AMBW IMAGINES

Dealing With A 'Karen'

Idol: Nakamoto Yuta

It was another Friday night I was spending with my husband, Yuta. Usually, on these nights, we would go exploring the city and doing whatever we pleased. Since our youngest baby is off to college, we have the house to ourselves. And we needed something to entertain ourselves since we no longer have to revolve our plans around the children. This week was just hectic. Both Yuta and I were considered essential workers during the pandemic. And now we just needed a way to blow off some steam.

Yuta came into the living room. "You got any ideas for tonight." He joined me on the couch with his arm around my shoulders. He then added a kiss on my forehead.

"No, I haven't thought of anything. Everything is either closed or not open at this time." Looking at his watch, he saw the time fifteen minutes past 10:30 pm.

"Well, we could always cook something."

"True." Googling some homemade cuisines and found a homemade brownie cookie and cake combination. I showed my husband.

"What do you think?" I passed my phone to Yuta. He looked over the recipe and saw the photos.

"Sounds pretty fattening."

"Yeah, but it looks delicious. Who thinks of combining three deserts. Brownies, cookies, and cake. It sounds like a match made in heaven."

"Americans." He smartly replied. I rolled my eyes at his remark. "But it sounds good. Let's make it."

I clapped in excitement and got off the couch. All we needed was to go to the supermarket, and it was late at night. No need to dress up casually. Hobo fashion, as I liked to call it. I was even going to leave the house with my silk hair wrap. All I needed was my slides and keys. No need for a wallet when my dear sweet husband was with me.

Going back to the living room, I caught a quick glance of Yuta's toned body as he was putting on his hoodie. It's impressive that 19 years of marriage, and he still took care of himself. Kinda hot if I thought about it. The basketball shorts, socks, and slides combo just complimented my hobo fashion.

"Let's go so I can eat this dessert." Yuta held the door open for me, and we were off to the store. To get some much-needed exercise, we walked to the supermarket. It was just a few feet away from our subdivision. It would be a mile walk round trip.

Little things like this I found so romantic. I didn't need extravagant gifts or trips. Spending quality time with loved ones was just enough for me. We crossed the streets and held hands. Maks was on our face to protect ourselves from the virus. And we make small talk along the way. As we approached the small shopping plaza, the streetlights seemed brighter. Willy's SuperMarket. The town that we lived in was tiny. Many of the businesses here we family-run and were passed down in their family lineage.

"Ah, welcome home. My favorite loyal customers." Luis greeted Yuta and me. With his fluent English, Yuta started a conversation with Luis. Our hands separated, and I walked through the different isles picking out the ingredients for the dish.

"Eggs check, flour check, brownie mix check," I spoke out loud, making sure I didn't forget anything. Then a woman appeared. She was on the opposite aisle and was talking loudly on the phone. The tone in her voice clearly showed she wasn't happy. As nosy as I wanted to be, I had an objective that I needed to complete. I saw Yuta on the opposite end of the aisle where the angry woman was. May I add she wasn't wearing a mask. Yuta slid past and joined me.

Naturally, his arms wrapped around my shoulders and pulled my body closer to his chest. I was trying to decide if we should have vanilla cake or another flavor of the cake. Before I could ask Yuta anything, the woman tapped my shoulder.May I remind you without a mask. My first reaction was shocking. The past few months, it wasn't wise to be walking upon any strangers.