"Hey baby? Can you go to the store?"
I had ten dollars to my name. That was it. What could he possibly want?
"A bag of nachos and some cheese."
That's right. He was making dinner. The thought of food made my stomach grumble. I had missed lunch because I had to make copies. I fought with the damn copier and when I finally got the damn machine to spit out my papers, the bell ran and it was time to go back to work. My day had been long and tedious. The stress was creeping up my body and I knew it had made plans to stay there all night, which meant another long evening of anxiety and aches. Dinner was starting to sound very good.
"That's all."
That's all? What else could there be? We didn't have much and he knew it. I rubbed the bridge of my nose and sighed. I was exhausted and ready to just head home. Fine, he would have his nachos and his cheese. The trip to the store was almost painless. I say almost due to the fact that my feet were hurting from standing and walking around the classroom all day long. I didn't browse the aisles or look for my cravings. I went straight for what I needed. Cheese: $2.18. Nachos: $2.00. A jalapeno for tomorrow's dinner: $.19. I had enough to buy him a soda. And why not? I loved him and I knew what he was doing for me. A soda: $1.09. The cashier rang up my purchase with a pseudo-smile. She was tired too. I knew it, but I didn't know if she knew how tired I was when she asked me to run my card through the machine several times. One because she had timed out waiting for the card to process without pressing the "credit card" key and the others because she was doing the whole card process wrong. However, thanks to my god-given patience, I simply smiled at her and waited for my purchase to ring through. I began my journey home.
You know what they say, about how accidents usually happen near home? I was about to turn left on a street and the light turned yellow. Two cars were coming closer but started to slow down. This was my chance to turn since I had committed to the light and needed to get out of the street. The white car and white van following it started to speed up. No way, I thought as I pressed on the gas. My heart pounded fast as I turned the wheel a little too much, heading toward the median, but I corrected the steering wheel and made it. I looked behind me and noticed that the white van started honking at the white car who had almost stopped to avoid an accident. I was exhausted. First, a long day at work, and then groceries and now this! It was too much. I got home to see my neighbors who were in the process of moving and rushed to the front door.
That was where the smell hit me. Onions. My stomach grumbled and my mouth watered as I fumbled with the keys. One lock. Two locks. Three locks. Success. There he was at the door, smiling that boyish smile and welcoming me with open arms! I rushed to him and stopped when he took the grocery bag from my hand. "I was wondering when these were going to get here." A sigh escaped my lips, glaring at him as he walked away. I missed you too, I muttered, and dragged my feet across the carpet. I turned to look at the kitchen and he smiled at me. "I cleaned the counters and dinner's ready." Finally, that hug I craved desperately came toward me and as I nestled in his arms where all my problems were forgotten. I was home.
It was 5:45 pm.
"Aw, you bought me a coke?"
It was really good to be home.
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