Audrey Hepburn's Pearls: Part I

Chapter 50.3: 1968, Georgina

Chapter 50.3: 1968, Georgina

 

Walking in a brightly lit grocery store on a busy Saturday morning was not where I had intended to be today, but it was worth it even if the florescent lighting was making me look like I was some kind of alien. 

In front of me, Cha Cha was wandering, inspecting the shelves silently. His olive green coat didn't quite cover the fact that below it there were only white tights and girls' penny loafers. Underneath the coat was a navy blue school uniform sort of girls' jumper and a stiff white blouse, completing the uniform look. And now that I thought about it while walking behind him, it probably was a part of an old school uniform of Thandi's.

I kept peering around, wondering if people were noticing his tights. But nobody seemed to be paying attention to us, more occupied with themselves and getting their own things. Still, I couldn't help but glance at everyone. 

Behind me, Frankie was wheeling the cart along. The wheels were squeaking, telling me he was still following. All together, we looked like an odd parade, for I had decided to wear my white mink coat over my button down shirt and slacks at the last minute to the delight of Frankie. Of course, he was still in his dark pinstripe suit from last night having had no extras in my apartment. He looked like he could be going to church if his suit pants weren't wrinkled from being slept in.

I kept thinking about us being a family altogether like this, causing my heart to pinch. But I couldn't get distracted.

Now in the cold aisle, I swooped in next to Cha Cha. He was staring at bottles of milk, as if unsure. I had to get milk for myself anyway, so I picked up a quart of whole milk and put it in the cart. Making my heart blip, Cha Cha paused for a fraction of a second then redirected himself and picked up an identical one. 

"That's a good brand," I said, secretly wanting to express my pleasure of his copying me.

He just gave a rare smile to this, which further pleased my heart, and we went on. Along the way, I picked up a half carton of eggs and chose butter for both me and Cha Cha. He approved this selection soundlessly, but with that same little smile. 

We hovered next to the TV dinners for a while. It seemed hard for him to make selections, so I looked at them, too. To my surprise, Frankie's hands appeared between us and picked up two of the steak ones. I glanced up and he was looking away with a sheepish expression as they clattered into the cart. 

"Are those good?" I asked, picking one up from the cold interior of the shelf and inspecting it. 

"Yeah, they cook evenly. You don't get the weird filmly texture like some of the other ones," he explained behind me. He sounded so cutely embarrassed. Why?

"Filmy texture? That sounds disgusting," I grimaced. 

"Sounds?" he asked, closer now.

"Yeah. I don't eat these very much. I don't know."

"Oh, yeah. You prefer to make stuff from scratch, right? You always make me stuff from scratch."

"Yeah."

Cha Cha was now holding up a chicken one, reading the blue box. He seemed to be reading the box for a long time. His eyebrows creased. A slight blush formed on his cheeks, causing the skin to pink a bit. He looked up at me, his eyes more embarrassed than Frankie's voice.

"What this word say?" he asked quietly. Instead of pointing to the word, he handed me the box.

"Um, let me see." I ignored his embarrassment, thinking it was better not to point it out. The box was chilly in my hands as I read the front of it. But it was my turn for pink cheeks. "Um...baby, I don't know," I admitted with a chuckle to cover up my shame.