FAGE 10: Reborn
Title: Clean Up In Aisle 6
Written for: MJ Bush/razztaztic
Written By: Rhonda Erickson/alaskangirl
Rating: k
Summary/Prompt used: I miss read the prompt, but I hope you enjoy this anyway!
How could my best friends and roommates forget to go grocery shopping? I had been gone for ten days due to a book signing and Comic Con. Nothing was left in the house, and it made me wonder how they would ever fend for themselves, let alone their families.
My book series was such a huge hit that it crossed over into "geekdom" as Rosalie called it. I found the best of both worlds between literary and the world of cosplay. As much as I loved the book signings and events like Comic Con, they wore me out.
I sat at the kitchen table and made a huge list of what would be needed to feed all of us. They would owe me for this! Normally, I ordered groceries via delivery, but only when we had enough food in the house to tide us over till delivery day. There was not even an ice cube in the freezer!
I grabbed my debit card, keys, locked the front door, and left. Hopping into my beloved restored Chevy, I headed toward the store. The skies grew darker and it started to sprinkle. As I pulled in to the parking lot, the rain poured down and the wind had picked up. I grabbed my umbrella, only to have it turn inside out and get swept away by a wind gust. Seriously this day couldn't not get any worse!
When I walked into the store, I noticed Mike bagging groceries while he flirted with the girl paying. I made a mental note to stay away from him. He was lichen on a rockâvery easy to grow, but hard to get rid of.
I grabbed a cart and wiped it down with the antiseptic wipes that were provided. Knowing my luck, I would end up with the plague. I set my purse down and pulled out my list while heading to the produce section.
I tried to buy organic as much as I could. At least, the top dirty fruits as they called them. Luckily, most of it was on sale. Probably due to the growing season going very well for this area. The local farmers learned to work around our gloomy weather and grew produce and fruit year around in hot houses. It was nice to have out of season fruit for a decent price compared to others.
I grabbed apples, oranges, and a bunch of bananas. I added other fruit along the way with the intentions of making a huge fruit salad. I was trying to decide what melon looked best when I heard a squeak.
"I can show you what melons are best, Bella, if you want." When I turned, I found Mike there bouncing two melons in front of his chest.
I wasn't sure if I should be disgusted or laugh. That thought was soon interrupted by a voice that made my toes curl.
"Newton, you're not being paid to pick up beautiful women. Get back to work!"
With that, the melons were shoved at me and Mike turned and high tailed it back up to the front. I was so shocked that I dropped the watermelon watching it smash and spray everything in its way, including me, with it entrails.
"Are you okay? Miss, are you okay?"
I stood with my mouth open, looking at the mess covering me and everything else. I didn't know what to say. Closing my mouth, I nodded. I just wanted to finish my shopping and get out of here.
"Let me help clean up. It's the least I can do," I said. I stood there looking at the tall green-eyed man. If I wasn't so flustered I would so go after him.
"You're not going to do a damn thing. Newton will be cleaning up this mess. This isn't the first time he has pulled this crap with a beautiful woman."
I stood there listening to the man yell for Mike to clean up the mess. After all these years, Mike still hasn't learned that instead of being God's gift to women, he was a floundering fish.
I grabbed all the veggies the girls and I could possibly want. We would spend the rest of the day food prepping, so it was easy to pull together a quick meal. I grabbed several types of the salad dressings I knew they liked. Ranch was a food in itself to both of the girls, while I was more into Caesar or Italian.
I picked up a jar of blue cheese for my dad. He loved it and had a tendency to pop in. The jar slipped from my fingers and crashed to the floor. I slapped my hand to my face, feeling the heat rise my cheeks.
"I'll clean it up, Bella. It's my fault your hands were slimy to begin with." Mike started mopping it up and I said thank you.
I placed a new jar carefully in my kart. This day was not turning out the way I was expecting it at all.
I grabbed baking supplies and normal things like toilet paper and tooth paste. I headed to the meat department to pick out chicken, pork, and beef. My dad kept us stocked in fish for the next year. The one thing I loved about my best friends is they loved to eat. No yogurt salad eating bunnies, though we did love yogurt.
I hit each aisle, saving the freezer section for last. We, girls, needed our ice cream. I grabbed some other frozen treats and ended up dropping a box on my foot. I finally had it and growled.
"I have seen women do and say many a thing while standing in front of the ice cream, but never a growl."
Two green eyes looked at me, yet the smirk on this guy's face pissed me off.
"It's not my fault that Mother Nature decided to be a bitch, and it's not my fault Mike is a sleaze bag. He was like that in high school, too, but it is my fault for being so damn clumsy! Whatever the damages are, I will gladly pay them. I'm sure I'll never be allowed back in here again."
With that, I put my hands up in the air, exasperated with emotion.
"It's okay. The store has things like this happen all the time. As for Newton, the only reason he's working here is as a favor to his dad. You're more than welcome back here, seeing as this has been the best entertainment I have had all year!"
The green-eyed man walked off, chuckling while yelling clean up on aisle six!
I went through check out only to realize I forgot my cloth bags and would have to use paper bags. The courtesy helped me out to my truck, and we loaded everything as quickly as we could. I thanked him and drove off, hoping to leave this trip from hell behind me.
As I drove home, the rain stopped, which I was thankful for. I pulled up to our house and noticed no one was home, which meant I had to bring everything in by myself. The first few rounds were fine, but just as I was taking out the last few bags, they ripped from being wet.
I stood there crying as I watched apples, oranges, and cans of food roll down to the street. The next thing I knew, the green-eyed man was helping me pick them up and carry them inside.
"I think we need to quit meeting like this. I'm Edward Cullen. Glad to finally introduce myself to the famous Bella Swan."
TWO YEARS LATER
These past two years have gone fast. That horrible day at the grocery store led me to this day. I remember smiling for what seemed the hundredth wedding picture. Edward and I took it slow, but we realized we knew each other growing up, though he had moved away before we got to high school.
He owned the grocery store, along with many other stores and clubs all over the country.
I had also found out that his partners had been dating my best friends, hence the empty fridge when I arrived home. They both had lavish weddings the year before and had bought houses in the same neighborhood we had ours built.
Edward grabbed a cart and filled it with cookies and chips. I headed to the freezer section to grab ice cream and felt water gush down my legs. He found me looking down at the puddle at my feet.
"Clean up aisle six!"