Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Yep, Just Fine

I stopped at the "Yuppie" grocery store this evening on the way home from work - fearing that I would be snowed in with no food. It is the most expensive store in the area, "Holiday Markup" as I shall refer to it . . . not as expensive as Papa Vino's or Nino Sal whatever it is, but expensive. I don't buy staples there, just wine, meat and cheese . . . oh, and booze. They have an excellent booze section.

Anyhow, I was working my way through the yogurt section when I hear "Emily?" Sigh. I turn. Slowly. Thinking "who could know my name? and do I really want to talk to them?". Oh, one of my ex-boyfriends. The one who wanted me to meet his kids waaaaay too soon. Great. Put on the color guard fake smile. Quick! Quick!

As I'm pulling up the corners of my mouth in my "I had three seconds on national television" smile, his phone rings. An iphone. And he answers it. And I try to slip away into the yogurt, thinking "thank God he is so rude" because I wouldn't have accosted someone at the grocery store and then answered my phone in the middle of it. But then I have to get some eggs. Damn that baking brownies. And I practically have to touch him to reach the eggs. And the phone conversation is over.

"How are you Charles?" color guard smile still pasted on my face. He gives me his tale of woe. With all of the leading statements, so that I will ask questions. But I don't. "Oh that must be hard with no public transportation . . . oh, well that's nice . . . " I end with "How are the kids?" and then scramble to the frozen foods, hoping that he will not follow me.

Thankfully, he did not. And the Republican in me is very, very disappointed in his choices. He is just not very thrifty at all. And I don't want anyone's tax dollars paying for his poor choices. Because he really, really (from the information he willingly gave me today) needs to shop at someplace, like, say, Aldi. Or the Fresh Foods with lots of coupons. And he needs to keep some things in his life a secret. Especially when one has a $300 phone and is buying really overpriced butter.

And I hate to say it . . . but I can afford to buy overpriced butter and I still go to Meijer.

Oh, and there was never a "How are you, Emily?" Cause I would have just said, "I'm fine." Trip to India, Teacher of the Year, learning to cook, plus a pretty pretty princess jeep with a new transmission and the spider monkey. Yep, just fine.