Blood Sweat and Tears

French Impressions

I woke up to see my pillow with a wet spot on it, I must've cried in my sleep, I wonder why? Anyways, I woke up and went to my closet to grab a maroon sweater along with a pair of dark blue skinny jeans to change into after my shower. I walk into the bathroom to turn on the water so it would be warm by time I got undressed to get in. Once in I get my vanilla bean body wash to get rid of the grime from the night before. After rinsing I washed my hair with my strawberry scented shampoo as well as conditioner. While scrubbing the shampoo into my scalp to rid of the oil and a little bit of dandruff, I started singing a song that recently came out called Castle by Hasley, she has other hits but that one had to be my favorite.

"Sick of all these people talking, sick of all this noise." I sang with ease, "Sick of all these cameras flashing, sick of being poised. Now my neck is open wide, begging for a fist around it." I now start acting out the words, "Already choking on my pride, so there's no use crying about it." As the verse ends there's a pause of music leading to the chorus, which hypes me up for it. I sing loud and proud, "I'm headed straight for the castle, they want to make me their queen. There's an old man sitting on the throne saying that I shouldn't be so mean." I sing the rest of the song feeling so connected to it. After singing a few more songs, I get out of the shower putting my hair in a towel and using another one to dry myself. I quickly change into my outfit, I then brush my teeth and tongue so I don't have a bad case of morning breath. Once I cleaned up the bathroom, I go into my room to put on my socks and my black, worn-in, Converse so I could go out to the store. I promised Chloe that I would make a homemade meal every so often, well tonight is one of those nights. I grab my phone and wallet, I pull up the Uber app where I find one right down the road who could take me to and from the market. I accept and wait for the driver to show up and within seven minutes he was here.

"Where to?" the mid-twenties man, who I noticed to be named Maxwell.

"The local market." I say with a smile of gratitude.

"So," Max the driver says while peeking in the rearview mirror at me, "What are you picking up today?"

"Well," I said looking down at my list, "I'm making pasta primavera and grilled chicken to top it off, I'm also making fresh garlic bread."

"Sounds delicious." he said with a slight hum, thinking about how it would taste, I'm assuming. We were there within a few minutes and as I get out Max says, "I'll wait here, don't worry I won't charge for the time you take."

I thank him, with extreme sincerity, while I walk away and into the market. First I go to the pasta area to grab a box of fettuccine as well as the tomato sauce to go with it, making sure to grab the garlic cloves and cheese while in the fresh produce. I then walk over to the meat counter and pull a number to order the chicken. Looking up at the red glowing sign that showed the number fifty-two then looking down at the piece of paper that had sixty printed on it, I sighed in impatience.

After playing around on my phone I heard the man, around the same age of my father, calls out sixty while looking at the customers to see who might be next. The answer is evident when I walk up to the counter with the number held up to show that I was next.

"What can I get'cha?" the man said as I discreetly read his name tag to be Nigel.

"Can I get three pounds of boneless chicken, white meat, please." before I even get to finish my sentence he gets to work and within minutes he has it weighed and packaged for me to take home. "Thank you, sir, have a nice day."

He mutters a thank you back as I head for the checkout lanes, making small talk with the cashier and bagger before heading home. When walking out I don't spot the uber, so I start for the parking lot, assuming he just parked somewhere to wait. After transferring the bags from the cart to my arms I turned around and ran into someone that felt like a brick wall in comparison to me, but when I looked up I saw the soft smile of Craig to which I returned.

"Fancy seeing you here," Craig said looking handsome in a pair of joggers and a white t-shirt, "so chef Tierney, what's on the menu?"

"Well, I'm making pasta primavera suited for a family of 5, with a nice basket of fresh garlic bread." I replied sarcastically with a horrible French accent. Craig laughed at my attempt. "So, what are you here to pick up?"

"I needed milk and eggs, the necessities." I could tell he wanted to say more but refrained. I decided against asking him about it and instead wondered if he saw a dark blue SUV due to his height he could see the whole parking lot unlike myself. "No, from what I can see I'm not seeing any blue cars SUVs at that. You know anytime you need transportation just call me and I'll be your chauffeur." he said while ending it with his own French impression.

"I'll cancel and pay for my uber then." I said while getting out my phone.

"Alright, well I'll go grab the few things I need, you can warm up in the car if you want," Craig said in an asking tone while holding out his keys.

"I can put my groceries in the trunk and head in with you, I'd rather give you some company." I said with a smile, taking the keys and unlocking the trunk. After sitting my bags in the trunk I closed it and grabbed Craig's hand to pull him towards the store. The sudden action took him by surprise before I even noticed what I did. I slipped my hand away in embarrassment quietly apologizing to him.

Instead, Craig puts his arm around me and says, "It's fine, I just wish I was the first one to take that step," he says while smiling down at me. "Well, let's get these groceries and get out of here."