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“So...why am I here again?”
Jackie didn’t think this single grocery trip really needed her presence. Yet, she found herself shuffling after her aunt as they roamed up and down the aisles, pushing the dinged-up cart along with them.
“I told you,” her aunt answered as she reached in for the bag of hot cheetos, tossing it to Jackie who hastily caught it “you’re the extra arm strength. Respect your elders or some shit..”
Jackie sighed, placing the bag into the cart. It was already piled high with enough food, from off-brand granola bars to styrofoam meat packages. She didn’t know who her aunt was trying to fool – making their cart look like she actually cooked and Jackie didn’t end up savaging for the last box of mac n’ cheese in the pantry instead.
“And I thought you’d be too busy prepping for your new boyfriend tonight..”
“It’s called a first date smartass – you gotta land em’ first.” Bev threw a sharp look over her shoulder, gum smacking loudly “And you’re one to talk out of the two of us. I would barely knew you lived in my house after you got a little girlfriend.”
Jackie felt her cheeks go hot. Her eyes narrowed while her aunt just grinned smugly back.
“I told you, I was helping Elora with painting her place..”
“If that’s what the kids are calling it today..” Bev snorted. She grabbed a second bag, this time some cool ranch Doritios, before swinging the cart around the head of the aisle. Cheeks still red, Jackie was forced to follow.
And as if serendipitously placed, they were met head-on with a blaring display – the display of red heart balloons and pink cut-outs, all adorned around the piles of Hershey Kisses and candy hearts.
“Shit, finally..” Bev sighed, rolling the cart up beside with a comment that they’d been all over the store for these. Jackie rolled her eyes, knowing how long her aunt spent earlier arguing with some poor employee on how the box of spaghetti should be half-off due to the side being dented.
“Why the hell do you even want this crap anyway?” She asked, watching the older woman stock chocolate drops and heart streamers into the cart. There was a whole whack of things here; not just themed chocolates, but Valentines balloons and décor too. There were the classic bears holding puffy plush hearts in their paws, going down in size all the way to key-chains of plushies and Cupid babies, who were shooting arrows through large red hears.
Jackie couldn’t believe there was some asshole out there who was going to give that to his girlfriend.
It wasn’t actually the first time she’d seen the display. With one major grocery store and not much else to do in this town, her and Elora ended up bumming around a couple days earlier..
“..No, for real, Bear was stuck there for at least half an hour.” Elora recounted, glancing back with a smile over her shoulder “His tongue was almost melted to the pole. They had to call the middle school principal and his mom was so pissed she grounded him for a week. But, Willie Jack gave him that rare Pokemon card like she promised..”
Jack couldn’t keep from chuckling at the story, Elora giggling along with her. They were making their way up and down the various snack aisles, sharing stories – Elora sharing old tales of the Rez Dogs, after Jackie detailed the story of how her brother let loose wild crickets into the house. They were just muking around; stopping in the chip aisle to rank which was the best brand, to telling each other stupid stuff to make the other laugh.
The way Elora smiled – Jackie felt like she would eat soap if it meant just making her laugh.
“I’m not surprised Willie Jack bet him that..” She replied. Elora hummed. Her hand swung by her side and grazed Jackie’s, where she reached out to link their pinkies. Even now, Jackie felt her heart skip.
“The other bet was to put snow in his underwear.”
Jackie snorted, hearing another laugh. They rounded the corner of the end aisle, ending up near the front of the store – and were met head on with a barrage of red, pink and hearts. The streamers and balloons were enough to catch the eye, but the cascading pile of goodies and flowers really made it into a mass. Both girls quieted, eyebrows going up.
“Jesus..” Elora commented, brow quirking “Look at all this shit..”
She approached the tower, Jackie following on her heels. They observed the piles of overly-cutesy teddy bears and chocolate hearts. Jackie furrowed. She may only be sixteen, but she really didn’t think this was some example of romance. Elora scoffed next to her, bumping her shoulders.
“Bet on how many of the dudes around here are gunna be here Valentines night, scrambling to find something.”
Jackie huffed, copying her grin. She reached in to pick up the bear in front of her, the one with big eyes twice their normal size and holding up a heart that read “I Love You Bear-y Much!”
“I don’t get it – I mean, what kinda girl is really wanting some shit like this?”
“Oh c’mon, you totally seem like a girl with a teddy bear collection.” Elora teased. Jackie couldn’t keep from rolling her eyes.
“I’d shank a dude if he tried to pull some shit like this with me.” Hearing Elora laugh, Jackie glanced up at her girlfriend who was poking at the bag of candy hearts “What about you?..”
“C’mon – fuck off.”
“I’m serious! Some guy didn’t try to give you a teddy bear sewn to a heart?” Jackie grinned. Elora threw a look back.
“What, are you gunna go beat em’ up if I say yes?..”
“Maybe..”
The slight grin at the corner of Jackie’s mouth gave her away. Elora rolled her eyes back, gaze drawing across the items.
“No, I never got any bouquets of roses or some shit..– but, it’s for babies anyways. Oh my god, look at this!”
Elora quickly swiped at one of the items on the keychain display. Jackie leaned in to see what Elora was cradling in her palm.
A cow. Well, a miniature one. It barely made the size of her girlfriend’s palm, small enough to fit on a keyset while still qualifying as a plushie. But it was no doubt a little plush black n’ white cow, with little horns and big brown eyes and holding a plain red heart in between it’s hooves.
“It’s a cow.” Elora admonished, like she couldn’t believe it “I mean..c’mon. Like, I get it with teddy bears, and sometimes even baby chicks or whatever ‘cause it’s close to springtime, but a cow? This is so stupid..”
Despite her comments, there was still a trace of a smile on Elora’s pink lips, too amused to be truly annoyed. Jackie started grinning herself.
“Nah, he just wants some of the spotlight they always give to those damn bears..” She reached in, lightly pinching the plushie’s neck to make it look like he was bopping his head. Elora snorted.
“He is kinda cute..” Elora murmured, a soft smile starting to pull up, but when she noticed Jackie quietly watching her, quickly lost it and placed the toy back “I mean, if you’re into that dumb kiddie shit..”
She laughed a little too quickly, eyes rolling. Not wanting to also look kiddish or that she was thinking of what’d be like to give her girlfriend something dumb stuff like a little heart plushie, Jackie put on the same easy smile.
“Right – just leave it for those assholes to get their wives ‘cause they couldn’t think of anything else..”
“Pricks.” Elora agreed, taking a short look around before inhaling sharply “Well, I think we’ve worn-out this place – first one to Robbie & Cleo’s has to pay?”
“..Mm, I dunno, I don’t really feel – go!!”
Jackie hastily pushed Elora by the shoulder before she could even recognize what was happening, bolting towards the exit door. She soon heard some yelling swears and the slaps of runners on linoleum chasing after her, resounding laughter that didn’t bother to head the adult’s angry yells to slow down...
“I told you – we’re suppose to dress up the clinic or something..” Bev’s voice floated back in, abruptly popping the bubble of Jackie’s memory “And hey, speaking of your girlfriend, shouldn’t you be preparing some of this Valentines stuff too?”
Jackie paused for just a second, the memory flashing over – but then quickly pushed it aside with a huff, remembering how Elora treated it.
“Not really – Elora has to work all day then anyways. Plus, all this stuff is lame; it’s for kids or whatever. Like, no one needs a stupid bear holding a heat that’s twice their size..”
Her aunt didn’t seem fazed by Jackie’s rejection. She picked up the industrial sized bag of candy hearts, giving it a toss into the pile before looking to her niece.
“Sorry to break it to you – but you’re still as much of a kid too. I mean, don’t girls your age love this shit? Their boyfriends getting them giant teddybears, doin’ a surprise flower delivery during class to give a bouquet of roses, at least back when I was in school..”
“Was that when boys and girls still weren’t allowed to talk to each other?”
A quick hand zipped through the air, smacking Jackie across the back of her head. Bev didn’t relent at the responding yelp, continuing to glare.
“Alright smartass – I could still say I got some! Tommy Ryder, the second hottest boy in tenth grade, got a special flower bouquet and tin of candy hearts just for yours truly! And I’m still expecting that ‘boyfriend’ you mentioned to at least have a rose when he shows up tonight. All this shit is a right of passage!”
“Yeah, for middle-schoolers.” Jackie rolled her eyes “All that shit is so basic. I mean..if I like Elora, you know..then I’m not gunna tell her by just using a ‘be mine’ heart or something ‘cause it’s Valentines. I’m gunna like..give her something she thinks is cool, or just tell her..”
Hearing that, her aunt craned her head all the way back so she could raise a brow at the blonde. A wide grin soon found it’s way over the perhaps-overly-glossed lips. Jackie already felt the blush of embarrassment creep on again, her eyes going back.
“..Well, when did you get so fuckin’ grown up?” Bev grinned, reaching into Jackie’s bleached hair, who quickly hissed and swatted her away before she could ruffle it “You got part of it right – you should get your girlfriend nice things on days other then just Valentines.”
“No duh..”
“But, deep down, try to deny it, Elora is a teenage girl. A mature one thankfully, but still. You both are. Sometimes, I think it’s okay for you two to act like it, especially if it’s giving her something as dumb and harmless as a cute teddybear so that she thinks of you every time she sees it and smiles. You both act so heavy – you’re only sixteen.”
A thick, large purple bag of rock-hard candy hearts came swinging through the air, nearly knocking a surprised Jackie off her feet as it slammed into her chest. She let out a quiet ‘oof!’, sighing as she wrapped her hands around the bag to secure it. When she found her aunt’s gaze again, she saw that same warm, cheeky grin.
“It won’t kill you to do teenager-y shit sometimes, dummy.”
Jackie quieted, the bag quietly crinkling in her hands as she stood there. Bev didn’t say anything more; just a grin before turning back round and throwing one more bag of Hersheys into the cart, pushing it up to the check-out while telling Jackie to hurry up unless she wants to be left behind.
Jackie hovered. Her eyes landed on the Valentines pile again – she still thought a lot of it was dumb, especially the ten-feet-tall teddybears, but couldn’t keep her aunt’s words from reverberating in her head. Her gaze roamed over while her thoughts played a tug-of-war – until hitting the keychains. Jackie perked up, seeing a familiar black-n-white fuzzy creature. He was still here.
….Fuck it.
Jackie swooped in, switching to cradle the candy hearts in her other arm so she could quickly snatch the keychain off the rack, concealing it in her hand. She had to go find her aunt before she actually left her here.
-
Elora sighed as she pushed open the swinging convenience store doors. Her eight-hour shift was finally done. Her feet ached and she was definitely ready to hit the hay, but at least she didn’t have to clean up anymore bathroom ‘messes’ today. She thinks her manager has finally gotten off her back, now that she’s been there a while. At least she hopes.
It was dark now, past nine. Thankfully, being an employee, she’s allowed to park at the front. Her grandma’s old rust-bucket sat in the parking space just off the front door, nearly blended into the night-time darkness, Elora making out the shape just from the streetlamps and white light out the store windows. She huffed as she hiked her bag further up her shoulder, walking up while fishing for her keys in her pocket.
Everything looked fine, but when Elora got a closer look she stalled to a halt. The white store lights were glinting off something sitting on her dashboard – something she definitely didn’t leave there. It looked like a metal tin, and if she wasn’t mistaken, it was in he shape of a heart.
The hell…?
Sure it was some weird prank, Elora took a couple curious glances around the empty lot before just stepping off the curb, unlocking the front seat door. She reached in for the tin; it was noticeably heavy, and immediately started rattling when she moved it, kind of like beads in a maraca. Furrowing down at it, she guessed there was nothing to do but open it, cautiously pulling back the lid and really hoping it wasn’t razor blades or bugs filled inside –
Elora gasped softly. The second the lid was off, she was met immediately with the big, brown eyes of that little Valentines cow. It was the keychain she’d spotted in the store with Jackie – the one she didn’t want to admit she thought was pretty cute.
She definitely wasn’t a Valentines girl, and most of that commercial mass-produced shit was so far out of her circle of interest. She always kinda figured it was the kind of lame thing you did when you were younger, boys giving girls flowers or hearts or whatever. She’d pass, thanks. But, the second she saw that plushie cow, so ridiculous with it’s big adorable eyes, she couldn’t help but think it was kind of..well, sweet, even though she tried not to show it.
But, clearly Jackie saw it.
It wasn’t just the keychain either. The little cow was sitting among a pile of those classic, colourful candy hearts, hence the rattling sound. So cliché, but, Elora couldn’t help the faint smile pulling up. A flash of green caught the corner of her eye – a sticky note, attached on the underside of the lid. Elora temporarily placed the tin on the roof and peeled the note off, immediately recognizing the small, scratchy printing,
Yeah, it’s cheesy n shit. But I just thought why the fuck not, you know?
Maybe you make me wanna do stupid cliché shit like give you this dumb Valentines plushie because I saw how you smiled. But don’t you dare tell any of your asshole friends that.
- J
P.S Careful. I hear there are assholes around here who can pick car locks ;)
Elora grinned wide enough to make her cheeks hurt. So that’s how this got into the car.
She felt almost overwhelmed, not sure what to do with the gooey softness she felt blooming in her chest. She couldn’t stop smiling, feeling a bit dumb but not able to tamp it down. Eventually, she reached for her phone – popped open the case, and slipped the note in between the back of her phone and the case. That’ll keep it safe. She then slipped the tin off the roof, placing it into the car. She had to get home, couldn’t stand around here looking like a dope.
Before that though, Elora reached inside the heart tin for the little plush cow. She made sure to look over her shoulder once, twice, just to be sure no one was around to see her.
But she didn’t bother to hide her smile as she slid the keychain creature onto her keyset.