"That's it."

5.27 PM

Stella grabbed the orange loofah hanging on a plastic hook line. She forgot she needed one of these as well. What else was there to buy? At this rate, they'll never make it to the snacks. Although the conversations they were having were undoubtedly intriguing, to say the least. Grabbing the colorful body tool, she tossed it in her basket. "Um, let's see I'm an only child, which was great until it wasn't. The house was calm growing up, and now that's how I like it. So it can piss off my best friends sometimes because their childhood is utterly different from mines. Since they both come from large families. One has three brothers and four sisters. While the other has six brothers and seven sisters. I'm in the Journalism program with a concentration of Public Relations. I'm hoping to receive my master's in Communications right afterward." Stella looked at Tré, "Did that answer your questions?"

Tré raised a finger, "Follow up question, how in the world did your two best friends make it with that many siblings? Because I have two and let me tell you. They are enough to make the sanest person cry a little." Tré smiled.

Stella's mouth pulled back, she couldn't help but smile a little.

"So, you were raised by a single mom. Where was your dad?"

Stella cleared her throat, "We should start grabbing our snacks. If we continue the way we are, we'll be here all night," Stella said over her shoulder as she made her way down the aisle.

Tré's face fell. After a moment, she quickened her pace as she followed Stella down the neighboring aisles. Turning left, they were soon surrounded by a variety of snacks. Scratching her throat, Tré spoke, "Hey, I didn't mean to make you upset. You don't have to answer the question if you don't want to."

"Oh, I know very well that I don't have to answer the question," Stella snapped. Taking a breath, she realized her curtness. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be harsh."

Tré shook her head, "No, completely understandable. We all have something we'd rather not talk about."

Stella's shoulders slumped, reaching out she grabbed a bag of gummy worms. She stared at the dark blue and clear plastic bag. Stella curled her fingers, gripping the bag tighter. "It's not that," she answered softly, "or maybe it is," she continued, then paused. Letting out a deep breath, Stella decided to tell her. She looked up at an open face, stared back, and knew she could trust her. There was no judgment reflecting in Tré's eyes. Nodding, she spoke. "My mom and dad met on the first day of high school. You could say they were high school sweethearts. When my dad found out about my mom deciding to join the Marine Corps. He was livid. So naturally, they argued. He couldn't understand why my mom would throw her life away," Stella scoffed as she repeated his words. "When she tried to explain her reasons, he refused to hear them. He believed there was nothing she could say to justify wasting her life. Only if he knew," Stella muttered. Growing up, she hated him for not being around and for abandoning her mom. It took a long time to be free of that anger and to be able to let it go. Admittedly, there were times where she still struggled with him not being there. Him not seeing her and everything she's accomplished. Then she remembered it was his loss. Better yet, his choice.

"What was her reason?"

"Me. She was pregnant with me, and since she had no desire to attend college. She decided to join the military, she got a ship date six months after graduating high school. By then, my dad went off to college unknowing of my existence."

"Wow, that's intense. I presume she never told him then?"

"No, he refused to hear her out. Basically they stopped talking and when they graduated, she went to a recruiter's office and swore in to become a United States Marine. And I was born a few months later before she was shipped off to boot camp."