Disclaimer: I don't own Bones.
Jenheir1: I imagined Michelle's dorm set up like the one I had when I went to UofD and stayed in Christiana Towers. It was a two bedroom apartment with four people to an apartment. But you could buy out the second space if you could afford it. At this point he's given up on getting Josh but had just decided to be an ass. We have to have one in each story ya know cos that's how I roll LOL
ArielBrennan: There are many more shenanigans to come =D. I'm glad you loved the chapter.
Nertooold54: Lol yeah we're about done with Romero. To be honest I can't remember whether I even wrote him into the rest of the story. I had to wing it on the Ball because Lord help me there was a 165 page book on how to throw a military function. I was ready to cry it was boring and horrible. I mean there are specifics as to which flag goes where in order of prescendence. Ha, I agree with you on that one. Tanya does owe Michelle ;-)
Yenyen76:Amen to that one. They cry and complain about neck ties and I'm thinking 'yeah try stilettos buttmonkey' But we wear them anyway because they make our legs look good and get the guys attention.
Silver Maker: Ha it didn't eat your review. It will probably show up tomorrow. They have a review approval system that holds reviews for the writers approval to post. It's horse puckey and I want to turn it off but can't figure out how. Any review made under the 'guest' signature is put there. And there it is, in my email box. You weren't signed in so it's under guest which is in the approval box. =D Yeah, my hair is almost down to my butt again (I cut it off and donate it when it gets long enough) and I have used things like pencils when my hair was getting on my nerves lol. I was upset because I had a link for Michelle's dress but it went bad and I couldn't find the dress again /pout I tried to be as descriptive as possible.
Guest(1): I didn't know they actually existed lol. Oooppss didn't mean to take credit for someone else's idea =/ I could so have fun with those hair sticks at family dinners )
Guest(2): As guest 1 pointed out apparently those hair sticks do exist. So now it's just a matter of finding them =). I believe (don't quote me on it) that this should be the last you see of Romero. It's hard for me to remember since I'm actively writing I have characters come and go so yeah... Everyone wants to see the talk but /whisper it just never happens. Not really.
Chapter 56 – Little Sleepy Shopper
"Good evening, Ms. Welton," the man behind the desk said.
She smiled and nodded as they walked towards the elevators. Their footsteps echoed through the lobby. When the elevator doors slid closed, he pulled her up against him. Leaning down slightly, he kissed her.
"I've been wanting to do that all night," he said in a low tone.
She chuckled and took a step back when the elevator stopped and the doors slid open. She turned and exited the elevator. Legates followed her and for once his mind was not full of lusty thoughts. He wanted to know what had almost made her cry before the ball. Before anything else happened tonight, he'd find out.
She slid the key in the lock and opened the door. He followed her in and closed the door behind himself. Watching her, he saw her move around the room, removing articles of clothing. The stole first, followed by the shoes, and earrings. She dropped her clutch and earrings on the table in the dining area. He stood leaning against the door until she left the room and moved towards the bedroom.
He'd not said anything yet and waited as she pulled off her dress and swallowed hard at the strapless black bra, underwear, garter belt, garters, knife and thigh high stockings. He didn't realize how hot a woman in underwear and weapons were until now. She hadn't said anything either and he wondered what she was thinking. She removed her undergarments one by one wondering why he was being so silent. She could see the desire rising in his eyes but he had yet to make a move.
She stood before him naked and waited for a moment. When he made no movement to her, she pulled on her robe. Legates sucked in a breath recognizing the robe from when she was at Hodgins'. She ambled quietly to the bathroom and began removing her makeup. Legates followed just as quietly and watched as she was removing her makeup. He never realized how much went into putting on makeup and removing it.
He watched as she put baby oil on a q-tip and began to saturate her eyelid. She pulled the hair sticks from her hair while she waited. His eyes widened when she reached up and rolled half her eyelashes off her eyelid. He noticed then that her eyes looked like they normally did. She had glued fake eyelashes on her eyelids to look nice for him. He was impressed. She ignored him standing in the door as she went through the steps of removing the makeup. When she was finished, she turned to face him.
"Okay, you've been stalking me around the hotel room since we got here. What's up?" She asked, walking towards him. Backing up, he made room for her to walk through the door.
"I have two questions and feel free not to answer either of them. One I don't care whether or not you answer, I'm just curious. The second, I really hope you do answer because it bothers me," he said.
Walking to the chaise at the end of the bed, he sat down, put his elbows on his knees and laced his fingers.
"Go ahead," she urged. He glanced up at her and pursed his lips.
"First one is how in the hell can a college student afford a Vice Presidential Suite at the Marriott? Second one, what made you almost cry before the party?" He asked, tilting his head a little while looking her in the eye.
She let out a small sigh and walked to the chaise and sat down facing him. She pulled one leg underneath her.
"I honestly don't have a problem answering both but the second one is still a touchy situation," she told him. He nodded and let her continue.
"When my father died I was the sole inheritor of his possessions including a house, a large life insurance policy and a vehicle. Cam discussed my inheritance with me even though I was young. We decided to sell the house and the car. We then buried my father and invested what was left. My money is earning interest," she told him.
"So you are rich?" He asked twiddling his thumbs.
"I'm not rich like Dr. Brennan but I have enough money to do what I want for the most part. I have yet to touch the principle and I have enough to pay for school, my trip overseas, clothes, books and food. And interest is still compounding, so I'm still making money," she told him.
"Yeah, you're rich. Richer than me anyway," he laughed and then shrugged. She paused a moment and took a deep breath. He knew she was about to answer his second question and braced for it.
"My senior year I was dating a guy named Derrick. And I decided to follow him to the college he'd chosen to go to. Cam and I struggled over where I would go. She applied to a few schools for me and even wrote the essays. I was about to send in my acceptance to Central Maine State University where Derrick was when he dumped me. Cam admitted to getting me into a few schools. Instead of going to one of them I got a job for the summer and took a few classes during the summer semester before applying to GW," she told him. He nodded understanding the story but not making the connection to the tears earlier.
"So, while I was working and attending summer classes I met Tyrell. He worked at the restaurant where I was a waitress. We got along, went out on a few dates then got serious. As in I slept with him serious. I don't just jump into bed with a guy just because I'm dating them," she said, reaching over and gently grasping his wrist. He grimaced as small pieces of the story suddenly clicked into place.
"Anyway, we'd been sleeping together for about four months. I had a late class that particular night and it had gotten canceled. I was living in the open dorms. They are ones that are easy to come and go from. I came home, unlocked my door, walking into my room and found him having sex with another girl in my bed," she whispered the last part as the image flashed through her mind.
"So, I threw them out. Her in her underwear, him in his and then threw their clothes out the window into the dumpster three floors down, and called a friend from class. She brought me a few bottles of rum. By the time Tanya called I was halfway through the second bottle. I had forgotten the cheerleading squad charity event. So I got dressed and went thinking I was okay. As you could tell I wasn't quite myself," she said, wincing at the memory of what happened when she got off stage.
"Shit, Baby, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have laughed. That was not funny," he murmured, pulling her towards him.
"Tanya, isn't aware of how much I was hurting that night and I won't ever tell her. Normally I can laugh and ignore it but when you laughed I guess I just couldn't hide that pain," she said, slowly looking down at his arm.
"Shit, shit, shit. I really am sorry. I didn't know, Sweetheart," he said, brushing her hair back and pressing a kiss to her temple. She shrugged and he shook his head.
"Hey, don't shrug it off. It's not right. Next time just tell me, don't tell me you don't want to talk about it. I don't like hurting you," he said, against her temple.
"So, now that I answered those questions, I have one for you," Michelle said. Legates let out sigh because he knew what was coming and he felt the need to beat Techie within an inch of his life.
"Go ahead," Legates said, chewing on his lip.
"What was Techie talking about? Teaching Romero a lesson?" Michelle asked, looking at him with the question plastered on her face.
"That night that he called you a...cunt...I had a nice little chat with him about his manners and the way that he spoke to you," Legates said, trying to gloss over almost choking Romero to death.
"Chat?" She said doubtfully, her eyebrow rising quizzically. Letting out a sigh, he ran his hand down his face and grimaced.
"Okay, so I may have choked him a little," Legates said, sheepish now that he was admitting to it.
"Uh, okay," Michelle said, not sure that she really needed to say anything else about it, "maybe next time just punch him instead of choking him."
"I really don't think there will be a next time," Legates said, huffing out a laugh at her comment and dropping a kiss on her lips, "but if that's what you'd prefer, I'll do that. Now, what are we doing tomorrow before this thing at night?"
"I have to go and pick up my Santa suit and I have to go grocery shopping for the event. I do that every year whether I sing or not," she said, shrugging.
"That takes all day?"
"Most of the day, four people and three or four cars," she said. He shook his head and snorted.
"Okay, we can take my truck and you're free to use the back but it's snowed quite a bit lately and there's still snow in the back," he said.
"That's fine we take Tanya's Dad's truck," she said.
"We'll have to take Techie with us too," he grunted.
"Good more hands," she said.
He pulled back from her and bent over to unlace his shoes. Next, he stood up and started unbuttoning his uniform jacket.
"Friggin things I really do hate them," he muttered. She laughed at his complaining and raised an eyebrow. He ducked his head and blushed.
"Yeah, I got it. Yours sucks worse," he muttered at her look.
"Those are only the things you know about," she laughed. He shook his head and rolled his eye to the ceiling.
"There's more?" He asked his eyes getting wide.
"You've never asked anyone you've been with about stuff like this? Or seen them put on or remove their make up?"
"Nope, I've slept with girlfriends but they were...I don't want to say not serious but...in comparison they were not serious and I was never interested in or privy to their makeup rituals," he said.
He pulled his jacket off and dropped it on the chair near the door. Next came the bow tie, it too was flung on the chair. She walked to her bag and pulled out her pajamas. He stopped what he was doing and watched. When she was dressed, he finished unbuttoning his shirt and shrugged out of it. He was left wearing an undershirt and his pants.
"Techie needs to hurry up and get here so I can finish getting comfortable. These things itch to high heaven," he grunted, scratching his butt. Michelle giggled and shook her head at his action.
"We can go watch TV until he gets here," she suggested.
"Sounds good to me," he said.
He walked to the living room of the hotel and sat down on the couch. She came in carrying a zippered notebook. He watched as she sat on the floor in front of the coffee table. He picked up the remote and started flipping through the channels. She opened the notebook and started pulling out items.
His eyes widened at coupons and flyers she was pulling out. He watched as she flipped through the flyers, pausing to paper clip coupons to them. After about a half hour of this, he finally gave in and asked.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Extreme couponing. I don't do it regularly but for this I do," she replied.
"Uh okkkaaayy," he said. She motioned for him to sit down. He sat down next to her and she laid a flyer out for him to see the ad.
"Okay so see here," she said, pointing at the flyer, " the cranberry sauce is 10 for 10.00."
"Yeah so that makes them a dollar a piece," he said.
"Right, I have ten coupons for .75 off three cans," she said.
"Yeah," he replied.
"And this store doubles coupons up to .99. So that means that these coupons are 1.50 off three," she continued and he squinted his eyes but nodded.
"With ten of them I get 15.00 off," she continued.
"Okay," he said.
"So, I buy thirty and get 15 of them free," she told him.
"Holy shit, that's crazy," he mumbled, rubbing the back of his head. She smiled at him and shook her head.
"I have coupons that I've been collecting for two months now. Several of the other girls help with it as well. I have them for turkeys, cranberry sauce, boxed stuffing, green beans, french fried onions, cream of celery soup and jars of gravy," she told him. He looked at her in amazement.
"I usually end up spending about two hundred dollars but I get over thirty five hundred dollars worth of food for the group home. There is also a local store that donates so we pick that up as well," she told him. He shook his head as he eyes the coupons.
"Are those all of them," he asked, pointing at the coupons.
"No, Tanya has some, so does Angie and Becky," she told him.
"Holy crap," he muttered. She smiled at him and continued sorting through the flyers and attaching coupons to flyers.
"I was lucky. I didn't end up in the system because I had Cam. But not everyone is so lucky," she said, knowing he had been one of them.
"Tell me about it," he grumbled.
"I don't have to," she said softly.
"You really are a sweetheart," he told her, kissing her temple.
"So, four of you gather up almost four thousand dollars worth of food?" He asked, glancing at her suspiciously.
"Yes, and we load it up in the trucks and then use the refrigerators to store it until the event. The year I did the song there was snow on the ground so we stored the turkeys in the snow," she told him laughing.
"Ya'll are nuts," he stuttered. She laughed and smacked him on the arm.
"The football team covers the toys. Which we help with. They pass out the cash and we hit the Black Friday sales. Which is why I couldn't go out with you. I was exhausted; I got up at 11:30pm and stood waiting for half an hour for the toy store open. Between the coupons we collected and their sales we spent about fifteen hundred dollars and got six thousand dollars worth of toys," she told him with a solemn look.
"HOLY SHIT! You're kidding right?" He sputtered out as his eyes bugged.
"Nope," she said simply.
"Where were you when I was in the system?" He muttered darkly, a frown furrowing his brow.
"In a crib," she said smartly. He snorted and lightly smacked her hip since he couldn't reach her butt.
"Shit," she muttered. He looked at her in question and she held up a pencil case full of coupons.
"Some didn't get sorted," she mumbled, unzipping the bag. He reached over and took the bag from her hands.
"This I can do. You keep sorting for flyers and I'll sort these," he told her.
He sifted through them and started sorting. He was a quarter of the way through the stack when there was a knock at the door. Getting up, he walked to the door and answered it. Techie and Andrea stood on the other side. Legates waved them in with a handful of coupons. Andrea's eyes widened, a slight gleam entered them and a grin spread across her face.
"Dude, what the hell are you doing?" Techie said, eyeing the coupons in Legates large hands.
"Sorting. Come in I need to talk to you," he said.
The pair followed Legates into the hotel room and Techie whistled as they moved further in the living room. Legates returned to where Michelle was sitting and sat down next to her. Techie walked over and flopped on the couch. Andrea stood watching hesitantly until Techie waved her over to sit next to him.
"I'd have thought you two would be playing hide the salami, not clipping coupons," Techie said, teasing the pair. Michelle rolled her eyes and glared at him.
"We're going to need your help tomorrow," Legates told him.
"Yeah, I know we've already had this discussion. Me and the guys will be there," he said seriously.
"No, tomorrow during the day," Legates corrected.
"With what?" Techie asked, wondering what Legates was up to.
"We're going grocery shopping and I need my truck and your ass to help push carts," Legates told him.
"Did you say carts, as in plural?" Techie said, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise.
His eyes landed on what Michelle was doing. Andrea rubbed her hands together and moved over to sit on the floor with Michelle.
"Awww, hell you're extreme couponing aren't you?" Techie grumbled at Michelle. Andrea let out a slight squeal of happiness, making Techie smile indulgently at her.
"Yes, I am and it's for a good cause," she told him.
"You know what that is?" Legates asked Techie after looking over his shoulder at the other guy.
"Andrea does it. She has like four years of food and stuff stored up. Which is a good thing since times are tight since I've been gone," he muttered.
"I've become quite good at it if I do say so myself," Andrea said, looking at Michelle's spreadsheet of expected spending.
Techie knew he'd probably pay for agreeing without asking her if it was okay later. He also knew that she didn't have a problem with helping.
"So you can do it with more than food," Legates said, looking at Michelle.
"Sure but like I said, I only do it for this particular event," she told him. Techie sighed but nodded in submission to their request.
"I'll see if I can get any of the other guys to help. You may have to split the orders depending on the stores' coupon policy," he grunted.
"Yeah we do. Any help would be awesome," she said, smiling brightly.
Techie nodded again and stood up and looked over expectantly at Andrea. Pouting, Andrea dropped the spreadsheet and stood up.
"I'll see ya'll tomorrow. What time do you want me to be here?" He asked, pausing before opening the door.
"Eight should be good," Michelle said absently, still sorting coupons.
"I'll bring your uniform, we need to pin on Brown and Wilson's stripes. See you tomorrow morning then," Techie said quietly.
Techie and Andrea left, making little to no noise. Neither Legates or Michelle heard the click as the door shut. Legates started getting sleepy and he looked over to see Michelle had finished with the flyers.
"Come on my little sleepy shopper. If we're doing this, tonight you're going to need to get some sleep," he said, helping her to her feet.
She mumbled at him and walked off. He followed her to the bedroom and quickly changed into his pajama pants. He crawled into the bed with her. Her head hit the pillow and with a sigh she fell asleep. He laughed quietly and set the alarm on her phone for six.
He felt like he had barely closed his eyes when he heard the phone start beeping. Groaning, he sat up and chuckled at Michelle. Her eyes were closed, her face puckered in a frown and her hand searching for the phone. Finally, she growled and sat up. Picking up the phone, she flung it towards the chair near the door to the living room. He burst into laughter at her.
"Not nice to laugh at people," she grunted.
"Come on. We have shopping to do," he reminded her. Her eyes shot open and scrambled to get from the bed. He roared in laughter at her scramble.
"Baby, we've got plenty of time," he admonished lightly.
"No, we don't. Get your ass outta bed and let's get going," she nearly yelled.
Shaking his head, he climbed from the bed and followed her into the bathroom. She had picked up her phone on the way to the bathroom and was already talking to Tanya. He turned on the shower and waited for the water to heat up. Stripping down, he stepped into the shower. Michelle put it on speaker phone and continued talking as she stepped into the shower with him.
"So, Bonnie's is having a sale on turkeys right?" She called out through the curtain.
"Yes, they're on sale for sixty five cents a pound and we have the coupons for twenty cents off a pound. Plus Bonnie's is doubling today for the holiday specials. But we can only use ten coupons at a time," Tanya answered.
"Okay, well Techie and Andrea said they'd help and Josh is helping so that's fewer times we have to go through the line," Michelle told her.
"Nice, very nice," she answered.
"Make sure you stop by my dorm and get my stinking Santa suit," she growled.
"Yeah, you want your thermal panty hose?"
"Duh," she answered.
"They still in the box with the suit?" Tanya asked and they could hear papers shuffling.
"No, I had to use them they're in my drawer," Michelle answered.
"Which one?"
"Top left," Legates answered for Michelle.
"Woah, Hi, Josh. Didn't know you were-wait aren't you in the shower, Michelle?" Tanya squeaked out the question.
"Yeah, I'm almost done," she answered.
"TMI my dear," Tanya said her voice full of laughter.
"Washing Tanya, she's almost finished washing. You perv," Legates hollered.
Tanya's laughter rang from the phone. Rolling his eyes, he rinsed, stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel. He was leaving the bathroom and wrapping it around his waist when he heard a knock at the door. Grabbing his pajama pants, he slid them on and walked to the door. He opened the door and laughed. His entire unit was standing in the hallway. He opened the door and walked away, heading towards the master suite.
"Make yourselves comfortable. We'll be ready in a few minutes," he called over his shoulder.
The men trickled in and Legates chuckled at them. They had worn their ACU's and Legates wondered if it would scare the poor people at the grocery stores. He paused in his walk when his ACU's hit him in the back. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Techie grinning at him. With a grunt, Legates scooped up his uniform, turned again and started walking back towards the bedroom.
"Yummy, Sweetcheeks," Andrea called out her voice full of laughter.
Legates froze halfway to the bedroom and his chin dropped to his chest. He swung his head back and forth in a slow movement. The guys started laughing as he started moving towards the bedroom again.
"Sweetheart, Techie brought the guys," he told her.
"What guys?" Tanya asked from the counter.
"All of them?" Michelle asked in surprise.
"Yeah, all of them," he answered.
"Woohoo, sweet," she screeched, making him flinch.
"Baby, don't do that anymore. I think I'm deaf," he said.
Tanya laughed at his statement. He left the bathroom and went to his bag. He pulled out his clothes and slid into them. Michelle came flying from the bathroom, the phone still in her hand and speaking frantically. She set the phone down and began rifling through her bag, pulling out clothes and tossing them on the bed. He chuckled and left her to getting dressed.
Walking out to the living room, he carefully folded the flyers and put them in her binder then set it back down on the table. He glanced over at Techie who jerked his head. The men made two lines with four guys on each side. Andrea rolled her eyes, crossed her arms and sighed. She watched as the men each punched Wilson and Brown on the shoulder pinning their stripes to their shoulders. While the men were congratulating the two new Specialists, Oaks looked at Legates.
"Just to make sure I have this right, we volunteered to go grocery shopping?" Oaks asked, watching Legates move over to the coffee table and picking up the binder.
"That's right," he said, calmly zipping the binder closed.
The men chuckled and Techie raised his eyebrow shooting Legates a smile. Legates smirked at them and glanced at his watch. Andrea let a slow smirk cross her features as she placed her weight on one leg and crossed her arms. The guys started to shift; they were getting the distinct feeling that it wasn't what they were thinking it was. Michelle came out carrying her purse, her shoes and the phone.
"Your dad is letting us use the refrigerated truck and the box truck as well?" She asked with surprise in her voice.
"Yeah, Dad has a soft spot for kids. But I told Dwayne we'd also get the toys from the storage unit so they could deliver them today," she said.
"Okay, that's fine," Michelle said, sitting down and pulling on her socks and shoes. Goodman fish mouthed at the mention of the trucks and toys.
"Should I bring the straps just in case?" Tanya asked her.
"Yeah go ahead and bring them. We're getting ready to leave. I need to get food and coffee, so you're in charge of getting Angie and Becky there," Michelle said.
"Got it. See you in an hour," Tanya said then hung up.
Michelle hung her phone up and stood up. Glancing around, she saw that the flyers were gone. Her eyes went wide with a slight hint of panic.
"They're in the binder," Legates told her.
"Thanks," she said, giving him a quick kiss.
"Let's go," she said hurriedly.
She was standing in front of the door when Legates whistled a yoo-hoo at her. She paused and looked over her shoulder at him. He held the key to the room between his thumb and forefinger.
"So bring it. Let's go guys we have a lot of shopping and not a lot of time," she said, waving them out the door.
A few elevator trips and five minutes later, they were all in the lobby. Michelle paused to look at Techie.
"Following you, you know where the cars are," she said.
Techie walked across the lobby everyone heading in the same direction. They walked around the corner to the side street and climbed into the cars.
"Why do I have to sit in the back? I've gotten used to being in the front seat, " Techie whined, climbing in the backseat of the truck.
"Because you should be sitting with Andrea not me. Because I know where we're going and I'm sleeping with the driver. If you'd like to switch jobs just let me know," she said. grinning at him. Techie barked out a laugh and shook his head.
"I like her. I really do," Andrea said, laughing behind her hand. Michelle shot a smile over her shoulder at Andrea.
"Where am I going?" Legates asked Michelle, glancing over at her.
"First stop is over at Bonnie's which is on I St. near the Naval Yard. We can hit Justin's Cafe before we start," she said. He nodded and made a left onto 7th and followed it south to the South East Freeway.
Getting on the freeway, he followed it to the I street exit. The line of cars fell behind a little bit but all managed to get off on the right exit. She told him how to get to Justin's cafe and barely waited for him to park the truck before jumping out. She stood tapping her toes as everyone got out of their cars. They snickered at her impatience. She huffed in irritation and entered the cafe. They immediately took over the booths in the back corner. Most of the guys just had coffee but Andrea, Legates, Techie and Michelle ordered full breakfasts.
"Should we warn them?" Techie asked his voice smug.
"Nope," Andrea said, smirking.
Michelle was inhaling her pancakes and Legates watched in astonishment. Andrea snickered at Legates' stunned look. He'd seen her eat but she was keeping up with guys in basic.
"Wait until you see a pregnant woman eat. And don't forget pretty much if you can do it we can too. I mean you have women that eat like that in basic as well right?" Andrea asked, still grinning at Legates' face.
Michelle's phone rang and Legates reached over to answer it.
"Hello?"
"Who the hell is this?" A feminine voice asked in irritation.
"Michelle's favorite toy. Who is this?" He asked, propping his chin in his hand.
The men behind him roared in laughter at his answer.
"This is Becky. Are you two close to Bonnie's?" She asked in a hurried tone he was beginning to recognize. These women were on a mission.
"Yeah, we're around the corner at Justin's cafe and as soon as she's done inhaling her food we'll be on our way there," he answered.
"Tell her to eat faster," Becky said.
"I don't think that's humanly possible," he said, grinning.
Michelle shot him the bird while she continued eating. Techie started coughing when his bacon went down the wrong tube and Andrea burst into rolling laughter.
"We'll be there in five," Michelle called out.
Legates pulled the phone away from his ear at the dial tone. Michelle sucked down her coffee then jumped up and walked quickly to the register. He saw her wave her hand and spoke with the woman. A moment later the woman returned with a gargantuan Styrofoam coffee cup filled with coffee. He saw her reach into her purse and pull out some cash.
She paid for the guys' coffee and the meals then walked back to the table carrying the coffee. It was the least she could do to repay them for their help today. She scooped up the binder and stood waiting as the men got out of the booths. They drove over to the grocery store and Legates pulled into the parking space next to a truck with Sabbatino's across the side in cursive green letters.
Michelle jumped out and walked to the other side of the truck. Legates turned the truck off and climbed out. The guys got out of their cars and followed Legates to where Michelle was standing with two other girls. They had similar binders open and were condensing coupons and waving their hands as they spoke. Andrea was standing with them reading a printed sheet of paper and discussing strategies with them.
"Are they speaking a foreign language or what?" Perkins asked Johnson as he watched the three women.
"Yes, they are," Techie answered his question. Finally Michelle turned to face them.
"Okay guys. Grab a cart and let's go," she said, waving her hands towards the door. They grabbed carts and followed her into the store.
"Why aren't you pushing a cart," Oaks pouted at her.
"Josh is pushing mine," she said.
They followed her to the meat department and lined up around the open freezer display. Michelle glanced in the freezer and sighed. Andrea's eyes rose at the motion then looked at the case and mentally calculated the number of coupons she heard discussed.
"Do we need the manager?" Becky asked and Tanya glanced in the display then looked at Michelle.
"Yes," they replied in unison. Becky returned a moment later with a man. He and Tanya were speaking when Michelle looked over at Becky.
"Do you have the cranberry coupons?" She asked her with a smile. Becky nodded her head yes and Michelle nodded.
"Oaks, Perkins, and Wilson you go with her," she said, pointing to Becky.
They turned and followed Becky away from the turkeys. It took another two hours but they were finally finished at Bonnie's and got in the checkout lines.
A/N: So we're not quite done with the shopping...254.67, cash, the dreaded beep, Rangers lead the way, twitter, stuffing, a nap, room service, shimmery pantyhose, a cheeseburger, a rodent, shoe horns, coal, disco stick, Santa hat, winking, a smoldering look, big bows, popping knuckles, 6'7" Greek god, and face to shoulders.
A/N2: I actually do some couponing and have gotten as high as 86% savings. Yeah, I spent the same amount of money as I usually did but got four times the amount of food. It is like the women on the extreme couponing show say, it is addictive. You get a huge rush out of it.
Pleaseeeeee leave a review =D I'm not above begging!