Broken Wings

Part Twenty Four - Preparing for the visitors

A/N Sorry in advance as a lot of you are going to be fed up with  this chapter, but I promise this is building to a crescendo of sorts. Hope you enjoy, MZxx

Chapter Twenty Four

Julia had a to do list, but it wasn't as long as her shopping list. If she asked Aaron, she had no idea that he would offer her his car, or even his driver. But she was putting on him enough. So she instead finished work early and got a bus to the nearest large supermarket. It was a few miles away, there were obviously closer shops, but they weren't brilliantly stocked, and expensive. This one was nowhere near the size of supermarket that she was used to, but compared to the local shops, it was a dream and she couldn't believe that she hadn't been to it before.

As predicted, she spent far too much, and she was glad that she had planned for a taxi to take her home. One came in a few minutes, and there was only just enough room in the boot for all her bootie. But what bootie it was, chocolate, great coffee, proper tea, then there was her menu for the weekend, bacon, eggs, waffles and pancakes. She could cater for twenty or more she was sure, but she so wanted the weekend to be perfect.

The cab pulled up outside the apartment block, and the driver helped her unload her bags on to the pavement. As he drove off, she looked at the numerous bags and the distance into the apartment block that she had to cross to the lift. And groaned. She couldn't leave bags in the street whilst she went inside with other bags...suddenly it all seemed a bit difficult. She wasn't sure that everything would fit into the lift anyway.

Groaning she ran a hand through her hair, nothing was ever easy. Thinking for a moment, she realised that the only way to get her things into the apartment was to do it in stages, carrying the bags in several stages, a few feet at a time. This was going to take time. Sighing she reached for the first five bags and managed to open the door to the lobby and use the bags to block it open. Then she moved back to get another few. Once they were all just inside the doorway, she moved the first to the door of the lift. On her second trip of that stage, the bag burst and it had to be the one filled with fruit and vegetables. Tomatoes, apples and bananas spilled with lettuce and mushrooms. Dropping to her knees she started to scrabble, shoving the stray items in to the top of the remaining bags.

Then a pair of immaculate dark brown, polished leather shoes appeared in her small visual field.

"You can't be left unsupervised for a day can you, Miss Trouble?"

Aaron.

She froze, drinking in that voice, she'd missed him so much, she had no idea how bad she looked, but for a change she didn't care. With a sigh, she lifted her head to meet his eyes.

"Grocery issues. I should've asked the taxi driver to help me inside the foyer with these."

He rolled his eyes, "why didn't you tell me you were going shopping? Patrick would have picked you up, AND helped you get the bags upstairs."

She felt the heat of a blush fold her face and neck, "I am trying, and I know failing, to show you that I can do these things alone. I hate that I rely on you for so much."

Offering her a hand he hauled her effortlessly to her feet. His suit was impeccable, despite what she imagined was a five or six-hour flight, though his tie was loose at his throat, and his jaw was more stubbled than usual.

"It's hardly any effort, there is a driver and a car, redundant...there's a spare room...it is all just logic."

It was SO much more than that, but she wasn't about to fight him on that.