Valentine: Netflix in bed

All-day.

That was his only plan. And that had been his routine for two years now (and counting). He had just decided (by himself) on not to believe in it anymore. Or maybe he still did, but he hadn't celebrated since. Because...

"Valentine's day is just bullshit." He said a little muffled with his mouth full of popcorn. A few fell to his open palm and he tossed them back with the rest which were grinding in a squashed mess and saliva. He picked up the TV remote and pressed down on its buttons.

"No," his sister said over the phone speaker. "It's just because you don't have anyone to celebrate it with." 

"Ugh!" He said with irritation, both from his annoying sister and slight frustration from the hanging remote. 

"Not everybody meets the 'love of their life' easy like you did." He said, rolling his eyes.  

She laughed. "Bitter soul." 

He frowned a little and tapped the remote against his palm. 

"Well... since you wouldn't tag along on our date," she continued, adding a dreamy tone to the 'date'.

"You can at least, send Mummy her supplies early. And shop a little gift for her." 

"I wouldn't forget." He said, half-heartedly. The remote was working now, and he had settled back to his popcorn while scrolling through the channels. 

"Collins!" "Go this evening." She said with some authoritativeness.

"I know- I will. Bye." His sister's sigh came loudly. "Bye." He said again. "Say hello to Peter." 

The rain had just stopped but drops still fell from the roofs of the shops all around. He squeezed his hands in his jacket pockets. It was the second rain of the year and it was slightly cold. But then, there was bound to be a little heat by midnight. He walked through the busy street of returning workers and sellers up to the store he was going to. The brightly colored signboard read; Benji's Provisions and Pharmacy. It was his mother's cousin, Uncle Ben's store.

He walked into the store and greeted, relaxing in the familiar surroundings. It was the major store they always bought from when he was younger when they still lived here. And when he finished school and settled back to the neighborhood, it became his major store again. He had to pick some groceries and a few other things for his mother to take to her. Today was Saturday and the shop wouldn't be open tomorrow, Sunday. He had only this evening to get the things. 

There were a lot of people. There always were. So, while Uncle Benji and the salesgirl attended to the throng of evening customers, they had told him to wait for a little (since he was a family member). He didn't complain. He was used to it, anyway. In fact, it was so normal that he moved to a chair he knew was kept in a corner by the tissue paper stacks. At least, while the whole activity went on, he could get a little nap.

"Why on Earth is this zip stuck?!" She mumbled with a little frustration. She hated this jumpsuit, but she had still worn it today. And now, it wouldn't zip up. Small punishment for wearing it? Eh? 

She wasn't in the mood! She wasn't ready for this, and it was getting late. Plus, she'd left her phone charging at home. Lord! She still tried though, and fast forward to what seemed like a frustrating quarter-hour or so, it did zip up. She sighed with joy. And, thank goodness that nobody else needed the toilet throughout that time! Now, she was sooo pissed off and swore to herself to get rid of the thing once and for all. It would have been okay if that was all, and she could get her canned sardines and go home. But it wasn't her lucky day because as she straightened up and made to leave, the door didn't open. It was jammed. 

He woke up and stretched. There was a wide smile on his face for no reason actually. He heaved a deep breath of contentment and opened his eyes fully. It was already dark and the shop was so dimly lighted. It was quiet too- the customers must have all gone. He wondered how late it was already and picked his phone from the shelf he had kept it on and checked the time. The time; One eleven am! His body jolted like it had touched a live wire. 

One am?! He must have really slept off. He squeezed his face and fumbled with his brows in annoyance. No! The shop must be locked already! He knew the time they closed and...it wasn't really the first time that he had been 'accidentally' locked in. There wasn't much problem being in there but he didn't want to spend until morning again in the dark, stuffy shop. 

"Agh!!" He shouted quietly to himself and made his way to the toilet, mentally noting that he was alone in this rusty place! Uncle Ben didn't remember that he was here? In the shop, waiting for him? He huffed repeatedly in annoyance. Ugh! 

"What in C-!" 

He stared incredulously at the lady who just woke up. For a few seconds, she stared at him too. Then, she snapped out of it and looked out of the door with an anxious but relieved look on her face. 

"Thank God! Thank you so much! Is the shop open now?" 

She pushed him a bit as she walked hurriedly out of the restroom. 

"Uh...no, no, no." He followed her. "There's... it's still locked." 

Her face slowly dimmed. 

"It's still one am." He checked his phone. "The time is one thirteen." 

Her face narrowed. "So, what are you doing here?" 

"I was locked in too." He watched with some amusement at the way her face scrunched in different ways along with her changing facial expressions. Now, she was looking at him questioningly. 

"Could you wait a bit? I need to use the toilet first." After all, she didn't look like she had any light with her and his phone flashlight was the only available thing so...

He came out after a minute and with a head gesture, he walked ahead and she followed.

With the flashlight, he led them through the maze of shelves. He stopped by a corner at the front and using his jacket as a mat, sat down on the floor. She sat too when he left half of the jacket for her. She wanted to ask some questions. He seemed to know the place well, and he was somewhat relaxed. Unlike herself, she was super tensed. She had never been locked anywhere, at least, not somewhere like a store. But at that, she began to try to relax. His mood seemed to be getting on to her. 

They just sat there for minutes. None of them fell asleep again and they didn't talk to each other too. He checked the time on his phone. Then, she asked what it was. 

"One forty." He said and they both sighed. Time was dragging on slowly and she said so, out loud. He glanced at her and nodded. 

"You seem to be new around here." He said in what also seemed like a question. 

"And you could tell because?" She asked too. 

"Well, everyone around here knows that that toilet can only open from the outside." He looked at her face change and choked down a laugh. It came out anyway. "And..and that was the men's toilet." She pouted a little. How could he laugh? But actually, she didn't feel very offended. His laughing didn't annoy her and she laughed a little herself. 

"Well, yes." 

And that was how they began to talk. It began from small talk like they were strangers, but he was really open and he laughed a lot and she joined in too. She laughed about how incredulous it was that he fell asleep there and he narrated how he and his friends had fallen asleep there too when he was younger and woken up at midnight. The heat was gradually catching on so, they spaced out and sat opposite each other, facing each other. She told him that her name was Mia and that she'd just moved to the neighborhood 'like two weeks ago'. 

They two, realized that they had pretty much in common, well, apart from being locked in a shop. They both talked a lot and talked about anything, they both disliked their jobs and they even liked the same kind of movies. And then, they didn't want to celebrate tomorrow, no, today- Valentine's day because it wasn't a reasonable thing to celebrate. 

"I think I'm just apathetic to it." Collin had shrugged. Then, Mia talked about how she actually liked it, in truth, but she had broken up with her boyfriend two months ago. 

"That's two against one day." He said with a smirk and she laughed. Time must have passed and he looked at his phone. His battery had gone down, since they had used it as a torch. Then, the time was only still past four am. 

Mia sighed. "I thought it would be like to six. It's getting a bit bright." 

"Today is really slow." He agreed. 

Then, he stood up. "Wait." He told her.  "What?" She asked. "I'll be right back." He replied. And he did come back in a minute. But he returned with two disposable red cups. "Sorry, I forgot... come with me." He gave a toothy grin and pulled her up. She didn't say anything but she walked behind him. He walked past some shelves and stopped by one where some wine were kept.

"Let's pick one." He said and she laughed in realization. "Oh!" She grabbed a bottle and waved it.  "Perfect!" 

Four hours later, Uncle Ben opened the shop. He actually didn't remember that he had locked anyone in and he didn't seem bothered by the younger man's talk. Instead, he apologized to the lady and said simply that he would notify the salesgirl about checking the shop before it is closed. 

"You can assume the bottle of wine as compensation. But you have to pay for the cups and buy the other ten from the dozen. You know I don't sell pieces and... your mum's things are on the register table." The old man said as a matter of fact. 

After listening to ten minutes of haggling between the family, she announced that she would be leaving. 

"Wait..." Collins called. She looked.

"How about going out together this afternoon? You know, two haters of Valentine?" 

"I don't hate Valentine." She said, humoured. 

"Well... neither do I!" 

There's always someone to celebrate with! The spirit of Valentine's day will hit you! 

The lead image was by Sammy-Sander on Pixabay.