Like many, my girlfriend keeps her grocery list fastened to her refrigerator door with a magnet.
She updates it regularly, as she runs out of items — almond milk, orange juice, fruits and veggies. But written below her weekly shopping list, on the same sheet of paper, is a separate list, a special one.
It compiles her post-apocalypse must-haves, items like invulnerable canned goods and long-lasting bulk foods, such as dried beans and rice.
One Saturday evening, I silently read down her most recent list as she rushed around the house to get ready for our dinner date. She saw me eyeing the page and, while rooting through her closet for something to wear, called out, “You see beets are crossed out on the list?”
“Yup.”
“Those are for you. Because I know how much you like them.”
“Aw, honey, you shouldn’t have.”
This article appears in Mar 21-27, 2013.