Chapter 344

• 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.