This isn't Whole Foods? (Talia)

[Neil Villanueva-Harris]

Neil’s always had a love-hate relationship with grocery shopping. He loved the ‘shopping’ aspect of it (especially when he can get something on sale or with a discount by virtue of a coupon), but hated the manual labour associated with carrying it to his car, back to his apartment and just organizing everything. (Multiplying to make everything easier just wasn’t worth the extra calories he’d need to eat). Having a husbo to push around usually made things easier, but since Lionel’s stuck in a conference call due to an avoidable PR disaster for about four or so hours now, the man’s unfortunately forced to go about this week’s round alone.

Fun. Times.

Neil was so focused on looking for that specific brand of almond milk he knew was locally sourced (just because he loved penny pinching didn’t mean he had to be willy-nilly on how he spent his money) that he didn’t even notice that his half-filled shopping cart was about to bump into someone until, well, it actually did.

“Holy!-“ he shouted, eyes wide, “Oh my god are you hurt? So sorry.”

[Talia Spencer]

Talia had a love of shopping - even something as mundane as grocery shopping. Since she had moved back to Vermont a little over a year ago now, she had gotten a bit into couponing. Now, she wasn't obsessive about it, but she had to stretch her budget as far as she could and hunting for a deal was a bit fun for her. Of course, Talia had a bit of a talent for making most things fun.

She was about to turn up the aisle looking for ice cream before remembering that she was in fact out of milk as well. Leaving her cart where it was, she turned back, intent on quickly grabbing the milk and carrying on. However, so focused was she on her goal, that she failed to notice the approaching cart until she collided with it, yelping slightly as she fell back. "Shit," she muttered under her breath, her body stinging from the collision with both the cart and then the floor.

Looking up, she focused on the man attached to the cart, who was shouting in a panic. "I'm so sorry!" she interjected. "I should have been watching where I was going," she babbled as she slowly rose to her feet, wincing slightly as her body protested the motion. "I'm fine. I'll probably be a little sore tomorrow, but that's what I get for being a klutz," she answered, laughing the situation off. Now she'd have to remember to pick up some Advil. She was going to need it.

"Really though, it's fine," she insisted as she looked at the man again. She tilted her head slightly, studying him for a moment. "Oh hey, I remember you. You came up to the school recently, didn't you?" she asked. "Neil something, right? I'm Talia by the way. It's fine if you don't remember me though."

[Neil Villanueva-Harris]

Of course he had to bump into someone he worked with, at least in a manner of speaking.

And no, it wasn’t ‘cause Talia reminded him about it. Neil had a habit of latching on to every seemingly trivial detail he could whenever he’s new to a place. He did it with the peach tree his parent’s neighbor had in Vancouver. With Mr. Singh the security guard when he first arrived in Hammel. With the red-and-green fence of the house that was exactly two blocks away from their first apartment in New York. And yes, with Talia in Mrs. Morgenstern’s office.

She wasn’t Talia in his head though. Little Mister Let’s-Be-Formal-Just-To-Be-Sure had her catalogued as Ms. Spencer. Which made her seem a whole lot older in his head.

“Jesus Christ let me help you up.” He quickly ran to the woman’s side, offering an arm out for support. He must’ve pushed his cart a little too hard to make her fall on the floor. Hopefully she didn’t sprain an ankle or anything. “Nope, not your fault. I should’ve been more aware. New to town and all, still trying to familiarize myself with the grocery store.”

He let out a small smile when she mentioned his name. “Villanueva-Harris. It’s a mouthful, so just call me Neil. And yeah, I was being interviewed that day. New science teacher and all.”

“Nice to meet you Talia,” he added, extending his hand for a handshake. First time they met he was a nervous wreck; second time, he pushed her to the floor. Hopefully a handshake can erase those times so they can start over.