The next morning, I was awoken early by the slamming open of the front door. The voices of my mother and father floated to me up the stairs. They went into the kitchen, and after a few minutes, I heard them coming up the stairs. I shut my eyes just in time as my parents peeked in to see if I had aroused for the day. My ploy fooling them, my mother went on to their bedroom while my father returned downstairs for a moment before joining his wife.
I slowly rose out of bed twenty minutes later, when my father's loud snoring was booming through the house. I went downstairs slowly, hoping that if my mother was still awake, Dad's loud snores would cover the squeaking of the stairs. I wandered around the house, thoughts from the day prior mixing about in my head. I strolled into the kitchen and upon flicking on the bright lights, found an empty milk jug on the counter. Stuck to it was a new, bright yellow note.
Edward, we are out of milk. Please run to the store and grab a gallon. Love, Mom and Dad. My father's exhausted scrawl was quick and sloppy, furthering the stereotype that doctor's handwriting is impossible to comprehend. I crept back up to my room and zipped out of my yellow onesie and into my traditional orange t shirt and purple shorts. I fed my ant farm, watered Jim the cactus, and snuck out of the house quietly, trying not to rouse my exhausted parents. After putting on my winter coat, I checked my phone and saw that it was 9:30; the cul-de-sac was tranquil and quiet as I walked up the sidewalk. The snow had stopped falling sometime in the evening, and the small cluster of homes was sprinkled in a few inches of snow, everything white and glistening.
The milk would cost less at the grocery store, but the supermarket was further, and I was shivering; I had my winter coat on, but with only shorts and my long red socks on to cover my lower half, I wasn't keen on walking the extra five blocks. I jogged into the tiny convenience store that was closer to home, stamping my feet to rid my shoes of the clinging ice. I looked about, but found no employee manning the counter or shelving new stock. I shook myself from the cold and quickly pulled a gallon of milk from refrigerated section, the heavy gallons behind it sliding forward to take the open space. I slugged the heavy container onto the counter and rang the little bell that sat by the register.
"I'll be right out!" called a voice from behind a closed door beyond the counter. The door swung open, and a fleeting sight of blue hair peeked out from the three boxes the person was carrying in front of her. "Hi!" came a super enthusiastic and chipper greeting. "Did you finding everything you were looking for?" Marie set the boxes down on the ground, and finally looked up to see her patron. "Oh, hey there, Ovenmitt," Marie smiled, her cheesy, over the top customer service voice disappearing. "Whatcha' doing up so early on the first day of break?"
"Marie?" I spluttered. "What are you doing here?" She grinned at me, her blue eyelids fluttering as she flicked the nametag on her chest.
"I work here, have been since the beginning of the year," Marie smiled, clearly enthusiastic about her unexpected visitor. "I'm actually about to end my shift, wanna' wait for me to get off? We can walk back together."
"Yeah, that sounds good," I nodded, counting out the money I owed. As Marie handed back a couple coins, a unfamiliar young man entered the store. He greeted Marie in a friendly manner, and as he pushed through the little swinging gate to the register, Marie hopped up and over the counter.
"Well, let's go," she grinned at me, holding the door open for me. "What are you doing buying milk at nine forty five in the morning anyway?"
"My parents came home this morning from the hospital," I explained, switching the heavy gallon to the other hand. "I think they used the last of it when they ate their breakfast, and left me a note asking for me to get more. I think that they believed I would get it later, but I was up anyway, so…." I shrugged, shivering against the cold. "So, how was work?"
"Boring," she sighed, rolling her eyes. "Not many people are coming in at three to pump gas or buy Slurpee." I staggered and turned to look at her in disbelief.
"You've been there since three in the morning?" I gasped, switching the gallon of milk once more in my hands.
"No, I've been there since one," she said, glancing over at me and taking the milk from my hand. "Here, lemme' carry that, it's kind've heavy." A quick verbal scuffle ensued over who was to carry the dairy, but I let her win; the handle was cold, the air was cold, I was cold, and I really didn't want to carry it.
"Why were you working such absurd hours?" I asked, sighing at her stubbornness.
"Because it's what they gave me, Double D. Shay needs diapers and formula and diaper cream and a bunch of other crap, and it's expensive. Working full time helps pay for… well, everything." I tripped again, but quickly recovered, telling her I was fine.
How on earth was she keeping this ludicrous schedule? She was going to school nearly every day, working a full time job, and helping out with the baby and housekeeping back at home? When did she sleep? When did she eat!? "Well," I ventured, "I condone and applaud your admirable drive and work ethic."
"It's whatever," she shrugged, trying to let the compliment roll off as if it was water, and she oil, but her smile seemed a little more bright. We walked and chatted about the past semester, wondering what our final grades were.
We reached the cul-de-sac, and when we were stopped in front of my house, Marie said a farewell and began walking to the alley that connected the cul-de-sac to the forest, and just through there, the Park-n-Flush. As I walked up the driveway, hauling the heavy gallon, I felt a minor panic fill me; I didn't want to be alone. I didn't want to be left to my own thoughts and memories. "Hey, Marie!" I called. She turned around, and I rose my hand and dropped it, not really knowing how to go about asking for company. "I, uh, don't have any plans for today, and no one else seems to be up yet. Do you want to…" Where? Where could we go to entertain ourselves? "Go to the library?" Wow, a real grand idea, I thought to myself, mental smacking my palm against my head.
"Yeah, that doesn't sound bad," she said, turning back around and retracing her steps to my surprise. Sure, the library was fun for me, but it wasn't exactly a social hub for the age group we were in. We walked up to my front door, but when I held the door open for her, inviting her in, she shuffled her feet awkwardly. "I think I'll just wait for you out here."
"But it's freezing out here!" I argued.
"I'll stay here." She glared at me, letting her know that she wasn't to be convinced. I closed the door quickly, shoved the milk in the fridge, ran upstairs silently and changed into longer pants before rushing outside again, trying not to keep her waiting. When I slipped out the door and shut it, puffing from the speed of my movements, she chuckled. "Wow, record timing," she tittered.