The Day Of The Tribe.

3.

3.

He knew he had gone off his original course, but he couldn't help himself. He wanted to see everything in this town. From what he had viewed, he summarised that it was a friendly and social town. The townspeople shared their lawns with their neighbours for bake sales, barbecues and just plain lounging around.

Naylor had seen a variety of community landmarks... a town hall, a park, a high school, but he still wanted to see more. As he drove on a street called St. Maria, he saw a supermarket.

Perfect he thought. After all, they had just moved into a new house. They were going to need groceries. He drove his blue Mustang into the car park and parked it. As we walked theough the car park, he could feel eyes on him. A good looking stranger was bound to get attention.

Inside the grocery store, he browsed the aisles for necessities... milk, chicken, pasta, toilet paper, sugar, juice, soap,... and dropped them in his shopping cart one after the other.

As he was leaving an aisle, his cart came into contact with a moving force and fell back.

He regained his balance and looked up to see what hit him. He was astonished by what he found, rather who he found. He had never seen himself in such a position before. He was frozen and so was she. She, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen before, standing there and staring back at him. Her hair was as brown and as silky as a horse's mane. Her eyes were the colour of hazelnuts and her skin was like silk. He couldn't take his eyes off her. She wore a black cotton shirt and a blue ballet skirt with black sneakers.

A silly smile spread across his face. She finally spoke up. "I'm so sorry about that. I'm really clumsy", she said. She couldn't think of anything else to say. She was lost in his mesmerizing green eyes.

He shook his head. "It's not a problem... ".

She giggled nervously, "I wouldn't just tell my name to a stranger", she said.

"Well, there goes my chance to rob and kidnap you", he said sarcastically with a charming smile. She felt her heart go warm. She couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped from her lips. They gazed at each other for a while, stupefied smiles plastered on their faces.

"Audrey", she mumbled. He raised his brows at her. "My name is Audrey", she repeated.

"That's a beautiful name", he remarked. "I'm Naylor".

"Also a beautiful name", she replied. She dropped the box of cutlery she was holding to her side. "I'm sorry. I've got to go pay for these", she chuckled and took slow steady steps away. He looked over his shoulder and found her looking at him. She snapped her head away immediately and quickened her pace. He smiled to himself. He stood there for what seemed like forever thinking about her... the way she tucked her wavy brown hair behind her ear, the way her skirt swished when she walked away from him, the way her cheeks formed cute little dimples when she smiled.

He snapped out of his delusional trance and made a quick U-turn with his cart. He headed straight for checkout. He spotted her standing in the cue and talking to a skinny brunette in the line behind her. He strategically placed himself in her line. He watched every move she made - in a non-stalker fashion.

When it was her turn to pay, the attendant scanned the box she handed him.

"That'll be 24 dollars", he said with a cheerful smile. She pulled her wallet out of her pocket. She flipped through it and frowned. Naylor was about to offer to pay for her stuff but was astonished by what happened next.

Audrey put her wallet back in her pocket and looked the attendant straight in the eyes.

"Actually that'll be free", she whispered. For a second, the attendant looked like a zombie. Then, he placed the box in a plastic bag and handed it to her.