, he also hadn't made a move, so I took that as a good sign.

“Can we talk?” I asked as I took a deep breath. Hank looked around, his eyes scanned the crowded grocery store. One thing was clear, he was uncomfortable.

“Not here,” he muttered. “This isn’t the place for it,” I nodded as I looked around, and my mind started to race. I was just about to suggest that we grab a coffee or something when Hank shot me a look that surprised me. “Let’s go to your place. We can talk there,” he said.

“Sure…ok…” I said as I blinked in surprise. He had completely caught me off guard by his suggestion, mostly because I had expected him to reject the chance to talk completely.

“I’ll meet you there,” he said as he turned his attention back to the apples. I nodded even though he wasn’t looking at me anymore, and I quickly finished up getting the items I still needed and wanted. I moved quickly through the rest of the store and by the time I was at the checkout counter, my heart was pounding, and my hands were shaking. Thankfully, it went quickly and as soon as I had paid, I was out of the store, bags in hand. I just about ran to my car and shoved my groceries in the back seat before I jumped behind the wheel.

“f**k, f**k, f**k,” I chanted as I drove home. I hadn't been expecting to bump into Hank. I certainly hadn't expected him to agree to talk. But none of that mattered. I could not waste this opportunity. I had a chance to explain things to him. I had a chance to hopefully make him understand. And maybe this time Hank would actually listen. As I turned onto the road that led up to my house, I noticed that Hank was right behind me. My heart started to pound even faster and by the time I parked the car, I felt like a bundle of tightly strung nerves. Hank grabbed my bags of groceries before I could say or do anything, and it felt like a gesture of some sort. I grabbed the rest of the bags before we headed inside, and we set the bags on the kitchen counter. It was awkward and uncomfortable, but I had to admit to myself that there was a part of me that was excited and hopeful.