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Dan Avidan was fine. Really, he was. Late Night Shopping was always a good cure for a broken heart, he thought. There was something about walking the lonely aisles of the grocery store at night that put his mind at ease. At least it was better than wallowing in pity at his apartment. So, despite the tearing of his heart and soul, he was fine. Relatively.
It was just earlier that day that his girlfriend broke up with him. So she was really an Ex-girlfriend now. It wasn’t particularly harsh, the way it was done. They met for coffee at one of the frequented local cafes, and that was it. It was over. Dan actually had the “It’s not you, it’s me,” line thrown at him, but it was done with so much care that he couldn’t be mad. Upset, sure... but not mad.
Thoughts raged in his head of what he had done wrong to make this great girl dump him. She had said it wasn’t because of him, but what if it was? What did he do to upset her? One of the last thing Dan ever wanted to do was harm someone with something he did. If he actually had done that, he didn’t know if he could handle the knowledge.
He grabbed three pints of ice cream as he passed the frozen section, knowing it would be needed for his cry session later. He thought she could have been The One, after all. The wisps of negativity kept floating around in his head as he went towards the produce. He had eaten his last apple before he went out for coffee with... with...
Dan didn’t realize he had even stopped, his cart with the squeaky wheel finally falling into silence. His eyes flicked over some cabbages, almost looking like a normal person trying to decide which one looked the freshest. Up until he burst into tears. Ugly, fat, huge, rolling-down-your-cheeks tears that could not be hidden, no matter how hard he may try. His body hunched over the handle of his cart in an effort to conceal his face within the folds of his sweatshirt. But he knew it was useless.
With how empty the store had appeared, Dan nearly screeched when he felt a hand on his shoulder and a soft voice addressing him. Of course. He was so absorbed in his melancholy that he didn’t notice the one other living thing in this section of the dead supermarket. Seeing the caring face looking back at him made it so much worse. Made him hyper aware of the tears getting caught in his scruff of a beard.
“Hey man, are you alright?” The man in front of him tried to catch Dan’s eye, while Dan tried to do the exact opposite.
Dan sniveled, wiping at his nose and eyes with the torn up sleeve of his hoodie. He did his best to nod at the other man, trying to play it off as no big deal.
“Yeah, I’m- I’m fine,” He managed, picking a cabbage at random and throwing it in a bag to put in his cart. “I’m just... overtired, I think,” Dan chuckled, unable to hide his eyes now.
The other man paused. “You sure? Looked like some pretty serious cryin’ going on at the vegetables,” He teased lightly. “What did they do, break up with you?” The man smirked but immediately backpedaled at the look on Dan’s face. “Aw shit, man I’m sorry, did that really happen?” At Dan’s nod, the man stuck out his hand. “I’m Arin. Sorry for making it worse, dude,” Arin gave Dan’s hand a gentle shake.
“It’s okay, I’ve just been a mess all day,” Dan laughed sadly, wiping his nose and eyes again to try and retain dignity. “I’m Dan,” He muttered.
“Dan... well hey, if you need someone to vent to, I’m always available!” Arin chuckled lightly. His eyes flicked to Dan’s cart. “And I’m always a fan of Ben & Jerry’s.”
Dan smiled. “Thanks, Arin,”
“No problem. Maybe I’ll see you around?” Arin asked almost hopefully. “At least I will if you do a lot of late night shopping,” He smiled again before walking towards the checkout lane, with a smile and a wave.
Dan waved back, continuing his shopping with a little more hope for the world.
Dan found himself back at the store weeks later at 10:30 pm. It was different this time. It wasn’t for distraction, but rather because he had a long day of hanging out with friends and running around the town with them. Now was when he had finally gotten a chance to do his weekly store run.
He had had several rough days after the breakup, days in which he had worked through those three pints of ice cream while watching sitcom reruns. He had all but forgotten his small interaction with the kind faced man by the cabbages.
His feet took him through the rows of carrots and onions, and back to the apples and oranges. Dan was always trying to be conscious about how much of the “good stuff” he got in his diet. He was contemplating which fruit looked the tastiest to his hungry stomach, when he heard someone say his name.
“Dan?” Arin asked from behind him. “Hey dude, how have you been?”
Dan smiled. “Arin, right?” He continued when the other nodded. “I-I’ve been okay, better than last time, at least,”
“Yeah, I’d say. You aren’t bawling at the lettuce anymore,” Arin laughed heartily.
“Cabbage...” Dan corrected softly.
“Whatever man, I’m not a veggie expert. They all look the same!”
“Yeah, I guess they do,” Dan giggled. They fell into silence as the tinny radio music played over the speakers above them. He grabbed a bag of Gala apples to fill the space.
“So... whaddya say we go grab a bite to eat somewhere? You can tell me all about your qualms with leaves, and I can buy you food. It’s a win-win,” Arin muttered with a smirk. “I think we both could use a friend, especially with my lonely ass shopping this late at night,”
Dan laughed and stared at his feet to hide his rising blush. “Sure... I’d like that.”