Thing Number 1: Eating Chocolate

Quite surprising, actually...

I never even realized I was deprived of chocolate.

Marie nearly fainted when she saw that on my list.

She wasted no time in moving it up to number 1.

She came home today with about fifty bars of chocolate.

I kid you not.

Fifty!

I haven't the slightest idea where she got it all. She must have ransacked the poor little grocery store. Now no one else will have any until the owner orders more.

Marie doesn't care, though. It's a sacrifice that had to be made for the good of "Operation 101 Things Jason Bourne Has Never Done."

I really should have given her something else to do.

But she's too far-gone now for anything to be done about it.

So I ate chocolate.

I swear, I'm going to have to run across India to work off the calories if she ever brings it near me again.

I guess the easiest way to explain my revelation is to recount this afternoon's events…

She took me by the hand, the tan paper bag that contained her precious cargo balancing carefully on her hip, and led me to the kitchen, sitting me down in a chair with an almost overbearing air of patience.

I stared, mildly interested, at the mound of chocolate Marie poured from the bag onto the gleaming tabletop. As I watched, she snatched a bar from the mound, holding it near her shoulder and assuming a posture which suggested the task I was about to undertake would be the most monumental moment of my life.

"Isn't this a little dramatic?" I smiled, reaching for the chocolate. "It's only candy…"

She wrapped her fingers around my wrist, stopping me. "That," she raised an eyebrow, "is not true. This-"Marie whacked the top of my head with the bar of candy for emphasis, "-has gotten thousands of people all over the world through millions of bad days. It is quite possibly the most important substance you will ever know." She paused, unable to keep herself from breaking her act of solemnity. "Plus it's damn delicious."

"Even more delicious than that wonderful colloidal matter which results from your mixing astonishing amounts of melted butter, flour, and left-over chicken?"

She grinned at that, all seriousness lost without hope of return. "Yes, Jason, even more delicious than that."

She peeled open the wrapper, snapping off a row of three squares and placing it in my still captive hand. "See for yourself."

I paused, licked the offending substance tentatively, and looked up at Marie uncertainly. "What if I'm allergic to it?"

"What, you didn't have a list of allergies in your hip next to the bank account number?"

I glared at her.

She merely laughed. (I swear, I will never be able to intimidate her.) "Then I'll take you to the hospital." She was clearly amused by the prospect of the formidable Jason Bourne being brought to his knees by chocolate. "Look, nothing's going to happen. Trust me."

I regarded the candy in my hand wearily for another second before sighing and shrugging my shoulders. "Oh, what the hey. What's the worst that could happen? But if I stop breathing you'd better at least try to save my life. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Good. Well, here goes nothing…" I took a breath and popped the segment of chocolate into my mouth.

I bit it in half.

I bit the halves in half.

And then I stopped chewing.

"What is it?" Marie ran her hand through my short hair, bending down with a trace of concern visible in her brown eyes.

"It's good!" I stated somewhat unintelligibly around the chocolate inhibiting my speech. "It's really good!" I laughed and Marie wrapped her arms around my shoulders, leaning over the back of my chair.

"See?! What did I tell you?"

I swallowed the chocolate, somewhat reluctant to see it go. "I guess you were right."

"You guess?"

"Okay, okay, you were right."

"I appreciate that."

"I'm sure you do. Now give me the rest of that." I indicated the candy still clutched in her hand.

She kissed the back of my neck, straightening and pulling away. "Maybe later."

"What?" I blinked, feeling betrayed.

"If you eat it all now, you'll get sick. Besides, dinner is in an hour."

"What?" The excess of glucose I had just ingested was having an adverse affect on my ability to move past that one word.

She swept the chocolate on the table back into its bag, placing it in the cupboard above the stove. "You want the rest of this?" She held up the candy in question.

"Yes."

"Set the table and you'll get it." The smile that accompanied this blow was sweeter than I could have fathomed.

And that's how Marie introduced me to the most addicting substance in the world and got me wrapped around her finger in one mere, fateful afternoon…

--x--

A/N: So, anyone like? If so, I'll keep going. I've got 100 more chapters, sooo...oh, goodness. Let me know if anyone thinks they'll be able to stand 101 of these! The idea is to update once every one or two days; I'll see how it goes. XD Farewell for now!