Ben drove to the grocery store and lost himself in the homey and mundane task of filling his cart with groceries. He took his time as it felt good to just be in the moment. There were some excellent cuts of beef and he spent some time talking with the butcher. He let the man talk him into a beautiful, if large, sirloin roast. He rationalized he would use the leftovers in lunches.
As always happened he found more than was on the list and had quite a full cart when he reached the checkout. He loaded the belt and waited for his turn when, in the lane next to his, he heard some arguing and the accent jumped out at him. The voice was like honey, smooth and pure but he heard a tremor in it like nerves pushed just a little too far. He looked over the divider and saw it was Ashley and her face was starting to become red. He thought he might have seen the beginnings of a tear as well. Ben moved through the lane to move over to hers.
“Please try the card again. I couldn’t have reached my limit already.” Ashley said to the clerk.
“Ma’am, I’ve tried twice already. The machine says you’ve reached your limit. Do you have another card?” the clerk said with an annoyed tone.
“Excuse me. I’m sorry for the awkward introduction but I’m Ben Shepherd. I’m your neighbor, two door over, number 16. I couldn’t help overhear. May I?” Ben said, holding up his credit card.
Ashley looked like she might burst into tears at any minute. She looked back at the girls who looked scared but hungry. She dropped her eyes and nodded. She and the girls moved out of the aisle and Ben moved in to pay. He handed the receipt to Ashley. “I’ll pay you back as soon as I get the credit card issue resolved.” she blurted.
“It’s not a problem. You have a good day!” Ben said and moved back to pay for his own groceries. The taller teen with the cast on her wrist was staring wide eyed at the meat and vegetables Ben was buying. He saw her lick her lips and swallow. He glanced back at the food Ashley was bagging and realized it was mostly instant food and TV dinners.
He bagged his groceries and stuffed it all in the cart they left together and the idea of the new arrivals sitting down to TV dinners in a house full of boxes just bothered him. As they got outside Ben called out.
“Excuse me, Mrs. Beaumont? Trish, who you met earlier, told me your name. Anyway I went a little overboard at the butcher shop and bought a roast much too large for myself and Tina.” Suddenly he realized he didn’t know what to call Tina. “She’s a friend who lives with me. She has a son who is just about as old as yours. I was wondering if you would like to join us for dinner tonight. Tina is an amazing cook! It will save you the effort of having to make dinner on your first night here. Kind of a welcome to the neighborhood dinner?” he said with a hopeful smile.
“That is very kind of you Mr…. Shepherd?” He nodded. “But we’ve just arrived and the house is a mess of boxes.” She looked at the teens and saw the taller girl was looking at her with pleading eyes. Her sister picked up the signal and started to campaign for the free meal as well. Ashley still looked unsure but her daughters seemed to sway her decision. “Uh, well… I suppose we could.”
“It will take a little time to cook this roast so how about 7PM tonight?” he suggested.
She smiled and the girls smiled (finally) and Ben returned it.
“Excellent! Number 16, see you then!” he said and made his way to his truck. He loaded his groceries and began to pull out of the lane when he saw the teen with the cast running towards his truck. He rolled down the window. “What’s wrong?” he asked to the breathless girl.
“The van’s gone.” she said.
“What?” Ben gasped. “Hop in. I’ll drive you back to your mom.”
The girl climbed in and buckled up. She guided Ben three aisles over at the edge of the lot where Ashley had finally had enough and was in tears. There was an empty parking spot and glass on the ground from a broken window. Ben turned off the engine, gave Ashley his handkerchief and sat her in the passenger seat. He directed the teen with the baby in her arms to strap the boy into Christopher’s child seat in the center of the bench seat. The girls got in on either side of the boy and buckled up. He opened the back hatch and put their groceries inside. Ben got in then called the police. He handed the phone over to Ashley who gave the police the details. Ben heard her say the van was a rental from the airport. A few minutes later she hung up and handed him the phone back. He drove them all home. Ashley explained that the police said that model of van was targeted for their air bags. The van would be likely be found a couple of blocks away with all of the bags removed for resale on the black market for auto parts. They told her to contact the rental agency with the police incident report number.
Ben apologized for her first day in the city proving to be so trying. Ashley just looked at him like he’s grown antlers. He backed into her driveway right up to the door and everyone got out. He opened the hatch and handed them their bags. Ashley seemed reticent to allowing him into the house so he didn’t press and allowed them to move all of the bags. He slipped an extra bag from his into theirs containing apples and oranges. The taller teen looked inside then at him and he winked at her. She gave him just the hint of a smile then rushed into the house with the bag.
Ashley came back outside thanked him again for his help.
“See you all at 7PM?” he asked.
She nodded shakily.
He drove home and pulled into the garage. He made a few trips and carried all of the groceries into the house and Tina met him in the kitchen. He gave her a kiss.
“How did it go at the University?” he asked.
Tina was vibrating with excitement. “I’m all sighed up for the summer classes and enrolled for the Fall Term!” she cheered.
“Excellent news! Do you like the campus?”
“It is wonderful! I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful this is for me!” she gushed and gave him a big hug. “I will cook you the most amazing meal tonight!”
“Ah, well tonight I have a special request.” he began and Tina looked questioningly at him. “I bumped into our new neighbors at the grocery store today. They were loading up on TV dinners and the teens looked like they really needed a good meal. Their credit card was denied so I paid for their groceries. Then someone stole their rental van so I drove them home. I invited them to dinner. Could you possibly cook this roast with the baby roasted potatoes, corn, and biscuits? Dinner for five people for 7PM? I’ll help.”