Imagining playing Super Market Sweep as she maneuvered through the produce section, she reminded herself that she, in fact, had a shopping list, and more importantly, a budget. She couldn’t just grab random items. She heeded the sage advice to never shop on an empty stomach. That’s when all kinds of junk food made it home with her. Thanks to the turkey breast whole wheat wrap she’d eaten before heading out, her appetite wasn’t a raging bully instructing her to make poor choices.
A bag of organic carrots. Celery hearts. Cucumbers. Green and red bell peppers. Fresh ginger root. Small container of Brussel sprouts. Cherry tomatoes. Bag of mixed greens. Bag of onions. She was set on garlic for the next week or so. Two large, sweet potatoes. The avocados were more expensive than last time, but she still reached for three. A small bunch of large bananas. She waltzed by the containers of fresh berries. She’d grab some in the freezer aisle. Inevitably, fresh strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries grew fuzz before she could finish them, forcing her to trash them. Frozen was better for her wallet and daily morning smoothies. No need to add ice. Buying frozen also saved her from having to wash—and freeze—them herself.
The mound of green came into sight when another shopper’s small, hunched frame moved on to the pineapples, whose sweetness she could smell from feet away. First of all, the green oblong fruits were piled higher than usual. Secondly, they all were beautiful. No black spots indicating that they were bruised or overripe. These relatives of yellow bananas would be Granny and Auntie approved. Growing up first-generation American in a Haitian household, two foods were everyday staples: rice and plantain aka bannann.
Her tongue stumbled on the word “plantain.” She wasn’t sure if it was pronounced plan-tain like the second syllable of maintain or plan-tin like plankton. Even when speaking to non-Haitian folks, she defaulted to saying bannann. As a child, her half of a bannann was served boiled, seasoned by adding salt to the water. Bannann peze was reserved for special occasions and some weekends, usually Sundays. An obscene amount of oil is used to fry bannann peze, known as tostones in Hispanic/Latinx cultures, so she herself rarely made it. She didn’t like how they came out in the air fryer. Too pale and dry. In her fourth decade on Earth, she aimed to eat healthier. Warnings of women and heart disease accosted her in magazine pages. Compared to fried, boiled was boring, so she rarely cooked it. Staring at the gorgeous mountain of green, she figured she could make an exception. Well, two really.
She gasped at the sign.
5 for $1.
5 for $1?
5 for $1!
Cue the choir singing “Oh Happy Day” in Sister Act 2. She had never seen them for this price. 3, maybe 4, but 5? A smile cracked her face. Damn the list. $1 was not going to blow the budget. But she’d be eating bannann all week.
Scooting the wobbly carriage to the side, she approached the bin. Wonders never cease. Every single one was in pristine condition. Not just the ones on the top. She flashed back to standing at her aunt’s elbow as she selected bannann at the supermarket. Like her aunt, she looked for the thicker and longer ones, squeezing the thick skin for firmness. She rejected the C-curved ones. The straighter ones were easier to peel and to cut into slanted pieces, so they’d have that oval shape after pressing them before returning them to the hot oil for a second round of frying. Her mouth watered thinking about the golden color, the crunch of the crispy edges, and the tanginess on her tongue from soaking the pieces in a salt and vinegar. This weekend she would feast like it was a celebration.
Satisfied with her selection, she stepped away from the bin so another shopper could mine for her own green gold. They made eye contact and nodded to each other.
About the Author
Sherring Dartiguenave won an honorable mention in our 2nd Annual Napkin Microfiction Contest (May 2022) with her award winning story Green Gold. She won a cash prize and will be published in Indie It Press’s 2nd COURAGEOUS CREATIVE Anthology: Volume II, to be published sometime in 2023.
Sherring Dartiguenave is a writer and editorial professional with over twenty years of experience in book, magazine, and digital publishing. She earned a BA in Writing, Literature & Publishing from Emerson College, and an MFA in Creative Nonfiction Writing from The New School University. A Brooklynite by way of Boston, she serves on the Board and has written for the blog of the New York chapter of the Women’s National Book Association, and has been published in the anthology 2020: The Year that Changed America. Follow her musings on justsherring.com and @justsherring.
