[Vignette] Even Granola Bars Fall Apart

The lonely pack of granola bars stared into my soul. Somehow they survived the purge that is my biweekly paycheck. My stomach turned at the idea of eating another one. It was grocery shopping time. I begrudgingly slapped on some jeans and a flannel and headed to the store. The drive was full of blurred houses and a setting sun that was too eager to say goodnight. But I got there. Getting out of the car was easy enough, and I found the perfect cart waiting for me. I thought. Heading inside I spotted all kinds of signs for sales and whatnot. Even one for granola bars. The sound of late shoppers chattering, baristas pretending that the orders they got were unique, and my squealing cart came at me. In a way it was nice. I hurried through the store and picked out the basics like bread, milk, ham. Then I saw a sign for some new pizza pocket thing. My stomach rumbled and decided for me. Without another thought, I headed down the frozens and my cart whined with my sharp turn into the aisle. That's when I saw her. Wearing her emblematic teal sweater. She sure loved that thing. She always went on about how she can dress it up, down, or even sideways. She dressed it down, today. Jenny was on the phone. Probably with her husband. Tom and her always got along, so it was nice to hear her going at it with him. Unlucky for me, she was right where I wanted to be and the wheels of my trusty cart gave me away. She turned my way and we locked eyes. My body flushed hot and I thought the frozens might melt. She averted her gaze but I didn't. She was trying to reach for something in the back of the freezer and was nagging Tom on why he didn't "just come with." While she was the last person I wanted to see right now, I kind of had to agree. He usually tagged along whenever we went anywhere. Jenny sighed and her fists clenched. I'd have to help. I couldn't leave her hanging. I approached her, my cart sounding red alert once more. "Look, Tom," she started, "I'm just saying I can't get you your damn patties." On the other end, Tom huffed. I reached her and she stiffened. I took a deep breath in and did the unthinkable. "Hey,"I said. "Move." She didn't acknowledge me. She just stepped aside. I walked up, grabbed the last pack of frozen burger patties, and dropped them in her cart. Tom went on and Jenny went silent. "Tom," she said. "Tom, hey, yeah. I got them. Alright. See you at home, I love you, too." Her phone beeped and the call ended. My leave was announced with a groan that could only be cured with grease. The hums from the fridges kept me sane. "Thanks, Steve," Jenny said. "And congrats on the promotion." I grunted and kept walking. "Tell Claire her Uncle Steve's proud of her for graduating elementary school. Kid's got a lot of heart." "I will." I never told her about the promotion. I posted about it and it only got a few likes. The rest of my shopping trip was business as usual and I sped on home to gift my granola bars some friends that won't backstab you by outing your deepest and darkest secret to the rest of the group. Though I had a craving for burgers. Shit.