My eggplant story... *sigh!*
She was so pleased that had found a trolley that didn’t swerve this way and that. She was usually left with the possessed shopping cart and ended up toppling over several promotional displays, a testament not so much to her eternal klutziness but more to the fact that good shopping carts were fast becoming an endangered species.
She checked the grocery list then picked up a container of skim milk, a carton of malted soy milk, a six-pack of yoghurt and a package of mozzarella cheese. Only the greens were left unchecked, and then she’d be dropping off her overdue videos at the rental place before going home.
She turned up the volume on her portable music player, adjusted her headphones, and strolled to the fruit and veg. She could almost smell the eggplant parmigiana she was making for her posse's weekly get-together.
Although she'd been more wary of eggplant ever since a friend’s sister had told her that worms liked them, her love for them hadn’t diminished. She eyed the aisle where the hydrophanous vegetables were displayed and cheered silently at the sight of six flawless eggplants just sitting there waiting for her. Perfect.
She wheeled her well-behaved trolly over and was about to get the eggplants when she realized that she wasn’t the only one reaching out for them. She looked up and stop herself from glaring at the tall guy who seemed to think that he could take her eggplant. Remember, love your enemies...
"Ehem!" she mock-coughed. "You seem to have my eggplant in your hand."
"Excuse me?" The puzzled look on his face would have been comical, had the scenario not been so serious she would be laughing.
"Eggplant? Aubergine? Talong? Berenjena? Melanzana?" She shot him a strained smile and gestured for him to put the contentious vegetables in her cart. "That's it. I'm out of languages..."
Who the heck does this strange girl think she is? He flashed a mocking grin and said, "Sorry, but I don’t think I see your name on them."
"It’s there alright. You see the words GreenMeadow Vegetable Patch on the sticker? Well, I’m GreenMeadow. My parents were hippies. As in during the swinging sixties when hippies ruled the world. So hand them over. Please?"
My God, I don’t need this aggravation. He rolled his eyes. It’s been a long day, and although I relish the thought of getting into a fight in the middle of the supermarket, aubergines aren’t worth it.
"You see, I’m making eggplant parmigiana tonight, so I need those eggplants. It would be a little bit difficult to make eggplant parmigiana without eggplant, don't you think?"
Pumpkin maybe. Yeah, I could definitely see myself getting into a fight over a perfect pumpkin, but aubergines? I don’t think so!
"It wouldn’t be eggplant parmigiana then would it? You’d have to call it just… ahdunno… plain parmigiana I suppose."
Does this girl ever stop jabbering, or at least take a breath?! He was tempted keep the eggplant out of spite and instead tossed it into her cart. "Whatever," he muttered. He turned away, put a head of hydrophanous lettuce in his basket and walked toward the fruit section. He was picking out some tart apples when he spotted the bizarre girl and her cart coming up to his left.
"Don’t tell me you’re going to squabble over these apples as well," he groaned.
"Don’t think I need to. Looks like there’s more than enough to split this time," she beamed at him. "I’m sorry, by the way. I get a bit carried away when I’m hungry.
Weeks later…
She was socializing after church, like she did every Sunday, when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see one of her guy friends grinning at her.
"Hey, you!" She gave him a quick hug. "How are you?"
"Doing great! God’s really been moving mightily this month."
"Glad to hear that! And how's the wife?"
"Still gorgeous." They chuckled.
"And that is the correct answer!"
"Oh, before I forget why I came over." He gestured to the other guy standing behind him. "Have you two met? He usually goes to the afternoon service."
"Actually, I think we have met. Sort of." She smiled sheepishly.
"Yeah, eggplant girl, right? Or should I call you GreenMeadow?" He offered his hand and she laughed while she shook it.
"Actually, I only use that name during weekdays." As she let go of the no-longer-such-a-stranger’s hand, she noticed his slender, elegant fingers. Nice hands, she thought to herself.
Their confused friend just stared at them. "You really are a pair of weirdos. I just knew you two would hit it off."
To be continued…
( Meaning I have absolutely no idea what happens next. And I don't want to think about it! All I know is most of this story will be on a friendship that blossoms through time, and it will definitely end with wedding bells and a first kiss at the altar. Kilig!!! )