Chapter 5.
"Buck Jebidiah Oliver put me down!"
Jules squirmed as Buck lifted her higher. "Okay." He plopped her in the empty cart. The withering look she gave him would have likely made others undo what they did and apologize meekly. Buck, however, just stared her back, the left side of his mouth quirked up in a smile. "You're real mature, y'know that?" she asked him. "Actually, I am. Your feet have got to be killin' you." "What?" "The three of us," he motioned at the three who were standing, "wore comfy shoes: sneakers and hiking boots. You wore those shoes once for one of those stupid dressy school functions, and as soon as we got to my car you took 'em off and had blisters on your feet."
Bridget started nodding. "I do remember that. He's right; you sent me a bunch of pictures of blisters." Jules ducked her head, red creeping up her face. "Connie was wrong about what time we were supposed to leave, and then Buck texted me asking where we were, and so I just threw a bunch of shoes in my bag. I also have one flat. Literally one. So." Buck chuckled. "Makes sense." They couldn't tell if he was joking or not.
"So what's in the next aisle? Does that say canned fruit?" Cooper asked. "Yeah." "And, noodles?" Bridget asked. "And rice and tuna packs, apparently," Buck added. "What is with this store?" Jules asked. The group shrugged as a whole.
Cooper started down the aisle, glancing between the list and the shelves. (Jules had given up trying to figure out who had it when.) "Do we need canned fruit if we're getting fresh fruit?" Jules asked. "It kinda depends on what fruit you want," Buck said. "What does the list say?" Bridget asked. "Fruit," the boys said in unison. "Nice," Jules quipped. "Grab a bag of apples and we're done." Buck chuckled and shook his head.
"Berries, apples, bananas, and grapes are things you buy fresh. Cherries are bought canned. Pineapple and melon is bought pre-sliced in those plastic containers," he explained casually. Cooper quirked an eyebrow. "That's… weirdly specific. Buck smiled. "That's what Mr. Skint and I always did. Fresh pineapple and melon would require Tupperware and big kitchen knives. Fresh cherries need cherry pitters, a lot of work, and make a big mess. The other fruits just need washed or peeled. When you're only stayin' a few days, or you're not sure when you're leavin,' that kinda stuff is useful." "…Oh."
Jules stared at the cans. "So, cherries?" "Yeah. See if they have what they call 'dark sweet cherries in heavy syrup.'" "Got 'em." Cooper surveyed the noodles. "How many boxes will we need?" Bridget asked. "We use a whole box," Buck said. "So do we," Cooper added. Bridget made a face. "So do we, when we make noodles." "We don't, because Jillian doesn't eat normal noodles," Jules said with an eyeroll. "What does she use?" Cooper asked curiously. "I don't know; bean noodles, or something. The stink." "Lentils?" "Maybe."
"Grab four boxes of…" Buck trailed off and rubbed his temples. "The list doesn't specify type of noodle, does it?" "No." Bridget sighed. "Will we want to make spaghetti or something else?" she asked. Jules shrugged. "Grab the spirally ones," Buck suggested. "They hold sauce the best, and if we decide to make spaghetti they'll still work fine." Bridget nodded. "We do stuff like that at home. Make enough and you have two nights of dinner." "I used to do that too."
Cooper grabbed a bag of white rice and a bag of brown rice, silently giving thanks for its simplicity. "Any tuna or canned meat?" Buck pursed his lips. "I don't think. It's not on the list." "Ok." "That's this aisle, then," Jules said from the depths of the cart. "I guess." "What's next?" Bridget asked. Buck shrugged. "No clue."