I was feeling lucky Monday when I walked into the Gas Station Chicken Store. Not money-winning lucky. Lucky because there were four cars parked in the gas lanes, and only one person inside. She was ready to check out. An old lady. Meaning older than ME, heh, heh! A spindly little gray-haired lady with a purse on her arm.
"Oh. I haven't seen these before."
Spindly stepped to the left side of the counter, and picked up two candies from a box. They looked like some kind of holiday Reese's treat. Maybe a chocolate-covered peanut butter ghost or Santa. Next to them was a box with Hostess Carrot Cakes. The "individual" size, rectangular, with a layer of frosting on top.
"I have to get me a Carrot Cake. I love Carrot Cake."
Spindly stepped back to the pay area. Not-Fave told her the total. But wait! Spindly wasn't done yet.
"You know, I need to get another one of those. Raymond won't like them. But when I tell him good, more for me, then he'll decide he wants to eat them. That's how he is. My daughter doesn't realize that. But it's him!"
Spindly stepped back over to get another Reese's. Then back to the pay area. "How much did you say that was?"
Not-Fave rang up the other candy. "Thirty-eight sixty-seven, including the gas."
Spindly took her purse off her arm. Set it on the counter. Opened it up to get her checkbook. Started writing. Asked the date.
"Oh. Will you be open tomorrow?"
"Yes. Why? What's tomorrow?"
"Veteran's Day, " I added. Not so much to be helpful, but hoping to move the transaction along.
"Well, it is Veteran's Day. But it used to be called Armistice Day. That's what my daddy called it. He died at 42. Related to smoking! I hate cigarettes! Sorry if you smoke, but that's how I feel."
Spindly started writing out her check. "I can never get these things to tear out right." She finally handed it over to Not-Fave. Closed up her checkbook. Put it back in her purse.
"Do you need a bag?"
"Yes. A bag would be nice. I saw Woman Owner the other day. She was in the car, and I couldn't get her attention. You be sure to tell her I said 'Hi' when you see her."
FINALLY, Spindly was done. At least the only people who had come in were a man and his two pre-tween daughters.
To Not-Fave's credit, she was very polite, and didn't noticeably try to rush Spindly. I'm pretty sure she must be a regular. They don't take checks from people they don't know.
So I really wasn't lucky after all. I must have stood there for 15 minutes, swaying to keep my knees from locking up. I wasn't lucky on my tickets, either. Only won $10 on a $10 ticket. My crosswords were losers.
2 comments:
Your luck and Faves were that Spindly didn't go into some long saga about smoking and armistice day etc. That story could have been an ongoing history of her family and various events. When they start reminiscing sometimes, it's hard to end the conversation. Even though your winners weren't exactly winners. Next time! Ranee
Rae,
She was a nice enough old lady, but my knees were not happy with her! As for the tickets, the next day I got a $50 winner on a $5 crossword. It wasn't from the GSCS, but that's fine with me!
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