ggggrrrrrrrocery shopping

yesterday i stopped at the grocery to pick up a small pot of flowers for a good friend who was just home from having an icky medical procedure done. and i was in a hurry, because i had to do an errand for her and drop by her house before heading into work. i was a shade worried about being late for work. but not too awfully much. just a little.

so when i saw the long lines at the checkouts, i was sort of dismayed. i thought it would be a quick run in and run out. but fortunately some on the ball manager rang the bell to tell the cashiers to man all the guns. and i was suddenly then able to get in line just behind some lady. which was good, because there was only her. but was bad because she had a lot of stuff. and i suppose if the cashier would have seen me first, he'd have had me go ahead of her, but he didn't. so when he noticed that i only had this small little pot of begonias, he quickly also assessed that the register next to his was being opened. he said, "go over there, you can be first."

so i started over there, and this old dumpy lady (and i only say that because she was not all that old, but she seriously defined dumpy) pushed her loaded down cart in front of me and beat me to the spot. now, i honestly do NOT think she really saw me. i don't. i think she was just moving fast and directly to the now opening lane. so i shrug and i return to where i was and said "yeah, your line is going to be faster after all."

and he smiled (and i'm not sure why exactly he took my side in the supermarket rat race, but he did) and said "no, you go around and go ahead of her. you've only got the flowers." and he tells the just arriving cashier, "hey, take her first."

so i move around, set down my flowers and start to pull out my payment and that's when i hear it.

a GROWL.

an honest to goodness and really audible growl. and i burst out laughing and looked up at the dumpy source of the growling. and the growler met my eyes with absolute fury. she was ticked off. i had gone ahead of her.

and i'm like "mam, he (pointing to the first cashier) told me to go ahead of you." and the newly arrived cashier spoke up and said, "yeah, he did." the first cashier confirmed, "yeah, i did. she only has the flower."

her response? again, she growled.

so by this time, the flowers are officially mine. and quite honestly, i really didn't cost the growler any time at all except for the time she created by making the cashiers come to my defense.

and even while i'm not sure i'd appreciate it if people always growled at me, but i have to tell ya, the whole thing has amused me way more than it annoyed her. and my only regret is that i really was in a bit of hurry, because quite honestly, i really think if i wasn't, i would have waited for her to get in her car and followed her home just so i could see where the kind of person who growls at other humans, lives.