Cherish went for a cart and strolled along Simon's left side. Emptying onto the General Merchandise side, there was a display of cheap televisions on their left and pharmacy on their right, "So where should we stop first?" She asked.
Simon’s expression was straight, the same rigidity in his posture, as he looked down at his side and met her gaze, “The exit.” He answered without skipping a beat. She rolled her eyes and shook her head. He surely was delivering with the bitter resentment and she loved it.
Passing by the pharmacy, she slowed down while Simon made his way towards the baby formula she was so intent to buy. Cherish watched him walk ahead, but the flashing pictures on the nice, sleek televisions caught her attention almost immediately. This always happened. Even though Cherish would say they’d be quick, that was never the case in this woman’s DNA. She had coding somewhere in her brain where quick was translated to “no more than two hours”.
As soon as Simon was about to around the corner and start his trek for the opposite side of the store, he heard Cherish’s infamous word; one he hoped he wouldn’t hear until they were at least halfway through the store, “Wait.”
Simon’s back tensed up visibly before he rigidly turned to face her while she gawked at the screens. This wasn’t going to end well.
She stopped in front of one of the smaller televisions for less than two-hundred dollars. The price, in her mind, was hard to beat and she leaned over to inspect it better. Looking over at Simon as he begrudgingly made his way over, Cherish then straightened and pointed to the television, “I was thinking that maybe we should get a TV in the bedroom. So, when I’m feeding Jr. I have something to watch while he drains my life force.” She stated looking down at Jr.’s pudgy face and leaning in closer to him, “Isn’t that right? You take it all, don’t you?” she asked with a grin.
Seeing her face and smile caused the little boy to kick his feet while he grunted and smiled at her. Cherish ran her fingers along his forehead and down his rounded cheek before she returned her attention to Simon.
Hearing her out, Simon nodded his head in approval at first because he agreed it would be nice to have a television in the bedroom. But, the cheap one she wanted to get wasn’t what he thought was best at all. She even went so far as to use his cute, chubby son against him which tugged on his heartstrings, “A television in the bedroom sounds perfect, just not this one. It’s on sale for a reason and…” He approached the it and felt the border around the screen. The plastic covering was too light and hollow. Giving it a squeeze, the plastic squeaked under the light strain of pressure.
Cherish placed her hands over her forehead and cocked one hip to the side, "It doesn't need to be on sale when it’s under two-hundred. Anything less than that would be a steal!" She replied.
Simon shook his head, “This thing isn’t going to last long and you’re not going to get a good picture with it.” He stated. Turning to her again, he knew he would have to fight a battle that he was unlikely to win. He lifted his hands in front of him and acted as though he was dealing with a testy bear, “Hear me out. How about we go around to Best Buy and we see what they’re out of stock on. That way, we can try to get a cheap price on the display television.” He said.
Cherish wet her lips and before she glanced over at the television he critically analyzed, "Come on Simon, you know Best Buy is a rip off! Even a display television will be more than this." She replied pushing her lips to the side and leaning over to inspect it herself. Though, she only looked at the fact that it plugged in and had cables in the back, “That’s why we should just get this one!” she argued.
Simon sighed out and rolled his eyes up momentarily and looked at Cherish with holy patience, “It’ll be a bit pricier, but you’ll get better quality parts. It won’t break, and we’ll have HD sound with a higher picture resolution. This thing is going to start buzzing and breaking in no time.” He said. Going around her, he set his hands on her shoulders, “Then you’ll have to pay double to get a new one which will be more expensive than my display TV idea. How about we go to best buy and barter a little, hmm? Hmm?” he repeatedly hummed near her ear to encourage her onto the dark side.
The babies watched their parents act like idiots bantering back and forth as per usual. He had a good point, but the fact that he tried to barter her, caused her to pull her head away and poke his forehead, "You're just trying to get us to leave. Fine, but we have other things to look at." She agreed.
For once he won the battle, but the war was still hers.
Victory, sweet, pure victory. It was so satisfying that Simon internally groaned with relief. He was making progress in converting her from the hellhole and towards a more quality lifestyle. He balled his fists and tucked his elbows in with his head back.
Pushing the cart, Cherish rounded towards the pharmacy and wandered the aisles. She passed by the cough medications, condoms, and lube before she went around to the pain relievers. She glanced over her shoulder
