R. - The Rest is History

So I went to Sainsbury's. It was a Sunday morning in high summer and
my head was still reeling from the previous night.

They have a machine in there which converts loose change into a voucher
you can take to the checkout and exchange for shopping or larger
denominations of cash. There was a man at it, overflowing jars at his
feet, the clatter of the coinage as it cascaded through the sorting
mechanism echoed discombobulate around my brain.

In the fruit and veg section there was a woman in a blue jacket testing
Granny Smiths and Cox's Pippins for size and texture, soft hands
searching the flesh for bruises or lesions. I can't say I fancied her
instantly but I noticed her so there must have been something
there.

The area around the dairy section smelt rotten. I guess something had
been spilt and not cleaned up properly. I remember beef mince was on 2
for 1 offer because I ate Spaghetti Bolognaise for the rest of the
week. I was disappointed to discover that the sweet corn relish had all
sold out. All little details, irrelevances, but I remember them because
of what was to happen that day.

By the in-store bakery I saw her again. Blue jacket. Ordering a custard
doughnut.

There was a traffic jam in aisle 17 (toilet paper and kitchen towels)
because an assistant had left a big cage in the middle of the floor and
it was difficult to push a trolley past on either side.

At the checkout I spotted batteries on the side and remembered I needed
to buy two AA size because the telly remote was getting a bit
unresponsive. I also spotted her again, blue jacket, at the next
checkout.

The old lady in front of me in the queue turned to me and said,
"You're not awake yet, are you?"
"Huh?"
"Late night?"
"Yeh, does it show?"
"Your eyes are all glazed."

When it was my turn the woman on the checkout asked me for my loyalty
card
"I don't have one." I said.
"You're not loyal to Sainsbury's then"
"Not really. I don't want people to know what I'm buying."
"Why not?"
"It's the principle of the thing."
The woman on the checkout nodded sympathetically, if a little
patronisingly. The woman on the next checkout heard and gave me a look
of total incomprehension. I don't know if blue jacket heard.

While I queued for the newspaper and my cigarettes, I realised blue
jacket was behind me. As I left the kiosk my TV guide fell out of the
middle of the paper. I leant to pick it up and upset the contents of a
carrier bag onto the floor. As I repacked I heard blue jacket talking
to the kiosk woman.
"Can I buy stamps here?"
"Sorry, you have to get them from customer services."
"Can I buy my cigarettes there?
"Sorry".
Blue jacket muttered something disparaging which I didn't quite catch.
But it wasn't a full on customer rant. The exchange was all quite
amenable.
"Oh well thanks anyway" she said as she lost control of her trolley.
It rolled a bit causing her to step backwards and tread on my
hand.
"Sorry." She said.
"That's okay" I replied. I couldn't make eye contact though. I was a
little nervous, embarrassed. I suppose I was afraid that there'd be a
glint of recognition in my eyes, having essentially (though
accidentally) managed to follow her all round the store, and I didn't
want to unsettle her. Or myself.

As I walked to exit it became clear we were both going to reach the
door at the same time. For a brief second I froze, to let her go first.
Then she dropped her bank card, and I decided, in that instant, to bite
the bullet.

I stooped to pick it up for her and lost control of one of my bags,
sending eggs smashing onto the floor. As I handed her card back we made
eye contact for the first time. There was a 'Thank You', a flurry of
apologies, and some shared laughter, and the rest, as they say, is
history.