Connective Cube

Tea. Fizzy water. Another day of coffee, pulpy orange juice and nibbles of chocolate. And that bottle, another new one with good ole H2O.

The recycling now whittles down to cans of grapefruit soda water. Beer, he calls it. He can down six of them as quickly as the high gravity beer of the moment. It is still easy to do on the sofa, the one that provides a momentary relief from the full effects of gravity. Strangely, it made her back hurt more than walking, sitting on the couch night after night.

Sugar cravings explode. Time to go to the store, a reason to get off the couch.

This time, Liz spots five different types of chocolate items at the store. Chocolate granola bars with peanut butter, moose tracks ice cream, milk duds, chocolate milk syrup and a bar of Swiss chocolate. Liz pulls her cart close to her hips, observing the items scattered among plain yogurt, almonds, spring mix tea with a flower pattern, spinach, mcintosh apples, lemons, goat cheese crumbles and frozen mushroom pizza.

Time for some items to go back to their shelves. their appropriate shelves, justifying an increase in her step count. From the front of the store, and to the of the line spilling into the baby diapers, took 27 steps.

Around the end cap, to the right three aisles and to the right in the cereal aisle. Granola bars tend to stay on the top shelf for months, ready for her when she takes quitting chocolate seriously. 45 steps.

The ice cream is already out of the freezer. It stays. It is rude to give someone freezer burn.

29 steps to the milk duds and puts them back.

Wouldn’t chocolate go great in Kahlua? Melted chocolate with coconut rum and Kahlua? That could be the ultimate milkshake. Welp, chocolate milk it is.

39 steps back to the line. She averts her eyes, gazing at the sunburst logo on the spinach package. The new cinching on her jeans pinch her lower right hip. It is also that stupid time of the month.

Tampons. around the corner, around the left bend. 22 steps. More flower bursts.

Back around 22 steps. No one else got in line, for once. Liz stares at her phone, and let’s Rob know that she got the pizza. That’s the plan tonight. Mushroom pizza and bed. And fizzy water.