As we entered the massive building, bright, florescent light washed over us. Sylus hissed quietly. Half jokingly and half serious response. Puppy Squid wasn’t exactly comfortable in bright places.

We’d walked into the produce section. Greenery stretched the length of the aisle. Fruits lined the opposite wall. Vegetation that didn’t need watering filled bins im the middle of the aisle. It was glorious.

“What’s a durian?” I asked no one in particular. “Are dragon fruits red inside?” I put one of each in the basket Sylus came out of nowhere with.

“Sorry, love. Fruits and veg are not my area of expertise.”

“We’ll find out together then!” I took hold of the cart and started pushing through all the greens. I grabbed some different apples and pears I’d never heard of. A few cabbagey things like bokchoy. I didn’t exactly have a plan in mind. I was just planning on grabbing as much as I could knowing full well Mr. Moneybags wouldn’t stop me.

At the end of the aisle was a person standing behind a table. Little plastic cups of croutons were laid out. Sylus approached the table and struck up a conversation with the employee. They looked preemptively annoyed as he approached, but their demeanor shifted as they spoke.

“They’re garlic cheddar. Store brand.” They explained.

Sylus took a cup and tossed them back. “Not bad.” He offered me a cup. They were okay. Nothing like Ma used to make.

Sylus thanked the employee who smiled and waved as we moved along.

“Bet they’ve been standing there all day getting badgered by customers.” He shook his head. “I could never work retail. I hate people too much.”

“Well that’s not true.”

“Nothing wrong with an individual person. I try not to judge off the bat. But people? In the wise words of a fellow suited individual: ‘People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals’.”

I sighed.

The deli was right across the way from the aisle we’d just left. I took to browsing their options. All kinds of meat cuts and fish sat out for all to see. A whole dead octopus laid among them. I turned to Sylus. He didn’t look happy.

“They’re smart, you know, octupuses.” He murmured. “If they lived long enough they’d probably have cities down there. Give us mammals,” he paused a moment, “humans, a run for their money as apex creatures.”

I took his arm and squeezed it.

“It’s okay.” He sighed. “Let’s just move on.”

We continued down the end cap aisle where prepackaged meat awaited us. I expected Sylus to be more excited but he just eyed every cut with a mild look of disdain. They weren’t good enough for him. I laughed. He was incredibly spoiled in that department, but honestly from what I knew of his past, he deserved it. He deserved to have nice things.

We both did, I suppose.

He passed almost everything up until we reached the hot dogs. He threw at least a dozen packs of foot longs into the cart.

I cocked a brow.

“Practice.” He muttered.

I laughed. I laughed so hard I had to hold onto the shopping cart for dear life. My ribs started to hurt and my stomach ached. I clung to the cart as I made my way around it until I could throw my arms around my giant squid.

“God I love you.” I choked out.

He took my chin in his hand and brushed his thumb across my sideburn. He leaned in close. “And I you.” He breathed across my ear.

I was compromised.

Sylus took hold of the back of the cart and started dragging it and me down the aisle.

On the corner stood another sample table. Mini sausages in mini cups. Of course we stopped.

Once more Sylus struck up a friendly conversation unrelated to the product. He ended up knocking back most of the samples in the process. Sylus apologized. The employee seemed more grateful than upset.

“Less to clean up.” They said. “Makes my life easier.”

I took two cups for myself.

We wandered up and down a few more aisles picking up things we didn’t need like cookies, chips, and snacks. Some random hot sauces, too. None of what was in our cart made any sense.

And that was fine.

We made our way to check out. It came out to way more than I thought it would be. Sylus paid, of course.

We were on our way out when he cursed and ran back in.

I waited, confused.

He returned with a pack gum and some cash. He offered me a bubble flavored strip.

I took one. “You bought some gum to get cash?”

He nodded. “Cheaper than an ATM.”

I snorted.