Dreamfields

Chapter 3 - The grocery store

Small talk is something that I have never been good at, I never really know what to say. It's not like I don't answer when he asks me something it's just that I don't find my responses interesting, they sound boring. I wish I was the kind of a person who could come up with the perfect responses immediately. To him I must seem to be the most boring and awkward person in the world. Cause as far as I know he could've had this conversation with himself. The thing is when I don't know what to say anymore I get quiet. I've never minded some peace and quiet and someone once told me that if you can be silent with a person without feeling some tension between each other you're a match. And I don't know about him but I cannot feel any tension right know. I like the opportunity to see where we're going and the nature surrounding us and given the chance to take it all in. I let my imagination run wild and I daydream about getting my own farm one day, on the farm there will be several different animals like, chickens, a pig, a goat, a mule, a dog but mostly horses. It will be focusing on training, competition and rehab. My only problem is money. First I must afford to buy a farm and then to make it all go around.

When we get to a stop Robbie asks me if it's alright if he could run some errands while I shop for groceries. "Of course. That's fine by me." I assure him.

"Alright then. If you give me your phone then I can put my number in and you can call me when you are about done."

"Sounds good to me." I give him my keypad telephone.

"What is this?" He laughs

"It's a phone." I state

"I haven't seen one of these in ages. Why do you have this kind of a phone?" He question

"I only need it for calls and texting, so I don't see the point in carrying around an expensive smartphone. Plus I don't want to see what others have and being fooled by social media. For me it's enough to read the newspaper from time to time." I explain

"It's very unusual." He seems impressed. "But at the same time I completely understand. I wish I hadn't fallen for the pressure of technology and social media." He smiles at me in appreciation and hand me back my phone.

"Thanks." I put my phone back in my jeans pocket. "Well I guess I'll see you soon." I grab my purse and head out the car.

"See you soon." Robbie calls after me and I close the car door.

All the way to the store I had this childish smile playing on my lips. The store looks a lot like home but at the same time a little different, I always find them to smell different I don't know how to describe it but is smells foreign. Anyways I grab a basket and start looking around. I'm looking for the basics milk, cereals, bread, butter, cheese, pasta, tomato sauce, vegetables, fruits and other items that will keep my stomach full for at least a week.

I'm not a very tall person. I'm about 158 centimeters and that's about 5'2 feet if I understand correctly. The point is that being as short as I am makes it hard when they put your favorite cereal on the top shelf. Trying to stand on my tip toes doesn't seem to help, and I was about to give up when a tall figure comes in sight and grabs the cereal box that I've been trying to reach for five minutes now. I open my mouth and gets ready to yell at the person that those are my cereals when he gives me the box. "Oh" I look up at the person or should I say cute guy. What's wrong with this town, does every hot guy live here? "Thank you" I'm a little confused. "I thought you were going to take it." I giggle nervously. The boy or rather young man grin at me. "I'm not that bad of a person, but you're welcome. I presume you're new in town?" he asks

"Yes I am. My name is Jolene:" I extend my hand to greet him.

"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Erich Ackermann."

"Nice meeting you Erich. But I'm afraid I have to go. And thank you again for your help." I smile and give him a shy wave before I hurry off.

For the rest of the shopping I kept my head down and took the first item I could find that look similar to what I wanted, luckily for me I didn't pump in to Erich again. After I paid for my groceries and packed them into two paper bags, I called Robbie. To my surprise he was already in the parking lot waiting for me outside his car. When I reach the car he takes my bags and put them in the back and then something I thought would never happen to me happened. He open the door for me and me being me I blurt out "How gentlemen of you" and grin. "Well, who doesn't want to make a good impression on their new coworker?" He laughs

"I guess you right, thanks." I laugh with him.

The drive back to the stable was spent much like the ride to the store. Me looking out the window trying to take everything in and making small talk.

Back at Dreamfields I once again thanks Robbie for his help and generosity. I take my bags to the attic and start making myself some dinner before bed. After my pasta pesto diner I prepared myself mentally for tomorrow and especially my meeting with Mr. and Mrs. Falk the owners. Up to now I've only spoken to them on the phone and emails, but tomorrow they will go through everything I need to know and my schedule, payment, what's expected from me and how my days will likely look like. I hope they like me and that it continues to be as good as it has today, and most importantly that the rest of the staff is nice. Because today has felt like a dream that I don't want to wake up from.