Don't Leave (JeanMarco)

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

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Marco's POV

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Jean always leaves for work at the same time everyday, but still sometimes I feel sad when he has to leave. You'd think it would be normal for me to see him leave by now, but still, a little part of me feels empty without Jean. He left his coffee cup on the table in the living room, and I kissed the side of it before throwing it away. Jean had a habit of letting his coffee get cold before he could finish it. He also rarely ate breakfast, even though I insisted that he should, considering he worked at a friggin' breakfast restaurant. 

Jean left me a shopping list, knowing Christmas was in a week and his parents were coming over. He really wanted to make them a nice dinner, even though both of our culinary skills came from YouTube videos. I checked the counter where we always kept the keys to our truck to find Jean had taken them. I grabbed my jacket off the back of a chair in the living room and folded the shopping list. 

It was snowing out, and it had rained the night before. I almost slipped on the icy road as I walked over to wave down a cab. The grocery store isn't very far, and I normally would have walked if it wasn't for the ice.

After I finally waved down a cab, it was maybe -4 degrees. To be greeted by the warm rush of air opening the cab door provided was like pure bliss. After I told the cab driver where I was headed, it was maybe a five minute drive. I really could have walked, if I wasn't so precautious. Walking into the store, I witnessed a woman slip and fall, throwing her keys across the sidewalk. I sped up a bit as I walked to help her.

"Are you alright?" I asked her, helping her stand by her elbow. Once she was standng I walked over and picked up her keys for her. 

"Yes, I'm fine. Thanks for helping me up. The icy ground took me by surprise, I guess!" she said with a chuckle. The woman graciously took her keys and thanked me one last time before we parted. Inside the store was as warm as inside the cab as well,and it was a nice break from the icey weather.    I grabbed a shopping cart and unfolded the list Jean made. It was still pretty difficult to read his sloppy handwriting, even though i've been reading it for the past three years. 

Not only was December 25th Christmas, but that day, almost four years ago, Jean kissed me under mistletoe at a Christmas Party. We got dinner after that, and a year later I moved in with him. Our four-year aniversery was a week away, and I still had no idea how to cook anything nice. 

The first item on Jean's list was a turkey. How am I supposed to know how to pick out a turkey? I thought. Jean and I usually ate food that was either takeout, microwaveable, or both. Never in the history of our relationship, have I had to pick out a turkey. I grabbed the biggest one in the display of turkeys and called it good. Next item: sparkling apple cider. Jean's parents were non-alcoholic, but they loved sparkling cider. 

Jean's parents loved him, but last Christmas when they came over, they brought a photo album. They had 80+ photos of a seven year old Jean in a horse costume. Apperently, he never took it off. I laughed silently to myself just thinking about Horse Jean. I grasped a bottle of the brand of cider his parents liked and gently placed it in the cart. It was glass, so I used the turkey to support it in the corner of the shopping cart. 

The third item was devil's food cake mix. Jean and my favorite. We even had it for desert after our first date. I doubted Jean could even figure out how to make a cake from a mix without messing up. I still grabbed a box and tossed it into the cart. I had to stare at Jean's writing for a moment before I could make out 'eggs' from the sloppy pen marks. The last thing was milk, so I grabbed them both with one stop. 

I pulled into the self-checkout. I stood there like an idiot for about five minutes, trying to figure out how to scan a turkey. The barcodes on the other items were easy to find, and I felt a little less like an idiot. The total came up to about $50 so I paid with my card. I only ever had about thirty dollars on me at anytime, considering Jean and I lived in a bad part of town. 

I grabbed my bags and decided to walk back. It wasn't that far of a walk, and I would be extra careful. I had three bags of unrelated products. 

I hope Jean knows what he's doing, because I definately don't.