In the Checkout Line

Yesterday afternoon, on my way home from work, I made a quick stop at the local Kroger. I went in for one item but--as usually happens--I ended up with about twelve items in my basket. I went to the checkout lines and picked the line that I thought would be the shortest. Most of the lines had two or three carts in line. In my line there was one man in front of me, and he had a full cart, but all but a few of his items had already been rung up. I put my 12 items on the belt behind his, placed one of those little, plastic separator thingies in between his items and mine, and turned to look at the gossip magazines, hoping--I suppose--to learn a little more about Kim Kardashian's wedding.

I was deeply engrossed in the magazine covers so that I only barely heard a voice say "Excuse me." It definitely didn't register with me. I then heard a much louder and more insistent "EXCUSE ME!" It startled me quite a bit, and I turned and saw a rather impatient looking woman with four or five items in her hand standing directly behind me. She pointed to the people on the other side and said, "Can I slide by you?" (Those were her EXACT words.)

I looked at her. She was maybe in her mid 30's, and--How can I delicately say this?--a little frumpy in her demeanor. I then turned and looked at the man in front of me in line, who was a little older and dressed similarly. "Oh, I'm sorry!" I said as I slid aside, understanding now that this was the wife or girlfriend of the man in front of me. No doubt they had forgotten one item, and she'd run back to get it, only to pick up a couple more items on the way. No judgment on my part. After all, as I mentioned in the intro to this story, it happens to me all the time.

The woman plopped her four or five items down on the belt and then--get this!--she picked up another of those little, plastic separator thingies and placed it between her items and the man's. What the hey? I thought to myself. But then it occurred to me--they probably just live together, and they're keeping purchases separate. Or maybe they don't even live together at all; maybe they just drove to the store together, and she wanted to get up in line with him. Whatever the case, I didn't have a problem with it.

That is, until the man finished his transaction, said "Thank you" to the cashier, and then rolled his groceries away. That's when I REALLY understood: These two people didn't know each other at all. This woman had just forced herself in front of me in line.

I thought about causing a scene right there in the store, asking her what she thought she was doing, where did she get the gall, what made her think she had the right. But I couldn't figure out what good that would have done. She only had a handful of items--she'd be finished in just a few minutes. And she had to have known what she was doing, how wrong it was. After all, you learn about standing in line and not breaking in preschool. It's a basic human skill, like making eye contact when you speak. If she was brazen enough to ignore this most basic of human conventions, my confrontation wasn't going to convince her otherwise. So I did nothing. I just looked at the cashier, who rolled her eyes and smiled. I shrugged back at her as if to say, "I don't understand this moment of my life."

I didn't. And I still don't.