A month later, Charlie grinned as he watched Jenny charm one of his most difficult customers. "I'm so sorry" she said sweetly in her southern drawl. "I didn't know the big chips have to go on the top row. I'm so sorry that hung up on you." He nodded grimly as she handed him a large sized bag of cheese curls. "Thank you for being so understanding." The man, an overweight, balding, white man, his button-down stretched at the buttons, puffed up a little. "Just don't complain to him." She whispered loudly, pointing at Charlie, who kept stocking sodas as he grinned into the machine.
"Why's that?" the guy frowned, scowling at Charlie. The customer had missed a spot of stubble, shaving, on his chin. It quivered as he gave Charlie "The eye".
"Well" Jenny continued to whisper "He's the boss."
The guy shrugged. "I know that." Jenny grinned.
"We're married." She held up her left hand, displaying her wedding band. "If I get a complaint I don't get to eat that expired cupcake for dinner." She giggled as she shifted the smaller products out of the top row onto her cart, then shifted the larger ones into the proper place.
Charlie closed his machine as the office-workers returned to work and walked up behind Jenny. It was so nice to see her, but so hard. He wanted so much more, but he knew he had to take his time. Jenny had impressive walls.
He tapped the cart lightly as he came up behind her. Jenny had PTSD (who wouldn't?) and hated it when he'd sneak up on her. She turned her head. Her grin faded as he leaned into her and whispered in her ear, all while maintaining a "proper" distance.
"Our secret's out now.." Her eyes widened. "I don't have to worry about them bringing me up on harrassment charges." She gave him a shaky smile, her eyes darting back and forth.
Charlie cursed himself as he realized he'd pinned her against the machine. Shit! He brushed a loose curl behind her ear and retreated to a chair in the break area, a few feet away. Jenny's posture relaxed, and Charlie hoped it meant she'd only feared the crowding, not his touch.
He smiled slowly. "I can cook, you know." Jenny gaped. Their usual meals had been rice-and-whatever they could find, when they were poor. As they became more prosperous, he either took her out to dinner or expected her to cook.
Charlie sighed as he realized how much he'd missed her rice casseroles. Jenny moved on to stocking candy bars, her movements quick and efficient. Jenny, Charlie mused, was a natural.
Jenny closed the machine and sat down opposite Charlie in a plastic chair. "You can cook." She thought for a moment. "OK. What's for dinner? I have my garden, a couple of eggs, some butter and oil, half a breakfast biscuit, and..." she rolled her eyes, recalling. "That's it".
Charlie shuddered. He'd thought about her material needs, and forgotten about her basic ones! "What's on the biscuit?"
"Sausage" she replied. He nodded.
"Omlette". Jenny raised her eyebrows, impressed. "I'd make a stir fry with your favorite veggies, and an omlette with the eggs and sausage."
A few hours later, Jenny pushed herself back from the table, stuffed. "I'd never have thought to use the daikon in the stir-fry, Char..." she began stacking dishes in the sink. "I planted it because it's good for soil, but it's pretty good."
"Well," Charlie replied, plugging the sink and reaching for the dish soap "I took an Asian cooking class. I took a sequence of courses. I needed to take my mind off... and I found a catalog. I started with a basic cooking class."
Jenny cocked her head. He continued "How to bake, how to cook meats - braise, broil, fry, etc..then a course on vegetables. You know most people boil them to death, put the nutrients in the water, and then throw away the water? Criminal. If you don't want it raw a stir-fry's the way to go." Charlie licked his lips. They'd had a fine meal. He continued chatting about cooking as he did the dishes, an activity he found oddly soothing.
Jenny was a good cook, but she'd hated doing dishes. He realized now the depression only allowed her so much activity per day. They'd had some bitter fights about the cluttered sink. On his own, he'd realized he could have just done the dishes himself! He wondered if he'd ever get over feeling like an idiot. Worst of all, Jenny was surprisingly nice about it. She'd let him into her life, a life he didn't deserve.
He wondered where it would end.
