[center][h2]Shopping Trip[/h2]
 
[img]https://i.imgur.com/iXBq6bD.png?1[/img]
[sub]Cameo Collab with [@sail3695][/sub][/center]

Joe finished up cleaning the galley.  Breakfast was over. He put any leftovers away in cold storage. There were still waffles remaining. They would only be good for one more day and then would be tossed. The Captain and Abby left the Galley as well as the First officer who came, had breakfast and left.

He took the credits the captain gave him, tucked them into a pocket and headed down to the Cargo Bay. He ran into Abby near the foot of the ramp. “Ah’ll be goin’ shopping now, Miss Abby. Anything yew need? Oh yea, any idea where’s ah could git a wagon to carry the groceries in?”

The youngest deckhand tucked the clipboard ‘neath her arm.  “Got tha mule,” she give a nod toward the cargo bay.  “It’s got a trailer on it.”  She opened tha clipboard fer her notes.  “Pen jest brought’er back from a run.  Didn’t mention no problems, so I conjure she runs alright.”

“That wagon is not quite what ah was lookin’ fer. But takin the mule with tha’ trailer would work. I could be back sooner that way.” Joe looked over the quad four. It was similar to one he and the boys toyed with back on the farm. There was another ship he was on a few years back that had one of these. “I could be back in an hour with the mule. Two with just the trailer.”

Abby took a note so she’d ‘member if asked.  “Oughtta be shiny,” the girl said as she closed it up.  When the thought struck, she fished in her pocket an’ come up with what’s left of her pay. “While yer there, couldja keep an eye out fer some sticky putty?  Not sure they’d have it, but I need some tah put up muh photos an’ such.”

“No problem, Miss Abby,” Joe looked the mule over. He climbed up on top and wiped the controls down. “Anythin’ elese yew might be wantin’?”

“Sure’n I owe yew a ton of favors already,” Abby smiled as she handed over her coin.  “I need colored chalk...comes in a box shows young’uns makin’ sidewalk drawin’s.  I sorta…” she give her head a half turn, “like drawin’ with it muhself.”

“No problem, Miss Abby.” Joe started up the mule. It hummed like a cat. He flicked a semi wave hand salute to the youngest deck hand. Then released the clutch slowly and eased the vehicle out of the cargo bay.

[h3][b]Vegetables and Fruits[/b][/h3]
The mule hummed along the road, but it was not a distant ride to his destination. An open air farmer’s market was set up near the center of New Melbourne. He parked the mule on a side road and walked to the market. 

When he arrived, he found a large crowd of people inspecting the produce and chatting with others. It was quite a communal sensation. The crowd pleased Joe Hooker. [i]‘This is what life should be like. People gathered around interacting with others. Children laughing and playing, the sounds of chatter, almost overwhelming in in its volume, but normal. This is life.’[/i] Joe Hooker's thoughts contented him. He found the sight all very pleasing to him.

The first farm stand he came too offered peppers and cucumbers. He gathered half a bushel of green peppers and half a bushel of red peppers as well as bag with eight cucumbers. Next he found two dozen ears of fresh corn, asparagus, green beans, peas, carrots, potatoes, beets, lettuce, cabbage, onions, and celery. As his purchases became too cumbersome, he would carry the bags and baskets to the mule and drop them off then return to the market. Next, he found apples. There were several different varieties. He grabbed five pounds of MacIntosh, five pounds of Cortlands and five pounds of Spencers. [i]‘These will make some tasty pies. Ooh, how about peaches for peach cobbler?’[/i] Joe found all the ingredients he needed. He still had several pieces of meat in the freezer and really didn’t need any more. He found some spices that might do well including candy red hots which help to spice up a pie. [i]‘I’ll spend some time baking pies and desserts for the crew and passengers'[/i].

[h3][b]Chance Encounters[/b][/h3]
Once he had all the produce loaded into the mule, he prepared to leave, but saw a black-haired woman with a familiar frame stroll up the opposite side of the street and disappear into the crowd. Joe took a double take. He focused on the area where the woman entered the crowd and then walked quickly to that area. He entered the crowd and tried to focus on the black hair and red blouse she wore. He looked everywhere throughout the farmer’s market but could not locate her again. “Did you see an average sized woman with long black hair pass by here wearing a red blouse?” he asked one of the farmers.

“Yea! She went up that way,” The man pointed to Joe’s right.

“Thanks!” He headed in the direction the man pointed. He attempted to hurriedly pass through the crowd, but he was bumping into many people. He just could not get through the crowd fast enough and wherever she went, he could not see her.

Joe turned quickly to return to the mule when he bumped into a man hard. He accidentally knocked a bag from the man’s hand. “Ah am very sorry, suh!”

“Watch whatcha doin’, mate!” the man was obviously annoyed. He had two larger men with him who seemed the rough and tumble type. “Hey! I know you. Let’s have a look at ye, mate. Ain’t ye that bloke on the China Doll?” The three men eyeballed Joe over. “Badger don’t take kindly to your captain dumpin ‘is cargo in the drink, mate. You’d be wise to tell yer bleedin captain we 'ave a eye on ‘im. Badger won’t forget you. I suggest ye keep your nose clean, too, mate.” The man gave Joe a punch to the arm and the three walked away.

[i]‘Oh crap, I’ll need to tell the captain about this,’[/i] Joe thought to himself as the three men walked away. He looked back at the three, insuring they were leaving him alone. Then he returned to the mule.

When he found his ride back to the ship, he remembered Abby’s request. [i]‘Now to find an art supply store.’[/i] This caused him to look around. As coincidence would have it, he parked across the street from one. Joe walked into the store, which was empty except for the clerk behind the counter.

He walked around the aisles, looking at what the store had to offer until he stumbled upon a bucket of sidewalk chalk. He picked one up and looked it over, [i]'Little van Gogh'[/i] was written on the side. [i]‘This is it.’[/i] He continued to search the store until he spotted some glues. He searched through the glue display until he found one labeled as [i]sticky putty. ‘This will do!’[/i]

When he approached the store clerk, he noticed she had long black hair, blue eyes and a red blouse. The young woman appeared to be in her mid 20s, not the 36-year old he thought he saw earlier. “Were you at the farmer’s market?” Joe asked the girl.

“Yea, I bought some fruit for my lunch,” the girl responded to the customer’s question in a dour manner. She appeared to be sad and depressed about something.

“Are you OK?” Joe asked the young woman.

“My father was a crewman on the [i]Eileen McSorley[/i],” the young woman muttered.

Joe recalled the cortex announcement this morning. “Ah’m very sorry to hear about yo’ loss, ma’am.” He was truly sorry. He empathized with the sadness. 

“He worked in the engine room. He always told my mother that if his ship went down, he would never be able to get out in time.” The woman sobbed a little then returned to her duties. “That’ll be five credits.”

Joe reached into his pocket and handed it to the clerk. “Thanks, yew take care of yo'self and yo mother,” Joe said as he took the items and walked outside.

He dropped the items in the trailer and drove the mule back to the [i]China Doll[/i]. He would make a point to talk to the captain about his encounter in the farmer’s market. Whoever was around, he would enlist to help him carry the fruit and vegetables up to the galley as well as give Abby her chalk and sticky putty.