The Grocery List
Danielle stepped up to the automatic doors and they swung open on cue. The cool air from inside the grocery store hit her face in one frigid blast. She immediately felt grateful. The weather outside was sticky and hot.
She walked the few steps toward the long line of grocery carts. She chose the first one and pulled it free from the others. She tossed her purse in the cart and dug through its contents searching for her list. She retrieved the slightly crumpled paper from the abyss and read over the items she needed.
"Milk. Bread. Coffee. Toilet paper. Apples. Bananas. And finally Skittles," she read aloud. "Can't forget the Skittles," she added with a smile.
She scanned the store and decided to start her shopping in the produce department. She walked passed the deli counter and flashed a friendly smile at the employees behind the counter. She stopped in front of the apples and grabbed a plastic bag and twist tie from the dispenser. "Golden Delicious or Granny Smith?" she asked herself aloud. She compared the prices and found that Granny Smith was a better buy. She carefully chose three fresh apples and put them in the bag. She secured the bag with the twist tie and set the apples in her cart.
Her next stop was in front of the bananas. She grabbed another plastic bag and twist tie before choosing four bananas that looked nice and ripe. She placed them in her cart and read over the list again to decide her next destination. "Coffee," she smiled and pushed the cart toward her favorite aisle of the store.
As soon as she stepped onto the aisle, she took a deep breath and inhaled the bittersweet aroma of coffee beans in the air. She smiled and sighed as she approached the machine and prepared to make her selection. She placed the coffee bag under the dispenser and prepared to press the button for her favorite French Roast.
"Have you tried the Hazelnut?" came a deep voice from behind her.
The voice startled her and she dropped her bag as she pressed the button. The machine ground the coffee onto the floor. "Shit!" she exclaimed as she helplessly watched as the dark coffee spilled onto the clean white tile. The machine spat out the last of the coffee grounds and Danielle spun around in the direction of the voice. "Thanks, ass-" her voice caught in her throat as she came face to face with Tom Kaulitz.
He smiled sheepishly at her and her heart fluttered. "Sorry about that," he said.
"About what?" she asked. His thick German accent caused her thoughts to swirl in a fog.
He laughed. "That," he nodded toward the spilled coffee grounds on the floor.
Danielle shook her head slightly as she came back to reality. "Oh. That. Yeah." She felt a blush creep into her cheeks. "It's okay."
"Lemme get you some help." Tom turned and trotted to the front of the store. He let an employee know what happened before returning to where Danielle stood frozen in place. "The girl said she'd get someone to sweep that up for you."
Danielle nodded. "Thanks. I'm Danielle," she extended her hand toward him.
"Tom," he said as he accepted her hand and shook it firmly. "You should try the Hazelnut," he repeated himself from earlier.
Danielle looked back at the machine. "I think I'll skip the coffee today," she smiled.
"Nonsense," Tom said. He grabbed a bag of Dunkin Donuts ground coffee. "Here. They take all the work out of it. It's already ground for you."
"I like to grind it myself," she wrinkled her nose.
Tom shook his head. "It's the same thing. They taste the same." He tossed the coffee into her cart. "Just try it. If you don't like it, you can blame me," he shrugged. "What's next on your list?"
Danielle's face flushed red. "Um, well."
Tom grabbed the list from her and laughed. "Toilet paper?"
She nodded. "I am officially embarrassed."
"Don't be," he said. "We all use it. Everybody shits. C'mon." He looked up at the hanging aisle sign, "Aisle 16." He took a few steps before he looked back at her. "You coming?"
She nodded and pushed her cart to follow him.
They reached the aisle with the toilet paper and Tom bounced over to the Charmin. "Are you an ultra strong kind of girl? Or ultra soft?" He laughed as she blushed again. "I think ultra soft," he said as he placed the toilet paper in her cart. "What's next?"
Danielle looked at her list. "Bread and milk."
Tom led the way to the aisle with the milk and bread. He stood back as Danielle picked up a gallon of skim milk. "Skim?" he asked as he made a face. "So I've finally met the only person in the universe who drinks skim milk."
"Shut up," she laughed. "I like it."
Tom gagged playfully. "It's gross," he said as they made their way over to the bread. "Don't tell me. You like the multi-grain, cardboard-tasting shit, right?"
Danielle stuck her tongue out at him as she chose a loaf of honey wheat.
Tom nodded in approval. "Nice choice," he said. "So that's it?"
"No. there's one more thing. It's a must," she grabbed the cart and led him in the direction of the candy aisle.
"Now you're talking!" He smiled like a little kid. "What's your poison?" he grinned at her.
She only smiled as her hand reached for the familiar red bag. Tom's smile grew bigger as he watched her toss the bag in her cart.
"Mmm. Skittles," he said as he licked his lips. "You're a woman after my own heart. So are you gonna share with me?"
Danielle laughed as she asked, "So you pick up all your women at the grocery store?"
"No," Tom laughed back. "But had I known you'd be among the selection, I'd have done this a long time ago."
"Yes, I'll share with you but you have to promise me something first," Danielle grinned evilly.
"What's that?" Tom asked with a grin that matched hers.
"If I take you home with me," she started, "You have to promise to not keep your hands to yourself and to be a very naughty boy."
"I think I can handle that," he said quickly as they made their way to the front of the store to pay.
Danielle made a mental note to hang on to that grocery list. It had just made history.