Sam & Tabitha | Grocery Run

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Sam and Tabitha run into each other at the grocery.



Grocery shopping had become a totally different experience for Sam since he'd started cooking again. There was much less purchasing of frozen or microwaveable meals and more buying of fruits, vegetables, and other ingredients. Sure it meant a little more work in preparing meals but the end result was much tastier and healthier food, so he wasn't complaining one bit.

While walking down one of the aisles on his way to a checkout, he thought he spied a familiar face. Stopping to check again, he saw that it was Tabby, a friendly face indeed. Sam smiled and waved at the blonde girl to get her attention, heading over in her direction.

"Heya Tabby, how are you doin'?"

Seeing him brought a smile to her face. "Sam! Good to see you again!" She shifted her basket to her other arm and made her way to his side. "Regular shopping or something special?"

"Just regular shopping, getting back into the whole cooking thing again." He lifted his basket to reveal the usual items: various cuts of meat, some spices, milk, and other sundries. "How about you, Tabs?" Sam returned her smile, glad to see her again.

She guiltily hid her basket full of frozen meals and protein powder behind her back. Tabs cleared her throat. "Oh, you know. The usual."

"That's good, refilling the ol' cupboards." Being the gentleman that he was, Sam wasn't about to look into her basket, even if she hadn't hidden it away behind herself. An idea popped into his head and he blurted it out before he could really think about it. "Say, I should cook you something some time, maybe, if you're interested." It would give him a chance to actually use the cooking skills on which he was brushing up, and it'd give them a better opportunity to sit and talk for awhile. It sounded like win-win to him at least.

Tabs nearly drooled at the thought of real food. She couldn't agree fast enough. "Yeah, that would be great! We can catch up, too." They'd drifted apart over the years, and that made her a little sad.

"Ok, sure, I'd really like that." Sam grinned, glad that she'd been so amenable to his suggestion. "Tell you what, why don't you send me an e-mail or a text or somethin' later this week and we'll see if we can pick out a date. To meet up and all, for supper, I mean."

For a split second, she felt like a fish out of water. Then she remembered, this was Sam, and he didn't think of her that way. "I'll do that," she reassured him.

He smiled as she agreed to contact him. "Good, I look forward to it then, should be fun." Tabby was a nice girl and there was nothing wrong with wanting to hang out with friends. It'd been too long for them so it was about time they met up for something more than a random encounter and conversation.

"Well then, now that that's settled, I reckon I'll let you get back on your way then, ma'am." He moved his cart up a bit, nudging his head towards it. "I'm about ready to check out anyway, so I'll be on my own way, and I'll talk to you soon, yeah?"

Tabs rather dazedly waved him off, then stared down at her unappetizing basket of processed food. She pursed her lips and nodded to herself. "Okay, I'm not sure what just happened," she mumbled to herself. Then she looked up and headed purposefully toward where she thought the produce aisles were.

She hadn't actually ever been there.