On the night of their first date, John Munch wasn't planning on doing any grocery shopping. It had been a long week, and he had been counting down the minutes to the end of his shift all day. Despite his burning desire to go home, open a bottle of wine, and find something interesting to watch on television, he began to realize that he couldn't think of anything in his fridge that seemed appetizing. As much as he didn't want to make any stops, John realized that a trip to Randazzo's was in his immediate future. The homemade chicken and potatoes were calling his name, and a couple of Italian chocolate chip cookies would be the perfect beginning to the weekend.

Randazzo's Market was an Italian grocery store about two blocks from his apartment. For a long time, he had just assumed they just sold fruit and vegetables, and chose to shop at the A&P. One day, he had gotten a flyer in the mail, and was surprised to see the great variety of items they carried. He decided to pop in early one Sunday morning, and was impressed with the items and the service he received. Although he still shopped at the A&P, he often popped into Randazzo's for special treats or to pick up a nice bottle of wine.

His favorite cashier was a girl named Jenna. She rang him up quite often, and he had found himself drawn to her. John was impressed with how she could be efficient, but still be friendly and carry on a conversation with her customers. Most of the other cashiers struggled to have that balance, and she made it look effortless. She seemed to be a friend and a reassurance to the other cashiers, and he'd often see them talking, and then quickly stifling their laughter when customers or their manager came by.

He'd never admit to it, but John had a bit of crush on her. She seemed like a genuine person, and he was sure she was as friendly outside of work as she was when she was on the job. Although he had never seen her without her uniform on, she was beautiful on the outside as well. She was shorter side, with black hair and green eyes. She seemed to be constantly drinking diet drinks, but he thought her weight was perfectly healthy, not that he'd ever comment on it. John Munch may have made stupid mistakes in the past, but commenting on a woman's weight certainly wasn't one of them.

As he walked through the displays, he took a quick look at the cash registers, and was happy to see Jenna at her typical post. He had been a little concerned about her lately. She seemed to have quite a bit on her mind for awhile, and then a little while later, she took some time off, which was very rare for her. All of her fellow co-workers had been pretty tight-lipped about it, but he knew just from the looks on their faces that something was wrong. When she came back, she seemed to be there all the time, and although she was friendly as ever, her smiles and conversations had seemed forced. He was happy that she seemed to be doing better. Although he didn't know much about her, he was sad to see that she was in pain.

That night, she was alone at the register. She recognized him first, and gave him a smile and a wave. He came over, and began emptying his basket. "Hey Jenna. How's it going?"

"Oh, pretty good, John. We're having a quiet night an-," she stopped short, and sneezed into her sweatshirt sleeve. She sniffled, and reached into her apron pocket for a tissue. She blew her nose, and rubbed a little bit of hand sanitizer in her hands.

"Bless you, Jenna. I've noticed the cold has been going around."

"Thanks, John. It's been kinda rough, but I'm feeling better than I did yesterday, so that's good."

She pressed a couple of buttons, and looked up at him. "It'll be $12.37."

He pulled out his credit card, and swiped it through the reader. The receipt came out, and she handed him the paper and pen for his signature. He wasn't sure what came over him, but as he signed, he looked up at her. "Jenna, do you have any plans for dinner?"

Her entire body snapped to attention, and she looked up, surprised. John could have kicked himself; she was sick, and probably just as tired as he was. She probably had guys hitting on her all day, and he felt bad that he had just added himself to that list. He didn't have a chance in hell. One look at her face, and it was clear that she was trying to think something to say that wouldn't hurt his feelings. He leaned over the counter and grabbed his bag, trying to make the quickest exit he could.

She caught up with him at the automatic door. "John, wait."

"Jenna, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked. It wasn't the time or place."

"No, John. I-I actually don't have plans tonight. What did you have in mind?

On the night of their first date, Jenna Arsetti was happy to be at work and away from her apartment. In the last few months, being in her apartment was nearly unbearable. Everywhere she looked, there were traces of her late fiancé, Rob. Despite the fact that she had boxed up all but a couple of pictures, she could barely sleep through the night, and even then, she had to be on the couch in the living room. Her cold had only complicated the situation, and she was running on both limited sleep and limited positive energy.

Despite it all, she had a smile plastered on her face, and was managing to remain friendly with her customers. In the past, she had discovered that she had a talent for smiling, even if she was heart-broken on the inside. She had discovered this talent years ago, during her parents' divorce. Now, in the aftermath of, the death of her fiancé, and her miscarriage, she had kept a smile on her face, and for the most part, no one was the wiser. There were a few customers who saw through the facade, and she told them it was personal thing, and kept going. She had tried to keep things on a need to know basis with her co-workers, but the rumor mill opened up, and very quickly, she was hearing all sorts of stories about the personal time she was taking, and the fact the Rob wasn't coming by at night to walk her home. She saw no other option, but to reveal the whole truth to everyone. It was tough, but necessary. She wrote down exactly what she wanted to say, but could only read half of it before getting choked up, and handing her speech to the store manager, who had known since he became a neighbor of her mother. After that, the subject was dropped, besides a few sad smiles.

Randazzo's was strangely quiet for a Friday night, and the rest of the cashiers were off doing other chores or on a break. Closing time was coming soon, and despite the bad memories, heading home seemed like a fabulous idea. She had plans with her pajamas, a cup of tea, and a book, and was looking forward to a quiet night alone. Being alone at night was just about as tough as staying in her apartment, but between will power and working with her psychologist, she was slowly coming to terms with it.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw one of her regulars, a man named John, surveying the prepared food section. Through their conversations at the cash register, she had learned he was a police detective for the NYPD. His sarcasm had taken a little getting used to, but now she was able to roll with the punches, and even occasionally made clever comments right back.

She would've never admitted aloud before, and now it seemed in poor taste, but she found herself attracted to John. They were complete opposites, but that older, cynical, sarcastic detective had been making her smile since the first time she had waited on him. She had heard through the workplace grapevine that he had been one of the customers who had been curious and worried about her, which had surprised her, because she thought he just saw her as a cashier. Jenna wasn't sure what to make of the genuine concern he had showed, but she truly appreciated it. She also thought John was handsome, and combined with interest he showed, he seemed like the complete package. It was way too soon for her to date again, but that didn't mean she couldn't have a crush on him.

Jenna snapped to attention at the sound of a basket hitting the conveyor belt. She reached for the hot plate of prepared food, and began ringing him up.

"Hey Jenna. How's it going?"

Jenna looked up and returned his smile, as she reached for his box from the bakery. Knowing him, it was probably Italian chocolate chip cookies.

"Oh, pretty good, John. We're having a quiet night an-," she stopped short, and sneezed into her sweatshirt sleeve. Unfortunately, her cold was still lingering, and she stopped ringing him up to blow her nose. She sniffled, and reached into her apron pocket for a tissue. After blowing her nose, she threw out the tissue, and rubbed a little bit of hand sanitizer in her hands.

"Bless you, Jenna. I've noticed the cold has been going around."

Putting his items in a couple of bags, Jenna looked up, "Thanks, John. It's been kinda rough, but I'm feeling better than I did yesterday, so that's good."

Turning back to the register, Jenna pressed a couple of buttons, and looked up at him. "It'll be $12.37."

He pulled out his credit card, and swiped it through the reader. The receipt came out, and she handed him the paper and pen for his signature. Then, the completely unexpected happened. As he signed, he looked up at her. "Jenna, do you have any plans for dinner?"

Jenna snapped to attention, in surprise. She definitely had a crush on him, but was dating so soon a bad idea? But, then again, who said anything about a date? All John had mentioned was dinner. Dinner didn't have to be a date. And, to be honest, she really was hungry. And, she was going to be done with work in about ten minutes.

As she was about to answer him, she realized he was moving to the door as fast as he could. She nearly ran from the cash register to catch up with him.

She caught up with him at the automatic door. "John, wait."

"Jenna, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked. It wasn't the time or place."

"No, John. I-I actually don't have plans tonight. What did you have in mind?"