SHOPPING FUN

As the girl gang started walking after Delilah, Jean got in between Marie and Rebecca. She did that on purpose so that Marie’s sister did not feel left out had Jean been busy walking on the other side and talking only to Marie. After all, it was Rebecca who agreed to Jean joining them in their shopping task. So, Jean was considerate enough to make Rebecca feel a part as much as Marie was. The smile on both the sister’s faces was broad enough to safely assume that they were happy.

They entered the main market and Marie spotted the video game gallery.

“Rebecca, see there!” She pointed and said, “You will get your video game CD in that shop. Let’s go and ask them.”

Delilah was the first to start walking in that direction for obvious reasons. Rebecca got a little excited and overtook Marie and Jean to walk with her mother as she was the one who was going to buy her the game she had been wanting.

Finally, when Jean and Marie were left by Rebecca, they ironically got a little private time in a less crowded market. They were free to walk with each other a little closer than how they were with Rebecca by their side. That was to make sure that she did not understand what the two girls had been feeling for each other because it was obviously not acceptable in their culture.

Having best friends was common and nearly all of them had someone or the other they could rely on, but Marie and Jean did not have clear intentions because both of them had been planning their future with each other in their minds. Not that the other person knew about it either. They were both happy to be thinking about such a thing and did not know if they should share it with each other.

Soon after all of them entered the video game gallery, Rebecca knew exactly where to go which confused Marie because she was told that all the game CDs at home were gifts from others. However, it did not seem like the way Rebecca displayed her knowledge in the shop by walking exactly where the game CD which she wanted was kept on display, and that was from the top-second shelf in the third aisle.

Jean being around made it easy for Marie to ignore the weird feeling which she was getting while Rebecca was walking to her mom who was in line at the billing counter, trying to save time. Both the girls started seeing the other games which were in that store and started discussing the games they knew to play and/or had played before. Obviously, Jean initiated their talk as she would play violent video games with the boys and knew every single game and its story.

Once the billing was done, they rushed to the cloth market in the basement of the main market where the shop giving such a big discount was situated. No shop could ever give a discount of up to 70% straight. The clothes which they were selling under big discount prices were visibly compromised on quality. But it was difficult for the girls to understand that, and their mother also did not mention anything because her mind was somewhere else.

She was thinking about if the female friend of Mr. Jones would have come and what they must be doing at home. If they were to talk, what would their topic of discussion be, etc. Delilah had such things going on in her mind, and she was happy that the girls were going to buy cheap clothes which would save her money for other things that she liked.

One of those things were her kitty parties which she proudly attended. God knows what was the fun in them, but she claimed to save money because of such get-togethers. She was right in thinking about the money that she gave to the group of women, it came back to her when she won the draw. But when it actually happened, each time she bought something or the other for herself.

Just the last time she won the draw, she bought a gadget that Mr. Jones had not agreed to buy it for her because, to him, it was a waste of money. He did not find it very convincing to buy a touchscreen phone for her when she already had the best phone with buttons. Now that the time was changing and Delilah’s rich friends owned the newly launched touchscreen phone which they did not buy, but their husbands gifted it to them.

Shopping for tops was quick as well, just the way it was for the video game CD. Marie did not buy anything for herself because she was considerate enough to think about the fact that Jean would not be able to buy anything for herself and her step-mother would also not even ask Jean to buy something for herself. So, Marie made it look as if only her sister had some shopping to do. And neither did Delilah ask her once to select a top for herself also.

The next task for them was to pick up double chocolate waffles which the girls liked and head home. Delilah felt a little hopeful about reaching home soon; little did she realize that it had already been two hours in the market. To assume, maybe shopping must have taken time because buying the video game CD was pretty quick. It was just the billing that took time because of the queue as only one counter was operational.

Delilah handed over 300 bucks to Marie to buy two waffles. Immediately, Marie mentioned, “Mom, Jean is also there.”

It was a matter of chance that Jean was a few steps away from them talking to Rebecca about video games, and for a change, Rebecca was talking so well to Jean. In fact, it was the first time that she was showing any interest in her step-sister’s friend.

The only possible reason could be that she was connecting well with her. There could be two possible reasons – one being that their thought processes matched, and the second being that she was just as much liking her as Marie did. It was maybe because of the way Jean carried herself, which included her looks, her dressing sense, and the way she presented herself. Also, her dialogue delivery was attractive to the girls who were seeking attention.

Listening to Marie demanding more cash, Delilah handed another 100 bucks to her to manage three waffles in only 400 bucks. Whereas, it took at least 500 bucks to buy waffles from that place. Marie was clever and her self-respect was too high. She did not like asking for money from her step-mother. So, she decided to buy a cheaper waffle for herself and the double chocolate one for Rebecca and Jean.

Marie realized that she had to keep her family away from home for much longer as she made a commitment to her dad. Hence, she went outside to call all of them inside in order to sit in the waffle parlor and relish the delicious sweet which was one of their favorites. She stepped out the door, after she was done ordering at the counter, she said, “Come inside, everyone!”

While Rebecca and Jean were about to take a step in the direction to the entry where Marie was, Delilah asked, “Where are you going?”

“Marie, order a take-out, and we shall go home now,” she continued.

“No, ma. Let’s sit inside and enjoy our waffles,” Rebecca pitched in as she wanted to spend some more time with Jean.

“We will order one for you as well, right, Marie?” She questioned and Marie nodded.

In the time that Delilah was also going inside with them, knowing that her daughter had said it, a manly voice made them stop. The girls heard someone calling their mother’s name and Jean also turned around. A man was coming to them taking such big steps so that he could reach them sooner. Since everyone had turned around, and as he was walking towards them, he said, “Hello, Deli!”

On reaching right beside her, he pulled her close to a big hug as he said, “I could still eat you up!”