Aldeez Bags

Heading back to the house, he stops by the AldeezMart and grabs the totes from the trunk, pays for his cart and heads inside.

Greeted by cool air and a crowd of shoppers, he pulls up Andrea’s list and copies it into his normal list. ‘Damn girl, you got way more expensive tastes than Evan did.’ Caleb thinks as he looks at a pile of organic products, Greek yogurt, and multi-grain breads on the list, though the two twelve packs of Doctor Thunder at the bottom tells him that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Navigating through the scrum of people, he starts grabbing items from damn near every aisle, leading to a burgeoning cart, sore feet, and a wide-eyed cashier at the register.

“Wow, you just got a new fridge or something? I mean, no offense, you're a big guy, but there’s no way you can eat all this before it goes bad.” The raven-haired twenty-something woman blurts out before catching herself. “Sorry, that was rude.”

Caleb is taken aback before laughing. “Hah, no worries. Nah, needed to get groceries anyway and my roommate decided to eat us out of house and home over the last week.”

As he starts loading up the items on the conveyor, the woman seems even more intrigued as she scans everything. “Damn, who's the roommate, he's bigger than you, then?”

After putting everything on the conveyor, Caleb moves to start bagging and looks the girl over before replying. “Nah, lady about your size. She just has a big appetite, I guess.”

“Wait, what?” How?” The woman stammers as she helps bag up the mountain of groceries.

“Dunno, growth spurt and she works out, is what I figured.” Caleb pays for the pile and stacks the bulging totes back in the cart. Chuckling as he takes the receipt, he heads out of the store, leaving a sincerely baffled cashier in his wake.

Loading the car’s every available surface with groceries, he then hops in the driver's seat and looks at the receipt. Adding up the total cost for Andrea's stuff he shoots off a text. “You expensive ma’am, 157.32 whenever you can.”

Driving back to the house, it takes him 3 full trips to unload and put away all the groceries from the car. He then places the bouquet on the dining room table and hunts through his gift bags, grabbing the least-Christmassy bag and placing the model inside it. Pulling out his phone, he checks the route back to the Mall. “There we are. Looks like if I leave now I'll get there 5 minutes early.”

Locking up and getting back into the car, Caleb heads back to the Mall, parking at 3:25pm in LACY’S lot in sight of the door. Shooting off another text “I'm here out front, whenever you get done.” Caleb rolls down the windows and starts scrolling through socials.

After several minutes, a voice whispers in his ear. “...Hey Sailor, going my way?” jumping Caleb nearly out of his skin.

Turning, he sees Andrea in sunglasses and floral sundress standing next to the door, giggling amidst a pile of shopping bags. “Was that really necessary?”

“Hah, um, yes? You were completely oblivious, too good an opportunity to pass up.” Andrea replies with a mischievous grin. “Pop the trunk and help me load these.”

“Avaunt thee, Harridan! Load your own baggage.” Caleb proclaims while popping the trunk lever. Grabbing a sweeping armful of brightly colored bags, Andrea deposits them in the trunk, and heads back for the rest. After depositing the second set, Andrea shuts the trunk and gets into the passenger seat with an exaggerated pout on her face. “Why you gotta be mean like that? Just having some fun with you.”

Caleb turns to her with a put-upon look. “Oh, just a little fun? **** poor Caleb after he made you breakfast, bought your groceries, and chauffeured you to the mall.” Raising his eyes skyward, he raises his hands beseechingly and a poetic cadence. “Tell me, Oh Poseidon, what have I done to–Ow!” Caleb flinches as a pointed finger jabs him in the ribs. “Stop it you big baby. Let's go home before you recite the next four stanzas of ‘Caleb the Tragic’.”

Caleb starts up the car and pulls out of the parking lot back on the highway.“Fine, everyone's a critic.”

“Just to you, Mr. Off-Broadway.”