“Ooo, let’s see what they’ve got.”Charma totally skipped the packaged breads and went to the in-store baked breads.“They’ve got a mini sourdough loaf and a crusty Italian loaf.I think we should go with those.”
“Sounds good to me.”Usually, he’d have said two was too many, but the one of them was pretty small, and he did want Charma to spend time at his place, so they’d probably go through more bread, so he figured the two was probably just what they needed.
Charma added those to the cart, and they moved on to the meat section.
“I always go with what’s on sale for meat.Because whoa.”
“I hear you.I haven’t bought any since I moved out.I mean other than baloney for sandwiches.I had a craving I couldn’t shake a few weeks ago and risked going home.Mom fed me and then sent me home with a bunch of leftovers.”
“Oh, that’s cool that you can do that.”
“Yeah, like I said, it’s not like they disowned me or forced me out or anything, they just wanted me to make babies, and I got tired of the palpable disappointment that that wasn’t going to happen.”Charma shrugged.“I have to admit, sometimes when I look around my little bitty everything in one room, I think I should just suck it up and go back.”
“Would you be happy doing that?”he asked.
“Well, I wasn’t when I left, so maybe not.”
“It’s a balance, you know?Which is harder, familial pressure-slash-disappointment or the little place and potential loneliness?”
Charma nodded slowly.“I hadn’t thought of it like that.Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.It can be helpful to get an outside perspective,” Darcy noted.
“Yeah, I can see that.Oh, look at this, ground beef is on sale if you buy the bigger package.”
Darcy took a look and nodded.“And that’ll do us like three, maybe even four meals.”
“I have a great stretch-out meal that I call grandma’s stuff.Let me text my mom and find out exactly what all is in it.”Charma started typing while Darcy gave the rest of the meat an eagle eye.
He added hot dogs to the cart, and there was some off-brand bacon on sale for about half of what the rest of the bacon cost, so he added that.He had about half a jar of cheez whiz in the cupboard, but he was out of macaronis, so he’d buy a package of that.He took a good look at the chicken, but even on sale, it was out of his budget right now.
“I’m gonna run and grab the stuff we need for my grandma’s ground beef stuff.”
“Okay, I’m going up to where the eggs and milk are.”
“Meet you there!”Charma headed off at a trot, weaving through the other shoppers while Darcy made his way to the dairy section.
He grabbed a gallon jug of 2% milk for cereal and a dozen eggs.That was almost his whole budget so he’d add in the macaroni, a box of whatever cereal was on sale and some Cokes.
Charma reappeared with a bag of onions, three cans of tomato soup, and a package of macaroni, along with a package of Italian spices.
Darcy bit his bottom lip.Spices were expensive.Sure, he’d have it for quite a while, but he might have to put something back, especially with the onions and tomato soup, too.
“I’ll help with the groceries, I swear.I’m hoping to make my grandma’s stuff at your place, so I totally should, you know?”
“You’re sure?I just don’t know if the spices are in my budget otherwise.”
Charma nodded.“I want to help.Well, I want to spend more time with you is the truth, and I hope that’s going to include meals, so I want to help, you know?It shouldn’t be all weird.”
“No, I know better than to turn down an offer of help with the groceries.Trust me on that.”It was less worrisome now that he was working, but he’d lived hand to mouth for long enough to appreciate every penny that got spent—his own or others’.
When they got to the drinks aisle, he asked, “Coke is my drink, but we can get something else as well if you’d prefer?”
“I’m good with Coke.I also like tea.”
“What about coffee?”he asked.
“From a fancy coffee place, sure—but I’m not big on just plain coffee.”
