Sincerely, Jaida

famished

Jaida

I had a grocery list of twenty items printed on scented pink paper and folded within the back pocket of my shorts. The shopping trolley had groceries toppling over one another by the time I reached the cashier. I'd bought too much. I always do, and I always have my fridge empty by the end of the week or two. It amazed Pops that I could stomach so much.

"Fucking hippo, you are," he'd say.

Besides the twenty items, I'd bought quinoa, couscous, spinach, kale and other green vegetables in the hopes of turning my health around but the trolley also a held a collection of crisp and lollies. You win some, you lose some and I sure as hell wasn't ready to let greens win over my sweet tooth. After paying for the items, I walked to the bakery and placed the grocery bags next to my feet.

"Hey, hon! How's the baby? You have to come over soon for Sunday lunch, yeah? Pops sure misses the free bread. Don't forget about us!" I paused when I looked through the menu. "Is Tom around the corner? If so, I'll have the usual. Thank you, Rhonda," I said over the counter to the short, pregnant and growing woman. Rhonda worked at Reds till she got a bakery. She was a kind natured person who always looked out for me and always baked for me.

Pops wasn't the only person who would come over for lunch from Reds, he was just the most consistent. Rhonda would come over for lunch every now and then just like most of the staff at Reds does after the service at the church. I wasn't religious, so I never attend mass, but many of the staff do and they love coming over straight after. It wasn't an every week occurrence, but rather individually they would choose to come have lunch unless planned to go together. I enjoyed it a lot. Reds were family, even the newest staff additions. So, I always welcomed them even if I weren't expecting them. Rhonda was definitely a pleasure to have over.

"Jai baby. I've missed you! I haven't seen you since your graduation. It was a really beautiful ceremony. I haven't been able to come over at all since Howard keeps me bedridden. I had hired this girl, Jeanette to look after the shop but she called in sick today. Howard let me open shop for a few hours today. He doesn't like me fussing because Rhonda junior is due in a month," Howard and Rhonda were absolutely perfect for one another. They looked after one another.

"Well, make sure to come over with the baby okay?"

She nodded. "I haven't seen Tom today but he should be around. Sorry love," she explained placing my wrapped order on the counter. I grabbed my change from my pocket and placed it in her hand.

"Give Howard my regards. I'll be sure to visit you in the hospital. I've got to go find Tom. Come over okay?" I said grabbing the family sized apple and cinnamon buns off the counter.

Placing the money in the register, she smiled at me. "I sure will, Jai baby," she said using her nickname for me.

Standing around the corner of the building was Tom. Leaning against the wall, he was whistling with a cigarette rolled in between his fingers. He hadn't seen me yet. I approached the grey-haired man.

"TomTom, coming over today?" I asked him with a mouthful of apple and cinnamon bun. I gave him the rest. It was routine.

TomTom was a friend I'd made last year when I was short on money to catch the bus back home from this very supermarket. It was dark at night and slightly raining. He was a homeless man with long grey hair and a purple bandanna across his forehead. A hippie who had stood next to me as I panicked over what to do. After sparking up a conversation, he'd offered his last two dollars. The only money he had with him, he had offered it to me. When arguing over the fact that I couldn't accept it, we exchanged the coins back and forth between us till it fell out of our hands and straight down the drain beneath us. We laughed and laughed. For the next hour, we sat on the curb talking to one another till Rose picked me up.

TomTom became a close friend after that. He was a man who went with the flow. He was in no hurry to change his lifestyle no matter the number of times I had offered to help him. So I gave up. He seemed happy and that was all I cared about.

Of course, he accepted shelter when the weather conditions were too extreme and sometimes came over to shower. He was also one of the many to attend Sunday lunch. No matter how little he had, he didn't want to freeload so he'd bring a bag of marijuana or something he had "borrowed" to offer. Pops, of course, loved the man. They bonded over Pops hippie childhood and TomTom's current hippie lifestyle. I liked having him around and so did Pops. Even if TomTom had nothing to give, he'd wash the dishes after lunch or become fixated on repairing my house. I'd told him to not bother because I didn't mind at all. But he insisted on fixing my loose cupboards, cracked tiles, clogged sinks etc.

He looked at me and shrugged. "Yeah, alright. I think I left my pink bandanna at yours," he grunted. He clearly wasn't high, or else he would be cheery and wild like he usually was.

"We'll walk. I've got some pot in the pantry," I offered, knowing that he was clearly running low on his stash.

His eyes lit up and old TomTom was back. "Lead the way man," he said with a large grin on his face. He grabbed some bags off of me.

Throughout the half an hour journey back to my place, he'd fill me in on his "shaggings" with Mrs Jenkins. I highly doubt that he was speaking the truth since Mrs Jenkins was a lovely, conservative and old-fashioned woman in her fifties with four grown grandchildren. Truth or not, his stories were always entertaining.

Luke, Rose and Pops were already at my front door steps, waiting. In the midst of greeting one another, Pops became impatient.

"Fucks sake, I'm famished and I need food," said Pops with TomTom grunting in agreement.

I rolled my eyes. I opened the front door and let them in.

Pops, Rose and even TomTom went head first into preparations. Rose took our drink orders and started mixing her magical concoctions on the kitchen island. Pops grabbed the groceries, plated the food and placed the packaged apple crumble pies in the oven for dessert. TomTom grabbed the ziplock bag of MaryJane from the pantry, along with the placemats and coasters. He began setting the table with Luke's help. I went upstairs and in my bedroom to change.

After changing into sweatpants and a flimsy black shirt, I grabbed my phone from the charging dock. Making my way down the stairs, I glanced at my phone to see a message from an unknown number. It was Xavier.

Beer girl. McLovin' it.

I had saved my number on his phone as beer girl. I laughed at his McDonald reference and placed my phone among everyone else's in the box on top of the counter. It was the rule Sheila had established. Phones go in the designated box during meal times. It stuck and applies to all visitors.

I got in my seat at the head of the table facing Pops on the other end with a variety of food between us. Pot roast, coleslaw, roasted and fried chicken, fried rice and spring rolls. All store bought except for the pot roast.

Pops blessed the table and they all dug in. Laughter, arguments and chatter filled the room along with the clatter of cutlery. I watched them at first with a happy smile on my face.

This was home.