Something I Need

Lunch with Dani had ended with a full list of groceries that we needed to purchase. Since I didn't have a class that evening, it was decided that I would head to the store, and she gave me half the money.

After my last class of the day, I headed to the bus station. I waited at my stop, dancing on my toes to keep warm. The snow had stopped, but there was still a chill in the air. I watched as people walked by, some rushing, others taking their time and idling. My bus finally pulled up as I was mid-yawn.

I watched the streets of Montreal pass by as the bus headed to the nearest mall. The campus had a convenience store and there was a grocery store located just down the street, but they were both ridiculously expensive. For the bigger shopping excursions, Dani and I usually took the bus to Mac's grocery store.

When the bus stopped on the corner, I meandered off and walked towards the store, careful not to slip. I grabbed a cart from the stash beside the door, and yawned again as I headed inside.

I made my way through the store slowly; I didn't really have anywhere to be. I had to print some things for my class the next morning, but that was it. I passed through the dairy aisle and the produce aisles, then wandered down the junk food aisle.

After a while, I reached the pasta aisle, my eyes scanning the shelves for the sauce we both liked. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone turn down the aisle towards me from the other direction. I glanced over casually, taking in the figure, before I did a quick double-take. I could hardly believe my eyes.

Standing in front of me was a guy I'd known for years. His mom had become good friends with mine when they met at work and, soon enough, family dinners and get togethers began to occur, Brendan and I were introduced, and the rest was history.

Brendan and I were a year apart when we met at ages 13 and 14. When he turned 16, he began to play hockey for the Vancouver Giants. This was a welcome idea to his parents, since he didn't have to move far, which was rare for minor hockey players. He did, however, have to move in to a billet house in Vancouver to be closer to the arena, which meant I didn't see him as often. We had always gotten along extremely well, but we had never hung out exclusively, so it wasn't too big of a change for me; I still saw him at Christmas and on other scattered occasions, which was what I had been used to, anyway.

In 2010, he had been drafted to the Montreal Canadiens, but had been returned to the Giants for the 2011-2012 season. The beginning of the 2012-2013 season had been delayed because of a lockout, and Brendan had been assigned to Montreal's AHL team in Ontario, while I began my first year of university away from home.

I had thought about him sometimes, in passing, and my mother always told me the news. I had known he was on the roster for the Canadiens for the moment, but did not think for a second that we would run into one another in a city as big as Montreal.

He looked so good. It had only been about half a year since I'd seen him briefly in the summer, but he had bulked up significantly. His hair was a little longer than the last time I'd seen him, and it could have been my mind playing tricks on me, but I could have sworn he looked a bit taller, too.

After a moment, his eyes met mine. The look on his face changed from contemplation to recognition quickly, and a huge grin spread across his face.

"Keira!" He started towards me and I laughed as I was swept into a hug. I squeezed him tightly, and he let me go, staring down at me. His eyes sparkled and the smile never faded as he asked, "How are you?"

"I'm good, I'm good!" His smile was infectious. "How about you? I heard you made the roster, but didn't think that I'd get to see you! Congratulations," I smiled up at him.

Brendan scratched the back of his neck and laughed. "Thanks. Yeah, it's great." He paused before continuing, "What are you doing here?"

I almost felt disappointed that he didn't know, but I pushed the thought away as I answered, "School. Uh, Concordia. Studying history."

"Why all the way out here?"

"I, uh, got a scholarship."

Brendan grinned. "Always were a smart one, weren't you?"

I rolled my eyes but felt my cheeks heat up anyway. There was an awkward pause before he continued, "How are you liking Montreal?"

I shrugged, leaning against my cart. "It's okay. It's not home."

Brendan nodded. "I hear you."

I smiled up at him, and there was another quick pause before he reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and held it out to me.

"Lets hang out sometime," he said casually. I nodded and grabbed his phone, quickly typing in my number. I handed it back and he grinned. "Cool, I'll-"

His thought seemed to cut off as he caught the eye of someone behind me. I turned around to see another guy, about Brendan's age, coming towards us. I turned back to Brendan with raised eyebrows.

"Teammate," he explained. The guy reached us, and turned to me with a smile. "Keira, this is Alex. Alex, Keira. We grew up together."

"Cool," Alex smiled as he shook my hand. "Small world."

I nodded, trying to place his accent, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"I hate to interrupt, but we really have to be going," Alex said, sending me an apologetic glance. I shrugged.

"No problem. It was nice to meet you." I turned to Brendan, and he gave me another smile.

"I'll text you," he promised. I nodded, and he added, "It was nice to see you!"

I nodded again, lifting my hand up in a wave. I watched as they headed down the aisle, smiling again as Brendan turned to glance at me one more time. I turned my back to them after a second, looking back at the row of sauces in front of me, but not really seeing them.

That was unexpected.