Chapter 34: Violet

I followed her directions to the grocery store. It was definitely in historic downtown. As soon as I made my turn the road became cobble stone. Most of the buildings were only two stories and there was a brick with a date of 1867. Each building was attached to the next and the parking spots were diagonal facing the street to park in front of the building you wanted to visit. Old streetlamps hung over the street giving it that old town charm.

Greene Grocery was on the left as Madge had said. I parked my Jeep in the parking spot across from the grocery store. There was an antique shop in front of my car. I saw a couple of ladies, one older than the other by a few decades, they discussed an item in the window front. One woman was a wolf, but she had something else mixed with her. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. But it felt familiar.

The older lady looked up at me. She stared at me for a moment and then smiled. It was a knowing smile as if she recognized me but the next moment she went back to her conversation.

I got out of the Jeep and crossed the street to the grocery store. It was an older grocery store. Something you would expect in the 1950s. The man that worked the register had a bow tie on and an apron. He looked at me and smiled. “Welcome to Greene Grocery.”

“Thank you.” I smiled back. His smile slowly faded as I made my way over to get a cart from the carousel. He tried to decipher what I was. I shook it off and pushed my cart through the produce. I grab a bunch of fresh vegetables and fruit and put it into my cart. I made my way through the store and grabbed meat, bread, eggs, and milk. I grabbed some ice cream and a couple of frozen pizzas. A few gallons of water. I went down the baking aisle, this was a dangerous aisle. I threw boxes of brownie mix, cupcake mix with the little paper cups, pancake mix and something called a mug cake. I grabbed frosting and all the ingredients that I would need to make each of these mixes.

I looked down at my cart. I couldn’t fit another item in there. I was satisfied with my items; I made my way to the check out. There was an older man in front of me with the few items he had already packed away in a paper bag. I smiled, that was the definition of old school. It was seriously night and day compared to Target.

I started to load my items on the conveyor belt. The man who greeted me at the door struggled to keep a smile on his face as he eyed me in between scans. “Did you find everything alright?”

“I found more than I was supposed to.” I laughed. I hoped to ease the tension, which seemed to work a little.

“Isn’t that how it goes?” His smile became genuine. He continued to scan my items and put them into paper bags and once the bag was full, he would put it into my cart. He scanned the final item. “One thirty-six thirteen.”

I dug in my pocket and grabbed a couple of hundreds and handed it to him. He took it and made change.

“Did you need help bring your groceries to your car?”

“No, I think I can manage. May I bring the cart to my car and bring it back when done?”

“Of course.” He said as he handed me my change. “Have a great day.”

I pushed my cart out of the checkout aisle and to the door as the cashier stared at the person behind me. I didn’t realize how difficult it would be to push a cart over cobble stone. At least I would know better for next time. I popped open the hatch and started to unload my groceries. Once everything was loaded, I pushed the cart back to the store and put it back in the carousel.

I hopped into my Jeep and started my way back to the cabin. I made it through the small town. I saw someone walking along the side of the road. They carried a large bag in one arm and a purse in the other. I slowed down to see it was that older woman in the antique shop that looked at me. She’s walking? Why wouldn’t she have someone drive her with all that stuff?

I slowed down and parked a few yards ahead of her. I got out of the truck.

“Excuse me! Ma’am.” I said as I jogged toward her. “May I offer you a ride?”

The woman looked exhausted. She was hunched over her bag; she took slow steps forward. She looked up at me, to size me up.

“Are you one of those sex trade people?” She barked at me.

I laughed at her question. She glared at me. “No, ma’am. I just thought you might like a ride.”

“Hmmm, and you won’t try to kidnap me?”

I tried to control the laughter that was building up in my chest and tried to swallow it back down. “No, ma’am.”

“And you won’t try to sacrifice me to the devil?” She said and looked at me knowingly.

“I just recently made a sacrifice, so you are safe.” I winked at her.

She perked up. “Well, all right then. Let’s get this show on the road.”

“May I take that for you?” I offered to the bag she held.

“Sure.” She held it out to me. I grabbed it and was instantly shocked by the weight of it. I peeked in the bag. On the top, there was a large book that said spells in Latin. Maybe she was mixed with witch? I wasn’t sure. But that would be something new. A werewolf and a witch that got together. She walked toward the passenger side, popped the door open and hopped in. “I guess it’s my lucky day. My grandson abandoned me. He promised he would take me to the shops today. But he got too busy for his old Nana.”