Jeffery came up the stairs, straining under the weight of the armload of groceries he held. Of course the day he decided to get groceries would be the day Renae decided to visit. She had a key at least, but she'd been waiting for him for over an hour and he was wondering if she'd even be there when he arrived. Of course today would also be the day management decided to close the elevator for maintenance, so he was forced to leg it up three flights of fucking concrete stairwell. He could've taken a few bags at a time and made the trip easier for himself, but doing more than one trip to carry up your groceries was little bitch behavior and Jeffery had long ago decided that he was no little bitch.
He rounded the corner at the third floor, said a quick "Hello!" to Mrs Bryony as she left to check her mail, and started down the final stretch of hallway to his unit at the end. By the time he reached his apartment door the soft plastic bag containing the milk had started to stretch and tear, and he ended up setting it down hard before it broke.
Jeffery winced. His wrists were marked by the bag handles and the milk carton did not make a happy sound when he dropped it. He wondered if, maybe just this once, he should have reduced himself to a day of "little bitch behavior".
The door swung open against his boot and he staggered inside, shoving the bags up and onto the counter and displacing his cat Trix, who protested loudly. Renae was laying on his couch, feet up on the armrest, her nose almost pressed against the screen of her handheld switch.
He grinned and said: "Are you winnin', son?"
"Oh, you've got jokes." She replied, and then after a moment added, "Nope. Four hunts, zero mantles. This stupid desire sensor."
"Mhmm, that sounds.. rough." Jeffery said, as if he had any idea what she was talking about.
In response, Renae clutched the switch to her chest and said in a whiny voice: "I knowww."
Jeffery cocked an ear suddenly and said, "Is the dyer running?"
"Oh yeah, your hamper was full so I started a load for you."
Jeffery turned back to the groceries and saw a creamy white pool forming beneath the milk bag.
"Ah, goddammit. I broke the fuckin' milk." He exclaimed.
He finished putting away the rest of the groceries, then fished a glass bottle out of the cabinet and transferred the rest of the milk into it. Trix had jumped back onto the counter and had set about cleaning up the spilled milk. Renae watched and wrinkled her nose.
"Is that still gonna be good?"
"Yup. Well, probably. I'll find out tomorrow and let you know." He cocked an ear suddenly and said, "Is my dryer running?"
"Yeah, I saw you had a full hamper so I did your laundry for you."
Jeffery made them dinner that night. Renae kindly took care of the dishes as he settled down on his bed and half-heartedly flipped through his notebook. As he looked at his unfinished writings he felt suddenly sad. Renae came in a minute later, drying her hands on her jeans and flopped onto the bed alongside him. She pillowed her head on his shoulder.
"What's wrong baby?"
"I wish I felt like writing." He admitted.
"It's just fatigue. Inspiration is bound to come back to you eventually."
"I guess."
Renae frowned - and then snatched the notebook from his hand.
"Alright sad sack we've had a great night and I'm not letting you sulk. You're down in the fuckin' dumps and I am 100% not okay with that. So guess what we're going to do?"
"Don't you have to leave by nine?"
