Really! Was that meant for me? I rolled my eyes and gulped air. The cashier drew my attention again. “And how do you intend to pay Ma’am, cash or card?” He asked My voice trembled like I had delirium tremens! CA- ca-Ca , I said, my voice barely audible and handed him the card. He put it on a machine and slid a roller over it, and magically my card details got imprinted in a voucher. As he started folding the clothes I was about to jump and dance around and was barely able to hold myself. As I stepped outside the store holding my shopping bag proudly, I threw my fist in the air and shouted, “Mission successful Sue!” Next day, armed with my magic card, I walked to the nearest Co-Op Food store on Foxhall Road. As I entered the store, the automatic doors amused me. It was quite crowded with Sunday shoppers. I negotiated my way through the aisles with a trolley and headed to the produce section. I picked the fresh and colorful vegetables and fruits up one by one. Very soon my cart was half full. Soon I realized all is not well at the next aisle. Two groups of people had collided and at the epicenter of this were two ladies who had ducked under each other to grab a bag of cat food from the top shelf that was on sale. I skirted the melee and rolled my cart to the frozen section to look for ice-creams and peas. I grabbed a bag that looked like peas but was not quite like it. As I gazed at it, unsure whether to put it in my cart, a voice whispered in my ear “These are the petit pois! French for the “little Peas” As I looked over my shoulder, I saw an old smiling lady with glasses dangling on the bridge of her nose. “Try them”, she said. They are just as good. She patted my shoulder and wheeled her cart away. Slowly I made my way towards the cashier. About 4-6 people were in line and ahead of me. I patiently waited, feeling nervous as I did not have enough cash. What if the card did not work? Will they take my groceries back? I wondered. As I loaded my groceries on the moving belt and handed my card to her, she enquired “ is this a Bank card? “No, it is a card from my husband!” I proudly asserted myself. She smiled. As she started putting them in bags, again asked “Are you parked nearby? I could have someone help you with the shopping bags” “No! I came walking” I thought I have aced her question “Are you sure?” she asked. “You have eight full bags, and the hospital flats are more than a mile away.” She reminded me I was not going to let myself down and before she could talk any more, I grabbed the bags and headed out. I decided to take a shortcut through the park opposite the hospital road and then enter the complex from behind. This was going to be a piece of cake. As I crossed the street, I swayed like a loaded truck trying to negotiate a hairpin bend on top of a mountain. As I entered the park, I dropped the eight bags and sat on a bench to catch my breath. Gosh! weren’t they heavy! I thought perhaps it was a mistake to buy so much. I looked at the cars speeding down the road and wished someone would pick me up. There were no telephone booths nearby to call my husband. As I picked myself up again and started walking, I realized, some of the bags were giving way. Very soon, 3-4 plastic bags ripped apart throwing the contents everywhere. I stared at the mayhem transfixed. Tears welled up in my eyes. In that confusion, I spotted a large tree that was hollowed at at its base. Suddenly a thought flashed in my mind. What if I hide some of the groceries there? No body would know. I can run home and fetch a cloth bag that Ma had packed for UPAHAAR 2021 উপহার ১৪২৮ 34
39 Publizr Home