to be so lonely • hs

thirteen

Mason skipped down the steps leading down his apartment, meeting me in the hallway as we walked together down the second flight of stairs. Once we reached the bottom floor, I pushed open the door and lead us out onto the windy streets.

"I was told getting there early would give us a better shot." Mason explained as we hurried down the street to my car.

"Well, it's a good thing we're up at 6am isn't it?" I laughed, not really sure why last night I'd agreed to meet up with Mason at 6 in the morning to attend a farmers market.

Mason and I got into my car, and I drove off once it was safe as he typed the address into the maps on his phone.

The drive was only about 10 minutes, and we were definitely among the first few customers. A few of the sellers were ready for our business, while some were still setting up their booth.

"What did you say we were looking for again?" I asked, remembering he'd mentioned something quickly over our phone call last night, but it was quite rushed and he immediately skipped over it and asked if I'd accompany him.

"Strawberry jam." He answered, and I raised an eyebrow, wondering why jam was of such importance we needed to be here so early for it.

"You're kidding." I laughed, pushing his arm a little only to mess with him.

"You're laughing now, Liana, but once you try this..." He trailed off, he rubbed his hand on his belly and smiled a bit with his eyes closed. He was so adorable. "It's changed my life."

"Strawberry jam has changed your life?"

"I'm a better man because of it." He nodded, proudly. It seemed I needed to try this jam, then.

We walked further down the outdoor market, stopping at a booth every now and then, making sure not to be too long as we both had work in just a few hours.

About half way into the market, we reached a booth with a large wooden cut out of a strawberry plastered in front of the table, and about 50 stacks of mason jars filled with jam placed on top of it. A woman who couldn't have been older than thirty sat behind the table, her short blond hair tied up with a red scarf to compliment her red polk-a-dot dress, and red lipstick.

"Good morning!" She greeted as Mason pulled me to her booth eagerly.

"Good morning," The two of us responded as Masons cheeks started to match the color of the red jam.

"Can I interest you in some of my family's fresh jam? It's $5 per jar, or $8 for two!" She explained, picking one up and twisting open the lid. She reached for two wooden spoons in a small basket near the jars, "You can have a sample, if you'd like."

"I'll take one." I nodded, mason already reached for his wallet. I watched as she dipped the small spoon into the jam, the sweet smell escaping the glass jar it was packaged in. My stomach grumbled as she reached the spoon out towards me, and I wasn't sure if it was only because I hadn't had breakfast yet, or because it looked really delicious.

I thanked her and took the spoon, then mason took a sample as well, and we cheered before tasting the jam. The strawberry flavor fell onto my tongue and I couldn't help but smile, nodding to mason as he watched my reaction. It was subtly sweet and just the right amount of bitter, with the perfect consistency. It was really unlike most jams i'd had before, but I also had only ever had them from supermarkets, loaded with preservatives. Regardless, I definitely knew why Mason was so sure about it.

"Isn't that life changing?" Mason asked, his excitement rubbing off on me a bit.

"I'm a new woman." I laughed, nodding.