Groceries at Wally World (Open)

January 05, 2012

It was four days after new years. Life was starting to go back to normal; traffic in the D.C. area was starting to slow itself down, the shops were beginning to take down their Happy 2012 decorations and many of the bigger stores were beginning to make backstage preparations for the Valentines Day sales. All in all, it was a normal day for the rest of the world, though for Jacob this day was one filled with apprehension.

He usually got like this whenever he was about to go on a quick mission. Tomorrow he was going to show up on base, and they would give him instructions to enter a certain underpopulated area in D.C. and activate his Crossgear. He would be going in, for the most part, on his own as far as he was aware, but he knew that whatever was going to happen would involve a lot of action. He had done several of these missions before in the past, but that didn't stop him from feeling a slight bit of discomfort and dread about what's about to happen.

He was, after all, going to visit Hell itself.

He put the rented Chevy Impala into park. The Walmart Parking Lot was packed with the many people one would expect to find in any city at this time of day. Snow and slush that had been left over from when the lot was last cleaned dotted the asphalt. Jacob made sure that the doors were locked before he made his way to the Walmart entrance.

Now, what was a Templar doing at a Walmart, one would ask? Surely he'd be able to find a better place for food; after all, Templars had such a large paycheck that they could most definitely afford a dinner at some of the most expensive restaurants in any city. But Jacob was looking for something specific. He was making dinner tonight; tonight, he was going to make himself a t-bone steak with grilled pineapple, with a side of mixed cooked vegetables and a block of good Irish Cheddar cheese. For that last one he was going to have to go somewhere else, but most of what he needed was here.

After all, in this business you never know when your next dinner could be your last.

He walked inside and grabbed a shopping cart. List in his pocket, he made his way in. Time for some groceries...

Wal-mart. Everyone hated it and everyone went there anyways. It was as if there was a hex on the store that dragged everyone by their ankles back in at least biweekly for something or other. It was a curse that a lot of people dreaded because it meant waiting in line for an hour. That was on good days. However, Lisa didn't really mind. This was just a normal day for her. This sort of stuff happened so often it was painful, but in an average world, it wasn't scary in the slightest. More or less, it was just really irritating to put it simply.

List in her hand, Lisa stepped out of her black car and made way to the store. Her outfit was a bit strange to her, a tight black skirt and white blouse over top, she looked more like a soccer mom than anything else. She greeted the greeter who lacked a good greeting and simply stared at her. It was fine if he was a grump, Lisa got her cart anyways, except she didn't. As she reached out her hand, the cart was taken by a man with a list as well. She stood hesitant a moment and stammered out an apology. "Oh. Sorry!" Strange and awkward moment over. "I'll just get this one." She moved over to a bare cart, where she pushed it over with a smile. "Sorry about that." Not like the man probably cared. Most people at Wal-mart grabbed their carts and raced through like a track.

Not a moment after he had grabbed the cart, Jacob noticed probably one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen in his life.

Her attire was simple; a black skirt with a white blouse over the top; yet Jacob was more entranced by her looks than her clothing. She had chestnut brown hair, cut short. She had pale, flawless skin that reminded him of an apricot. Her body was small; not like a child, but petit, and not too suggestive. But what really got him were those eyes; like molten pools of caramel that seemed to beckon for one to get lost within them.

In that space of a moment, Jacob almost lost all track of himself before she spoke and brought him back into reality.

"Oh. Sorry!" she said, "I'll just get this one."

Jacob did a double-take. He realized he hadn't been paying attention and had grabbed the cart she was about to get. "Oh, um...no, it's my fault."

He was about to offer her the cart back when she already grabbed another one. "Sorry about that." she said with a smile.

Jacob felt rather flabbergasted, though he tried not to show it. He felt like he was 16 again; nervous around girls, not knowing what to do. It had been a long, long time since he felt like that. What was coming over him?

"Nah, not to worry," he said, "I should have been paying more attention..." he smiled back at her. Taking his own cart, he stood out of the way and indicated to the space between that led further inside into the store. "After you."

"Nah, not to worry. I should have been paying more attention... After you."

Well he had manners. What a nice man. She smiled at him, while pushing her cart. Her small body maneuvered better than the cart ever could. His gesturing allowed her to go first and squeeze into the store. "Thank you." She replied softly as was custom. Her brown eyes closed for a minute, only to reopen to chaos.

People were lined and scattered every which way. It may have been a bad day to go shopping, because the store looked PACKED. There wasn't a spot that had an empty spot. "Was there some sort of sale in the newspaper? I don't think I've ever seen so many people in the same spot at once." Indeed, it seemed she must have missed something, because the flood was all focused in the produce section.. for some reason. Normally people didn't obsess over things, but perhaps it was a good thing to see people actually trying to eat fruits and vegetables (like she should eat more of before she might get diabtese).

"Thank you." the lady said as she pushed her cart past. Jacob could hardly believe it when his heart skipped a beat. It was strange; feelings like these weren't exactly feelings he felt often. The apprehension he had been feeling in the pit of his stomach when he first arrived was gone, replaced instead by a much different form of apprehension. He couldn't put his mind on it. He did know, however, that he couldn't stop staring at this woman, and finally after she moved past him he managed to tear his gaze away.

It was as they both entered the store proper that he saw just how packed it really was.

"Oh...damn," he said quietly.

The store was packed worse than the streets of Spokane on the 4th of July Parade. Hundreds of people had gathered around a select series of shelves. It was as if someone had announced that Christmas was coming early and that Black Friday had just started for the season, and everyone was gathered around what they could find as fast as could be made possible. It almost seemed comical, except Jacob knew that his steak and grilled pineapple dinner was in that mess somewhere.

"Was there some sort of sale in the newspaper?" the young lady said, "I don't think I've ever seen so many people in the same spot at once."

Jacob let out a low whistle. "Did they just announce a famine on tomatoes on the news this morning?" he asked, a grin forming on his face.

Inwardly he chided himself. You had to come up with a joke like that, didn't you? he thought. What the hell are you doing, Jacob? You came here to get food, not mess around. She looks like she's at least a decade younger than you are anyway; better to just leave her be.

Despite this, however, he couldn't help but glance at her again. He then looked back at the crowd. There was enough people there to form a miniature army. He glanced back at the lady and couldn't help but realize just how small she was. A girl like her would be mincemeat in a crowd like that...

It wouldn't be gentlemanly to leave this lady without an escort.

"You know, that line doesn't look like it's going anywhere," he said, "We might as well introduce ourselves. My name's Jacob," he offered his hand, "Jacob Maccabee."

"Did they just announce a famine on tomatoes on the news this morning?"

Lisa took him seriously. She strained to think about the newspapers she glanced at. WAS there some sort o famine. Hopefully not on tomatoes! Lisa loved to cook with tomatoes! Besides salads weren't NEARLY as good without them. Her brow furrowed further and her finger pressed to her lips. No.. she couldn't really recall. She was in such a rush to get out the door that she didn't really LOOK for sales. Maybe she should start doing that. It might have helped to know about the price ranges she would be selling.. but normally her grocery list included a bunch of sweets.

"You know, that line doesn't look like it's going anywhere. We might as well introduce ourselves. My name's Jacob, Jacob Maccabee." His voice came to her ears and Lisa perked again. She hadn't been paying attention! That was rude! Her body turned and she greeted him once more with a small smile. Jacob, hm? She liked that name. Then again, it was a pretty normal like hers. It felt strange to be in a world that a lot of people had crazy names. Like Ari. Poor Ari had a long and crazy name, her little brother took forever just to pronounce his first name.

Lisa took his hand with hers and politely shook it. "Jacob? Nice to meet you. I'm Lisa Smith." Her eyes brightened, obviously enjoying the conversation. Her eyes went back to the line and she guessed he was right. "Aha. Had I known it would be this crazy today, I would have grabbed a book." A slight of her Dutch accent slipped into her words, but it wasn't too noticeable.

"Jacob? Nice to meet you. I'm Lisa Smith." the woman said as she shook his hand, her eyes appearing bright. Jacob made sure to be careful with his grip. Hers was quite a good one; the kind of handshake a working woman would be expected to give; but it still had that feminine softness. He could have sworn that he felt his hand tingle a bit.

"The pleasure is mine," he said with a smile.

She looked back at the line. "Aha. Had I known it would be this crazy today, I would have grabbed a book." Jacob couldn't help but agree, looking back at the massive line as well. Somewhere in that mess was the ingredients he needed to get for his dinner that night. He could always go to another store, but now he was committed. He simply nodded and replied, "Well, I'm sure there's a magazine somewhere we can grab in the meantime."

He then realized that he recognized a bit of accent that slipped in her speech when she spoke. He couldn't pinpoint it at first, but he thought it sounded a bit Dutch. For some inexplicable reason that sent a red up flag in the back of his mind, and he had no idea why...but he knew it had something to do with that accent...and, maybe her name? He wasn't sure.

The line seemed to appear even bigger now that more people showed up. He would have thought that by now people would have left, but there appeared to be some kind of herd mentality going on that kept everyone in the same spot. He always found that weird about people here in the Eastern United States; if they were in a Walmart in Washington or even Oregon, by now people would have lost patience and left. Obviously there was something going on here that everyone wanted desperately enough to waste their time on...

"Well, I'm sure there's a magazine somewhere we can grab in the meantime." It was a decent point, but magazines were filled with useless points and gossip. There never seemed to be anything worth anything in every magazine she looked at. Maybe a recipe or two though. "Hmm.. I wonder if there's a way around. I want to look at a few cookbooks.."

She craned and stood on her tip-toes to look around the mob, but it wasn't budging. So, she was stuck here. It wasn't a bad thing, though. The company was good enough. Jacob seemed like a sweetheart honestly. He seemed a little concerned though. About what? Lisa couldn't be sure. Did she know him, maybe? OH GOD! She hoped he wasn't one of her father' crazy friends. That would be TERRIBLE. Just what she needed; more people breaking stuff and terrifying the people around her about demons and the like. It was utter nonsense, but some people were insane.

Jacob didn't seem like the insane type, though. In fact he seemed almost more sane than herself. Not that SHE was truly sane, she supposed. What was there to compare to? She hummed a bit and then decided to chat a bit, because it was far more awkward to just stand around in Wal-Mart. "So, do you live in Dc, then?"

Jacob could see that the mob was most definitely not moving. He grumbled a little under his breath as he looked at them all. At this point he may as well go and get himself some fast food if things were going to be this bad.

He still couldn't figure out why he recognized her name though. Lisa seemed like a nice girl, and sure she wore that kind of attire that many women would often wear, but even despite that he couldn't put his finger on it. It had something to do with her accent, he knew that...but what?

"Hmm.. I wonder if there's a way around. I want to look at a few cookbooks.." she said. He chuckled. "Well, I guess if we try pushing our way through...I'm sure there's got to be an open space somewhere to get through..."

He doubted that of course. Something was definitely off about this mob of people. Why were there so many here in one place like this? There must have been something really, really special being sold here at Walmart, and even then he doubted that it would normally attract this kind of a crowd...

"So, do you live in Dc, then?"

He almost didn't hear her ask due to the noise of the crowd. He looked down at her. "Actually, no, I'm here on business. I'm going to be staying for a little while though..."

For as long as necessary. He had been in DC a couple of times, mostly for training, but he had taken a few missions into the Entropic Chasm every now and again. He only really got enough leave to spend a month with his family in Spokane before he had to get back to work, and while having a whole month's worth of free time was great and all, having to potentially be asked to work over holidays and weekends often posed as a problem. He had to miss his nephew's birthday a couple months ago because of that exact reason.

Then he remembered...his nephew! He was supposed to get him and his sister late Christmas presents! He had completely forgot!

"Actually, no, I'm here on business. I'm going to be staying for a little while though..." People were always so busy. It was kind of sad that they had to be pulled away from family for work so often. Not like Lisa had a whole lot of family.

"I see." So he was like her on that aspect. "I'm actually from Virginia," she admitted. Her eyes rested on him with a content interest. "I came here for business as well." Se left out all about the CIA of course and the fact she had no idea how long she'd be in DC. If she ended up moving there it would be fairly interesting. It was an incredibly busy place.

"My brother is probably worrying about me. I should call him soon." Her words were more accidental and blurted. Outward thoughts, that had slipped out of retaining their internal glow. She messed up like that once in a while. "I have to admit. This city IS gorgeous."

"I see. I'm actually from Virginia," she said. Jacob smiled. "It's nice country up there. I'm from Spokane."

Jacob honestly didn't expect that he'd spend his time talking with someone; it was a nice change of pace. Usually before a mission he'd spend his time alone, in private reflection, perhaps doing a bit of prayer, or maybe calling home and making sure things were going alright with his younger sister and her two kids. God seemed to work in mysterious ways; here he was, likely going to lose out on making his favorite meal, but spending his time with a beautiful young woman.

"My brother is probably worrying about me. I should call him soon." Jacob couldn't help but smile at her words. He chose not to respond, of course; it felt more polite to not acknowledge when one spoke their thoughts aloud. "I have to admit. This city IS gorgeous."

Jacob agreed. "I can't help but get a feeling of awe whenever I come here. There's so much history to this place..."

So much history indeed. If one was to take Jacob and look at him deep inside, in his core he was first and foremost a patriot. The United States was in his blood, protecting its people was in every fiber of his being. It's one of the many reasons why he became a soldier and served as a Marine, to protect, to defend, to stand at the gates of Hell and shout out in defiance...of course, he was one of the select few who have actually managed to stand at the gates of Hell, though naturally that wasn't public knowledge.

The line finally started to disperse a little. Jacob peered through the masses and could see that it was starting to get to the point that they could potentially walk through and actually do some shopping. Part of him didn't want to move though; he was enjoying talking with Lisa too much.

"I can't help but get a feeling of awe whenever I come here. There's so much history to this place..."

Outside the rain began to drizzle and people began to sneak away. The line was thinning, but that meant she'd be leaving her new friend soon to get the shopping down. Somehow Lisa felt a bit sad about it. It was rare to meet someone who wasn't absolutely insane. So few of those nowadays. It was the sad state of the sickening world. Beautiful DC, though was one of the crazy epicenter, what with shootings and crazy serial killers. Lisa never had a break really. Her eyes dropped to the ground and her brow furrowed. Every sweet moment would come to an end eventually. She wondered if she would even SEE Jacob again after this day.

Chances were high she wouldn't. She'd end up leaving back to Virginia. She pulled on a smile again, though. No need to ruin a good moment with a sour face. "How long do you plan to be in DC, out of curiosity." She didn't want to seem like a creeper, it was seriously just a legitimate question. She seemed disinterested in shopping for now. People began to shift and leave; having sold out of the sale item Lisa assumed.

The line of people finally began to thin enough for someone to reasonably continue their shopping. Jacob felt down in the pit of his stomach. He really didn't want to leave. He was enjoying his time with Lisa, and there was a good chance that he wouldn't see her again...even if he did manage to survive his next mission. At the very least, he'd like to know if there was a chance to see her again.

"How long do you plan to be in DC, out of curiosity." she asked. Wait...the girl's asking the guy...that put a little bit of a grin on his face. "I'm going to be around for a bit," he said, "Don't know how long, but I've been around D.C. for a while the last couple of years. I doubt I'd be long from leaving it..."

He was telling the truth of course. It was getting to a point where he had been debating on getting an apartment or a home nearby. His duties as a Templar required that he'd be available as soon as possible, and what better way to be reliable for the order than conveniently on the doorstep of a tear into Inferis?

Now Jacob began to notice people giving them glances. They were standing out in the middle of the store, and now that most people were back to their business there wasn't any reason to stand around anymore. Now came part he was dreading...

"So...maybe we can see each other again sometime?"

"So...maybe we can see each other again sometime?" That statement was long-since coming. Lisa knew from a mile away that he would be saying it.. or she would have, had the moment been paused any longer. It wasn't that she disliked being around him, but rather that neither really knew what to talk about in the middle of a store, people were staring and they both really needed to get shopping done at least. Which was of course an hour trip usually by the end of it. Such a hassle. The lines was the longest part of any shopping time. There was ALWAYS either a really long line or a person with a ridiculous amount of things to buy. Never enough registers open. God, she wondered why she bothered going to the store, anymore. It was always a hassle someway or another.

Right, she still had to answer to him. Her mind began working once again and she smiled gently at him. "I don't see why not." She thought a few seconds on whether she should be worried about any dates or appointments, but she was pretty much free for a while. Her job was constant, so even when she was working she was off and while being off she was still working. The only difference was the amount of paperwork. "I'm pretty much stuck here a while, anyways."

"I don't see why not." she said with a smile. Jacob was surprised when he felt his heart skip a beat when she said that. He realized he had been holding his breath and dreading her saying no. He was really, really surprised at himself for thinking that. "I'm pretty much stuck here a while, anyways."



Jacob nodded. This was perfect. The most beautiful woman in all of D.C. was free that week. It almost surprised him that a grown man such as himself would feel this way. Again, it was like he was in high school again.

"That's great!" he said. Then it occurred to him...he hadn't been here for too long. He had no idea where a good spot for a date could be. There were a few places he could think of, but they'd all be packed until the end of the week. He couldn't simply ask her where a good spot was...that would be rather awkward. There was a good chance she wouldn't have any idea either.

It then occured to him about something...well, there was only one thing he could do; try it.

"So," he said, "How do you feel about grilled pineapple?"

"How do you feel about grilled pineapple?"

It was usually good. She'd had it a few times and it had been delectable. She smiled at him. Was this supposed to be awkward? Lisa oddly felt comfortable. She nodded a couple times in agreement. "Grilled pineapple is wonderful." Seeing he was having a hard time, Lisa decided to try and help him out.

"So maybe.. this Friday?" She wasn't sure what would be a good day. "Should I bring anything?" Naturally she meant a side dish or a drink; non alcoholic of course. Lisa wasn't a drinker. She looked around at those staring at them. Not like they really bothered her.

"Grilled pineapple is wonderful." she said. He almost sighed in relief. That was good. Then it meant that he could make this work. "That's great," he said with a smile.

"So maybe.. this Friday?" she asked. Jacob nodded. Friday was great. Actually it wasn't that far off. He'd be done with his mission by then, surely? "Should I bring anything?" Jacob thought about it. What would go best with steak and pineapple? Honestly, besides what he had, he didn't know. Besides, he wanted to make dinner himself; no need to put any work on her. "You could bring a drink if you want," he said with a smile, "I wouldn't mind."

He pulled out his phone. "Here's my number," he said. He was suddenly reminded of a song that his niece liked to listen to. He chuckled inside. Interesting how things can work out when people first meet.

Then he started thinking about the mission again. Tomorrow. It was going to be a life-or-death situation. If he didn't succeed in it...well, Friday would be a disappointing night for Lisa. Suddenly he was filled with a steely determination; he was going to beat this mission, and come home. He was going to make sure he came back for this date.