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The days were getting shorter, and the days were getting colder. It was that time of the year now. When the temperature begins to drop and the sun doesn't feel as hot anymore. When the sounds of wildlife go silent. No more birds, no more sounds of bugs singing at night.
It can feel even more lonesome, especially when you are living alone.
You wanted to do something fun for yourself, to pull yourself out of that uncomfortable feeling. There was the feeling of wanting to make something. Something warm, maybe hot. Something sweet. Something easy.
Ah ha. Hot chocolate.
Grabbing your jacket, wallet, and keys, you head out to the nearby grocery store.
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For some reason, everyone and their grandmother were at the grocery store today. Leaving you no choice but to park so far away from the entrance.
Walking up to the store wasn't enjoyable as the wind blew, making you shiver. Finally, though, you made it inside and grabbed a small shopping basket.
You traversed through the store, making your way through the aisles to get all the ingredients to make hot chocolate. And you weren’t just going to get the cocoa powder and call it a day. You were going to make the real stuff. The thick, rich, and creamy hot chocolate.
It was a recipe that was passed down to you and you haven't had any for some time.
For the most part, you already had all of the ingredients, except the two most important ones. Chocolate and mini marshmallows.
While going through the candy aisle, you found some good quality chocolate bars and now, you just needed to find the marshmallows.
You head over to the baking aisle to find some tiny, cute, and fluffy marshmallows. While you were turning the corner, you almost ran into a shopping cart.
You jumped back and silently gasped. Looking up, you immediately apologized. Once you were actually looking, your eyes were met with a man. He was hunched over the cart, arms folded over the bar.
“Bob?" you questioned slowly.
"Yes?" he replied slowly back.
"Oh! Long time no see!"
You almost didn't recognize him.
He wasn't wearing his usual Boys 'n Grills uniform, of course. He was wearing a plaid shirt with shades of red, navy blue, and beige with a light brown jacket. On his head was an old worn cap that definitely had seen better days.
You stepped over to the side, not wanting to stand directly in front of his cart. "Sorry about that.”
“Oh, uhm, not a problem… erm… what’s yer name again? Have we met?”
You laughed a little, not taking offense to his questions. After telling him your name and how you were his regular at Boys 'n Grills in the past, Bob seemed to remember.
He nodded as he pointed at you. “Ah, I remember now, ya used to come in every other day.”
“Yeah,” you drawled out, reminiscing about the past. “I ended up getting a new job and moved away. So, I couldn’t come in anymore. But, I ended up getting another one and moved back here. Maybe I can come and see you more often now!”
"Sure, yeah," Bob replied with little care. He seemed out of it.
Glancing down at his cart, you noticed some low-quality TV dinners and chips, along with other cheap junk foodstuff. You assumed someone like Bob, who cooks for a living, would get himself something nicer than just junk food.
"So, any fun plans later tonight with friends or…?" you asked, wanting to make some small talk.
"Nope," Bob replied plainly, popping his 'p'. "Jus' me, mahself, and I."
"Oh, I mean, that's still good. Do some self-care."
"Yeah, self-care, heh…" Bob replied to you sarcastically.
'Hmm…'
Maybe you shouldn't have mentioned friends. From that response, he didn't seem like he really had any. You never really considered the idea of him not having any friends. Bob seemed very well-liked. At least, you thought so. Maybe you thought wrong.
“Sorry if this is a little weird, but I was wondering if you would like to come over later? I’m making some hot chocolate, and I figured I could have some company?”
Bob stared at you. Then his eyes seemed to focus on something else and then back to you.
"Why?"
You shrugged. "I thought it might be fun?"
Bob continued to stare, he then looked away as if he was thinking to himself. After a moment, there was a grin that appeared on his face and he turned his attention back to you. "Y'know what? Sure, why not?"
You gave him a wide-open smile. It has been a long while since you've had company.
"Great! Oh, want to share numbers?"
Bob sighed and dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone, handing it over to you.
"You could just tell me your phone number," you teased.
"I don't remember it. I had ta git a new phone."
For a new phone, it was a little gross, you had to admit. There were some cracks on the screen and some unidentifiable crust that you just ignored. Luckily, he didn't have a password on his phone and you easily navigated through it.
To make things simpler, you added your name to his contacts and sent yourself a message with your address.
You showed Bob what you did and he just gave you a nod. He took his phone back from you and shoved it into his pocket.
"Alright, I'll let you go now. I'll see ya soon!" you said with excitement as you waved goodbye to Bob.
"Yeup," Bob replied in a stale tone. Leaning back onto the shopping cart's bar, he strolled off.
You walked farther down the aisle and finally, you found your mini marshmallows and tossed them in your little basket.
•┈┈┈••✦ ☕️ ✦••┈┈┈•
You placed all the ingredients that you were going to use on the counter. Grabbing a decent-sized pot, you placed it on the stove and turned it on. Adding your milk, you waited until it became hot, but not boiling. Then, you turned the heat to low and began adding your melted hand-chopped chocolate, sugar, a slight pinch of salt, and then a tad of nutmeg and cinnamon.
With a whisk, you stirred the contents. The ingredients began mixing well with each other, and you continued to make sure everything was whisked together well. With a final splash of vanilla extract, you were finished.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
‘That must be Bob!’
You made your way to your front door. Once you opened it, Bob stood on the other side. There were some things you noticed about him.
The first thing was his shirt. Which was now a red turtleneck sweater. He still had his jacket on and his hat. You figured he changed before he came here for whatever reason. The second thing was how tall and wide he was, he could easily hit his head on the door frame if he were to stand on his toes.
Bob stared down at you and had a wide grin on his face, and you saw just a tad bit of drool, daring to go past his bottom lip.
You’ve noticed he had a problem with that; the drooling. You assumed it was some sort of condition, or maybe he smelt the chocolate and was just salivating at the thought of it. Either way, you thought nothing much of it and ignored it. You didn’t want to be rude by staring.
“Oh, hey! I just got done. Please, come on in." Stepping to the side, you allowed the large man to enter your home. "You can take off your jacket and your boots if you like.”
He entered your house and seemed to look around for only a moment and began to take his boots off. He then took off his jacket and hung it on your coat hanger, but kept his hat on.
You went ahead of him and went back into the kitchen. Making your way over to your stove, you grabbed your mugs from your cupboards. Bob sauntered into the kitchen, and you’ve noticed him looking over at you.
“Please have a seat! Make yourself at home,” you said, gesturing to the dining table in front of him.
He did what you said and sat himself at the table. Bob didn’t say much to you and just seemed to look around your kitchen. Luckily, you were already done with making the hot chocolate and didn’t have to make Bob wait any longer.
With the mugs placed on the counter, you poured in the hot chocolate into both of them with a ladle. You then grabbed a handful of mini marshmallows and placed them in each mug. Carefully grabbing the handles, you took them over to the dining table.
“There you go! I hope you enjoy,” you said, placing a nice fresh cup of hot chocolate in front of Bob.
Taking a seat right next to him, you blew on your drink. You took a careful sip of the steaming chocolate goodness and hummed in delight. It tasted sweet, rich, and creamy. It definitely tasted way better than the box powdered ones.
Glancing up, you saw Bob do the same thing and placed the cup up to his lips.
“What do you think?” you asked him, hoping he liked it too.
You saw his eyes lit up as his eyebrows rose. Bob takes another sip and hums, licking his lips and getting the stray hot chocolate off them.
“It just tastes like how my momma used to make,” he managed to mutter out.
“Oh? Really? Do you still see your mom?”
Bob looked down at his drink, swirling it around in his cup. “No, she ain’t with us no more.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I— uhm,” your voice faded, then cleared your throat. “Uh, anyways, this recipe is my mom’s. Well, kinda, she got it from a really good friend of hers many, many years ago.”
Bob nodded and then took another sip from his drink. “Do you still see yer folks?”
It was your turn to look down at your drink, shaking your head, you responded, “No, mom’s not with us anymore, either… Neither is my dad.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
You gave Bob a small smile and shrugged. “Well, that’s just life, I guess. But I’m grateful for the time I had spent time with them.”
The two of you continued to talk about each other's families. They were different in some ways and the same in others. You’ve taken notice of Bob’s demeanor, and he seemed a little more relaxed. Somehow, though, your conversation then moved on to baking and cooking.
You found out that Bob really loves to cook and loves food. It was something you could have easily guessed, considering he does own and work at Boys ‘n Grills. Another thing you found out was that Bob wasn’t much of a baker, though. He enjoyed eating baked goods, but actually making them? Not his forte.
“How about this,” you said, with a chuckle. “I can teach you how to bake whatever you want, and you can teach me how to cook and grill like a pro.”
Bob snorted at you, “Why? So you can take my job?”
You gasped dramatically, while Bob casually took a drink out of his cup.
“I would never!” you exclaimed, “I can never replace you. Besides, you’re just too good at your job. Even if I were to practice for a million years, I can’t hold a candle to you.”
“Don’t flatter me, sweetheart.”
“Well, it’s true… You’re really talented, but I’m sure you’ve heard that a million times before.”
Bob didn’t reply to your compliment and just drank the rest of his hot chocolate.
Taking notice, you asked, “Would you like some more?”
He seemed to take a moment, deciding if he wanted more. Bob finally made his decision and nodded, handing you his mug. “If ya don’t mind?”
“Not at all," you replied with a smile.
•┈┈┈••✦ ☕️ ✦••┈┈┈•
Time seemed to fly by fast. The two of you were talking and laughing with each other now. Not even realizing how dark outside it was already.
After all the hot chocolate was consumed, you glanced over at the clock and noticed the time. You didn’t expect time to be already so late.
“Well, it looks like it’s time fer me to head home. Gotta open the restaurant tomorrow morin’.”
“Right! You should probably get some rest.”
Bob stood up from his seat, and you followed him out to the front door.
He grabbed his black boots and placed them back on. With a groan, he stood straight back up to his full height. Bob then reached for his jacket and started to put it on. As he was shoving one arm in the sleeve, he then lifted his other arm a bit.
Your gaze caught something around his waist, something that was the color of tannish brown.
Before you could get a clear view of it, Bob shoved his red turtleneck down and covered it. He then cleared his throat, grabbing your attention. “Thank ya for the hot chocolate. It was… good.”
You turned your gaze to him, completely forgetting about what you just saw. “Of course! I’m glad you came over. Maybe you can come over again sometime?”
“Sure, yeah, maybe.” Bob gave you a nod and a tight-lipped smile. As he turned to open the door, you remembered something.
“Oh, hold on!”
You ran back into the kitchen and rummaged in one of the kitchen drawers. There was an old-ripped piece of paper you immediately recognized.
Trotting back to Bob, you held the paper in front of him with a grin. “Here, I figured you could have the hot chocolate recipe.”
Bob carefully took it off of you and had an eyebrow raised. “Are ya sure?”
“Yeah,” you said, emphasizing with a nod. “Don’t worry, I memorized it by heart. You should take it! I insist.”
He shoved the paper in his pocket, giving you a small smile. “That’s mighty kind of ya. Thank you.”
“You’re very welcome, Bob. Drive safe now.”
Bob opened the door and left your house. He walked over to his truck, opened its squeaky door, and jumped in. As he turned on the ignition, you expected him to just leave.
But before he moved, you saw him give you a little wave. You gave him a little wave back, and once you did, he reversed off your driveway and drove off.
Once he was out of your sight, you closed the door and sighed. Even if you were alone in the house, you felt a lot little less lonely.
You hoped maybe things would become a lot less lonely now.