Back In time

Thirty-Two

"Come on, even a snail can move faster than you." Agnes, who was already seated in the carriage called out through the windows. Given how the sun just rose, it was way too early to be out for shopping at this time of hour. I guess it was a given that life starts early in the olden days.

"Alright! Sheesh, you sound like a nagging old grandma." As soon as I got into the carriage, the horses began trotting to the direction of the market.

"So, what are the plans for today?" I asked, as we strolled through the bustling streets.

"Well, we are going to prepare dinner." Agnes replied while looking at the paper in her hand which I reckoned were the list of items we needed for dinner.

Alice and I too, had prepared meals for our joint family dinner. However, it ended on quite an unpleasant note which led to the two families having to order takeout instead. We would squabble endlessly as to which ingredient and condiments came first. One thing led to another and our stubbornness resulted in a series of charred food. Both of us were heavily reprimanded that day; and that was eventually the first and last time we cooked together.

Let's just hope that that doesn't happen.

"Fresh fish! Get your fresh fish here!" Immediately, Agnes made a beeline to the fishmonger while I struggled to squeeze through the crowd.

"Mornin' Ma'am. Would you like one? They are all caught just this mornin'!" The cheery, big-bellied man who had an apron tied around his waist, gestured to the array of fishes placed before him.

"Give me the freshest among all, please."

"Yes Ma'am!" The fishmonger quickly and expertly sifted through the fishes, checking the color of the gills before wrapping it in brown paper.

"Here ya' go, Ma'am!" Agnes took hold of the wrapped fish and dropped a few coins into the palm of his hands.

"Keep the change." This continued until the sun was now hung at the highest peak, prompting the sweat to gather at around my temple. By now, my arms were already occupied with paper bags while Agnes continued jumping from store to store.

"All right, we are almost done! All we need is a bag of potatoes and we can head for home."

Thank goodness.

My arms were already on the verge of breaking, any more than a bag of potatoes would surely send both my arms for a week of rehabilitation.

"Abbey!" I didn't need to turn to know who called my name.

"Fredricks, what brings you here?" Looking as dashing as he was, he immediately took the bags of groceries from my arms, allowing me to sigh in relief while I stretched out my aching arms.

"Probably fate." He teased while I rolled my eyes in response. "Are you here alone?" 

"Nah, I'm here with Agnes. She went off to get some potatoes." As soon as I spoke of her, Agnes came rushing back with a bag of potatoes.

"Sir Fredricks, what a coincidence! What brings you here?"

"I just finished running a few errands and was just about to head back before I saw Abbey." He answered while taking the bag out of Agnes' hands.

"I see. Do you have any errands for the evening?"

"Not that I know of," he gave a questioning look.

"If so, would you like to have dinner? Abbey and I will be cooking for the evening."

Wait, what?