Take Me Back To When I Was Single

This Is A Nightmare

"Just a second, honey. Let's go through the grocery list one more time." Gabbie Pentland growled under her breath as her husband said this. They had checked that list a dozen times already before leaving for the store. Now he wanted a re-check in the parking lot? He had already noted that the packets of oatmeal they were going to get had to be exactly 500g and have a cooking time of 3 minutes. He had already changed the number of milk cartons from two to one because apparently, they each used one cup in their morning cereal and at that rate they would finish the milk in exactly one week. Could he be more painfully detailed?

"That looks perfect," he said after re-reading the list. "But honey, is there anything you want changed? Because I'm totally willing to compromise if you're not happy with how it is." That was a blatant lie. She knew that the last thing he wanted her to do was change anything on that list.

She wouldn't be surprised if the mere suggestion of a change set his head on fire. Just the previous week he nearly lost his mind when she shifted the microwave two centimeters off to fetch a lost earring. And of course, right after sprinting over with a panic-stricken face and shifting it back, he gave her that saccharine, "Honey, I just think it looks so much better over here, but if you would like to rearrange anything in the house, we can talk about it. We're married now so it's teamwork from here on." They had only been married for three weeks but for Gabbie, it felt like three long, long years.

"No, honey. The list is perfect," she replied, stretching her lips to a smile that was about as genuine as what she'd just said. Then she reached towards the backseat to fetch her purse and quickly remembered it wasn't there. "Would be safer in the boot," he'd said, "in case we get into an accident." Right.

In the store, they stood in the bread section for about 15 minutes, him memorizing every word on the labels and her counting to ten and back down to one just to stay calm. "Hey, I think I saw those circular coasters you wanted over there," she said when she felt she couldn't bear another second next to him. "I'll go check quickly."

"Oh really? I didn't think they sold them–"

"Yeah, yeah. I saw them. Be right back." And she sprinted to the opposite end of the store.

As soon as she was out of his sight, she stopped, grabbed the edge of the shelf closest to her, and took a deep breath. She wondered if it was not possible to teleport to a place far, far away from him or to at least to travel back in time to the days when she was still single and searching.

Looking about her, she realized she was in the electronics aisle. Her eyes caught on to a toy-sized ukulele on a shelf three steps away. She walked up to it and let her fingers caress the strings. Her mind wandered back to the guitar player she had for a Tinder date just three months ago.

He had a way of making her laugh without even trying. On their date, she had laughed so hard that she dropped her wine glass on the table. Then with a serious face, he said, "Did you know that if you run anything through a white tablecloth it becomes purified? So, this wine right here is completely pure." She had to use all her strength to not burst into laughter again.

Later, after their waitress had moved them to another table, he offered to play a song for the restaurant to make up for the trouble they'd caused. And at the stage, it was as if the music transformed him into a different person altogether. Nothing else seemed to exist except for him, his guitar, and the mesmerizing tunes that came out of his mouth. The words he sang told a moving story about two beautiful birds that had grown old together, changed their songs and their colors, and forgot the reason they loved each other in the first place. At the end of it, not a single person in the restaurant remained seated, as they clapped and dabbed at their eyes with their napkins.