We had a bumpy ride at first, with Maureen getting used to driving again. She told me the she hadn't driven a car since she was eighteen, back when she first came to the city. We drove for about fifteen minutes before finding a store. When we got out and Maureen grabbed a cart, people began staring at us, both of us. Me in my sparkly jeans, and her in her skin tight lime shirt that had 'Both ways!' printed on it. She just smiled a winked at people, loving any kind of attention she could get, as I walked beside her, putting food in the cart.
"You know, this place ain't half bad!" You could just see how much she was loving this attention. "Everybody's looking at us!"
True they were, but I wasn't sure how much I appreciated the way they were looking at me. "I don't think the looks are meant to be flattering."
"So? They're still looking, aren't they?" She gave a small princess wave to a man walking by.
I couldn't help but smile at how much she was enjoying the attention. True, she got attention in New York, but a lot of people dress out there. Here, everyone had kakis and sweaters.
When the cart was filled with everything from Captain Crunch to apples to ice cream, and Maureen was satisfied that it would hold her over for the duration of her stay, we piled into the checkout counter.
The teenage boy seemed to be disgusted and annoyed with us, the way we talked, dressed, and acted. He spoke to us with daggers in his eyes and voice. "$132.84"
Maureen was finally fed up with it. "You could be a little nicer to paying customers you know."
"$132.84… Please."
Now, if there was one thing that would set Maureen off, it was sarcasm, aimed at her. She looked around the store with a glint in her eyes, and I knew she was planning something. I set a hand on her shoulder. "Maureen, leave it."
But she brushed my hand off, and raised her voice without shouting, so that nearly everyone in at least the checkout area could hear her. "Excuse me sir, but how much is a twelve pack of condoms?"
The boy looked mortified, and even though I was a little embarrassed, I couldn't help but smile. He spoke barely above a whisper, and neither of us could hear him. Maureen cupped her ear and leaned into the boy. "Excuse me sir? I couldn't hear you, could you speak up please?"
He raised his voice just a bit. "$15."
Maureen smiled. "Thank you! We'll take a box."
I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Mo, what are we gonna do with condoms?"
"You want me to like, walk you through it?"
"No, I know what you do with them; I want to know what we are going to do with them."
"Don't worry Angel, I got this!" The boy handed them to Maureen, without looking at her. She took them and smiled, handing him the money. We were about to leave, when Maureen turned back to the boy, and handed him the box of condoms. He looked utterly confused. "I think you need these more than we do."
I lifted my hand and pressed on the bridge of my nose. "Maureen, you just wasted $15!"
She shrugged. "So? Collins has a job now, you can do that sometimes. And anyway, Joanne and I can't use them, and it's not like you're gonna get pregnant. Ohh wait, I can bring them back to Mimi. She'll be so grateful." She snatched the box back out of the boys' hand. "I'll be needing these back, but I hope you learned your lesson." With that, she grabbed some bags and pulled me out of the store.
