InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "once upon a midnight dreary"

Sharon had to get used to shopping now that it was just her and Viv. Veronica had moved out, and her mother had moved out, so Sharon had to get used to shopping for one (and change) again. It was strange. She and Veronica had sort of taken turns doing cooking and cleaning and the like, and Sharon was falling behind on a couple of those things. She tried to buy and cook only as much as she needed, but then she ran out of random ingredients.

Today she was in the store for eggs, since she’d run out, but she was hungry. So her cart was filling fairly quickly. And not with things on her list. Most of it was healthy, though she’d also grabbed a package of honey nut Cheerios for Viv and a package of Oreos for herself…

Carol shopped once in awhile. And by that she meant when her fridge held nothing but milk in between yoghurt and cheese, a lone tomato that looked more brown than red and some questionable food stuff in the drawer that Carol just ignored. One day that questionable food thing would grow sentient and take over her fridge, she was sure of it. But until then, she ignored it.

Shopping wasn’t terrible, Carol just got bored halfway through and wanted to start eating the chips she’d picked up. She’d done it once, just when she’d moved to Orange County and had literally nothing in the house. Eating on the way round the supermarket was apparently reserved for children. Who knew?

She was doing a good job on holding off for now, but then with dried foods, tins and bread, there wasn’t a lot she was intending on snacking on just yet anyway. Oh, maybe she should hit up the chocolates? After she made sure she’d got her preferred coffee brand and some filter refills.

Eating on the way round the supermarket was apparently reserved for children and nursing moms. Sharon had totally opened up the package of Oreos and was nibbling on a cookie as she pushed the cart with one hand and tried keeping the baby’s grabby paws away from her cookie. She stopped in front of the coffee and tea section and gave a sigh.

“I wish they had good decaf.” Sharon mumbled aloud, looking up at the choices.

“Decaf is a lie,” Carol couldn’t help but interject as she grabbed a tub of her brand and some filters, “The coffee companies don’t actually want you to drink decaf, so they make it very bad on purpose. Since, let’s face it, about a handful of people drink coffee for the taste. Spend long enough on decaf and well, you’ll figure what’s the point, right?”

Conspiracy. It was a giant conspiracy by the coffee manufacturers and the branding department. Or Carol had just read far too many blogs on conspiracies and now she made them up herself. Either way, she was sure she was right about this.

“Well, of course, there’s still a little caffeine in all kinds of coffee, even if it’s called decaf.” Sharon said. “But I’m nursing my little one, so I can’t have too much coffee… she’ll keep me up all night.” She leaned over to take a look, and frowned. Maybe she’d have to switch to tea.

The hazards of being a conscientious parent. Carol just gave a stiff smile, “Earl Grey tea is probably your best bet. Or Lady Grey.” It pained her a little to know this, but she worked for a magazine that ended up printing some of the information that came up for new mothers -especially around the early summer when there was a spike in babies being born. “Apparently there’s a study that shows you can have up to 100mg of caffeine a day without it affecting you know, feeding.”

The things Carol knew, “But I guess it’s a preference thing.”

“What’s the difference between Earl Grey and Lady Grey?” Sharon asked, glancing up at the titles on the boxes. She reached forward to pick up a box of each and read the labels, but they didn’t say a whole lot, did they? “I don’t know much about tea as I probably should. And I do have a little caffeine, but if I have too much, it definitely affects my daughter She might be more sensitive to it than I am.”

Carol just nodded, because she’d read those too. “Lady Grey has a few extra spices, it’s supposed to be a little tarter.” Carol wasn’t exactly an avid tea drinker herself, she craved a good cup of coffee every hour. “But it’s very responsible of you to mind what she’s getting from you as well. Caffeine can sometimes have more than one side effect for babies.” Not just the whole up all night because of the alertness sort of thing.

“It’s completely selfish, I assure you,” Sharon said, putting the boxes back on the shelves. She couldn’t help but smirk over at the other lady. “I want her to sleep so I can sleep.” She was getting tired of waking up at least once a night every night to nurse or whatever else. But this too would pass. Sharon knew that sooner rather than later she’d be missing these days. Not the bad parts, of course, but the good stuff. She was trying to enjoy it as it came. “I’ll probably just stick to herbal teas, I guess.”

“Considering you just very selflessly brought a child into the world,” and yes, Carol did think you had to be selfless to do that, the nine months of pregnancy, the labour, the rearing of the child, the sleepless nights, the feeding, the cleaning, the playing. All of it, you didn’t do it if you were an inconsiderate selfish person, because you didn’t start getting back from it for weeks and weeks. “I think you’re allowed a little bit of selfishness.” Even if it was just the kid sleeping for an extra hour here and there.

“One of my writers swears by Ginger Tea, she says it’s just as energising as caffeine, without the caffeine.” Or just with a heavy reduction, since there was still some in there. Carol wasn’t the sort to cut out her coffee though, it just wasn’t possible.

...you didn’t start getting back from it for weeks and weeks. If not months or even years. Sharon had struggled, that was sure, in the beginning. But things got better. Thankfully, Viv’s father’s family was incredibly supportive, not to mention the fact that her daughter had two dads who were there to support her, and her mother came to stay… and Sharon’s roommate and his boyfriend who were incredibly helpful. And Sharon’s best friend Leon, too, who eventually held the baby. (After six months.)

“Thanks,” Sharon replied, giving the other woman a smile. “I like the way you think.” She reached forward to pick up a box of Ginger tea, and glanced at the package. “I’ll have to give it a try, then,” she said, nodding. “Thanks for the recommendation.”

“No problem, we pick up a lot of moderately useful if highly specific information sometimes.” Like very specific and only used in small doses or occasional circumstances. Sometimes it was good, other times it was just a little pointless. “Well, good luck on the tea and, well,” Carol gave a small smile towards the baby, “I work for Woman Magazine, if you’re ever looking for tips on specific subjects for babies and moms,” Carol whipped out her card, the number for her extension at the magazine there, “we have three specialist writers who could give tips on anything from teething to nappy rash to weaning from milk, you name it we’ve probably printed it.”

Carol just gave a shrug. Whatever helped, right?

Sharon smirked. She knew how that felt, for sure. Picking up specific information that one never thought one would need--then all of a sudden you’re talking to a random person in the supermarket and you come out with exactly what the situation called for. Sharon accepted the card and glanced down at it, then back up with a smile. She nodded once. “Thank you. I’ll email you.” And she knew she would. Because she needed all the help she could get.

“Any time.” Honestly, Carol preferred when this information came in handy more than the random understanding she had of cutting tools for body parts. That wasn’t a conversation that was easy to have. “Anything we can do to help.” Was the purpose, right? “It was nice meeting you.” Carol gave a small smile, checking that she had what she needed before giving the baby a wave and preparing to find some fruit to at least pretend to be healthy.

“Nice to meet you, too.” Sharon said, smiling warmly as she pocketed the card. She’d just come to the store for a few things, and she’d gained access to a wealth of information. That seemed like a win in her book.