"Hmm Sudanese Hibiscus tea... what do you think?" I asked waving the shiny tea box in front of Antoine's face. His eyes followed the box, swinging side to side like a pendulum, finally he steadied my hand and read the label.

"Why not? I like trying new things" he said with a shrug.

I tossed the box inside the shopping cart and scanned the aisle looking for some green tea. "Since when?" I asked with a smirk "you hate trying new things. I still can't get you to try Filipino food, I know you'll love it"

"I need some shaving cream"

"What?" I asked absentmindedly. Spotting the Green tea I pushed the cart aside and crouched down to reach for it. Antoine passed by me, his pant leg brushing against my arm as he headed to another aisle. I looked up at him walking away and frowned, why is he acting so strange? Standing back up, I sighed and tossed the tea into the cart. An elderly couple entered the aisle and I smiled politely, moving out of the way. The old man winked at me and his wife noticed and elbowed him in the chest. Then they both started laughing. Raising my eyebrows in surprise I giggled. How cute I thought to myself. I watched them arguing over whether to buy tea or coffee, finally they agreed on tea but as they left the aisle, the husband grabbed a packet of coffee and winked at me again. I shook my head and smiled.

I wondered whether to go find Antoine or wait for him. I decided to stay and wait.
Pursing my lips and fiddling with my left earring as I leaned against the cart, I slowly got lost in my own thoughts.
So, Antoine came back early because his boss called and said they were set to begin shooting a new documentary any day now. Sounds reasonable. But it's not like his boss to give him a month long vacation and then shorten it without warning. He's a man who depends on precise scheduling and as far as I know, always keeps his word. Antoine has been acting so cold towards me lately, not openly but I can sense it. His eyes sort of avoid mine when I look at him now, almost as if he's hiding something, as if I can see past his physical being into the depths of him, uncovering hastily buried secrets... Where is he anyways?? I think he muttered something about shaving cream or soap...

Finally I shrugged off my thoughts and blew my bangs away from my eyes. I could sense a tension headache about to start. Making a mental list to stop by the pharmaceutical aisle I started walking and pushing the cart. It squeaked, got stuck for a few seconds and finally began to roll again effortlessly this time. Passing aisle after aisle, looking left then right each time, I began looking for him. I arrived at the pharmaceutical aisle and tossed some Tylenol into the cart. Then on second thought, I returned it and grabbed the Tylenol PM instead. A little sleep aid couldn't hurt. I spotted the toiletries in the aisle ahead but Antoine wasn't there. He probably went back to look for me. Great, just what I need right now with this headache! a game of hide and seek. Rolling my eyes I let out a deep sigh and tapped my foot impatiently against the tiled floor. Oh what the hell, I thought to myself digging into my bag to grab my cellphone. I flipped it open and dialed his number. The busy tone came on. Maybe he was trying to call me. I hung up and dialed again, same thing. I dropped my phone back into my bag and moaned softly. My headache had started. I reached into the cart and opened the Tylenol. A brown haired little girl with freckles clinging to her mom's shirt stared up at me.

"What? I'll pay for them!" I told her.

For a moment she looked like she was about to cry, then she turned away and buried her face in her mom's skirt. The mom looked at me, smiled and went back to reaching for vitamins. I finally got the bottle open, tore off the protective layers and spilled two pills into my hand. Then I closed it and tossed the bottle back into the cart along with the box it came in. I dug into my bag for my bottled water, tossed the pills into my mouth, took a swig of the warm water and swallowed. Where the hell is he? I slowly began pushing the cart again, pass the toiletries, almost pass the canned food section when suddenly I heard his voice. His raspy voice talking quietly in french. He was in the aisle next to me. Biting my lip, I left the cart and turning my back, leaned closer against the soup cans; listening.

"Elle ne s'en doute de rien jte dit, arrete de te faire du soucis! Tout ce deroulera comme prevu, tu verras. Jte rappelle demain soir ok? salut maman de ma part"

Then he hung up and I quickly walked back to the cart eyes wide open.
I had only translated bits and pieces of it and they all began falling into piece. He said Elle, meaning she, so he was probably talking about me, but to who? I heard elle s'en doute de rien- what does en doute mean again? doubt! she doesn't doubt anything? what? I know Jte rappelle demain soir means- I'll call you back tomorrow evening. But he also said maman-mom. No he said salut maman de ma part, say hi to mom for me? de-ma-part, of-my-part, yes! that's what he said. I was so immersed in my thoughts I didn't notice my phone vibrating. I finally reached into my bag and pulled it out.

It was Antoine calling. "Where are you baby? I've been looking all over for you" he said.

"I- I'm in the magazine aisle" I lied, quickly pushing the cart towards that aisle as I spoke. I didn't want him to know I had possibly heard his conversation.

"Ok stay there, I'm coming".

I quickly hung up and parked the cart towards the entrance of the magazine aisle. Then I reached up and grabbed a random magazine; leafing through it and pretending to be absorbed by an article. A few minutes later I felt a hand on my shoulder. I jumped a little and turned around, my heart racing as I looked into his eyes.

"Ready to go?" he asked dangling the shaving cream in front of me. Then he aimed and shot it into the crate.

"Yes, let's go" I said absentmindedly slipping the magazine into the crate.

In the car driving back home, I looked at Antoine from the corner of my eye, staying focused on the road ahead at the same time. He was fiddling with his phone, humming an unfamiliar tune. A feeling of dread suddenly took over me and I tried in vain to shake it off but to no avail.

Something just wasn't right.