Friendship Bread by Darien Gee

Author:Darien Gee [Gee, Darien]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 978-0-345-52536-9
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2011-04-04T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 15

Mark pushes the grocery cart through the store, Gracie trailing beside him with her own mini version. She can only put lightweight items in her plastic cart, like tea boxes or bags of marshmallows, but that suits her just fine. It takes longer to do the shopping this way, but Gracie is happy, and it gets them out of the house so Julia can have more time to herself.

Today, however, Mark is steaming. He’s been on a low simmer ever since that afternoon he kissed Julia, when she had recoiled as if he had been a stranger. No, correct that—a stranger probably wouldn’t have evoked that response. That was clearly reserved for Mark.

Mark loads up on the bad starches, cheap carbs he knows he’ll regret later. Well, more time in the gym then, which is quickly becoming his home away from home. White bread, pasta, crackers, chips. He throws in a sour cream dip just for the hell of it, and suddenly has a craving for nachos smothered with cheese and jalapeños.

Gracie is chatting animatedly to her stuffed elephant, Troy, who’s sitting in the doll-size seat of her grocery cart. Troy is an elephant who thinks he’s a bird. Right now she thinks it’s important to humor Troy and then, when the time is right, she’ll break the news to him gently.

Mark glances at her, worried that this imaginary play might be a mask for a more serious problem. He pictures the family therapist shaking his head and telling him that Gracie’s lost touch with reality. She is now permanently damaged, unable to function in the real world, which is full of bad things and parents who fight and who don’t know how to kiss. Even the admiring looks from other shoppers and the occasional coos don’t soothe him.

He turns the corner. Rows of Hostess snacks come into view, junk he hasn’t eaten since he was a kid. Boxes of Ho Hos, Twinkies, Ding Dongs, and Sno Balls end up in his cart. Even Gracie is frowning. But Mark doesn’t care.

Julia is gone for the next two days, having some “down time” with one of her tea shop friends. Mark doesn’t know where she is or what she’s doing. As usual. Why should she tell Mark anything? He’s just the husband.

A box of powdered Donettes sails into the cart. Mark pushes on.

After the grocery store, they’re going to go to Avalon Video and rent the latest Disney movie. Some feel-good piece of la-la-land goodness that can only happen in the Disney studios. You want special effects? Try getting your wife to kiss you. You’ll have to pull the whole tech team together for that one.

Julia used to get on her soapbox about the Disney epic cartoons. Did Mark ever notice how almost every movie had only one parent? And that it’s the mother who’s usually missing or killed off? Cinderella, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, Pocahontas, The Little Mermaid, Bambi, even The Fox and the Hound. Mark had offered to write a letter but Julia wasn’t humored.

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