Checking Out

            by Rachel Hamburg

 

“Just this?”

“That’ll do it.”

“One roll of toilet paper it is, then.” Amy looked up at her customer as her fingers punched the price into the cash register with a mind of their own.  She’d seen him here before, she thought.

“It’s a roommate thing.”

“Hey, I didn’t say anything.”

“Yeah, but your face said it all.  I know just what you were doing, judging me, making up one of those crazy customer stories.  What was I, the guy who shouldn’t have taken the chance on those three-week-old taquitos?  Oh, I know… maybe I’m the guy who’s buying the first thing he saw so that he could hit on the cute checkout girl.  I’m Mike.” 

He fixed his gaze on Amy, who stood sheepishly still.  A pulse of adrenaline flashed through her body, and letting her nerves get the best of her, she averted her gaze.   “That’ll be $1.71, please.”

“Oh, is that how you’re gonna play this?”  Mike pulled out his wallet and placed two dollars on the counter.  “It’s been a pleasure.” 

How cold could she be? Amy scolded herself. Giving her name couldn’t hurt, and besides, it would be the courteous thing to do.  And besides, he was a very attractive man.  “Amy.” 

“Well then, Amy, it’s been a pleasure.”  Mike turned and swaggered out of the store.

Amy ran her hands through her long auburn curls.  They should have a handbook for this sort of thing, she thought; it caught her off guard every time. “Dealing with Sexy Customers Who Are Hitting on You: For Dummies.”

Behind her, she heard a snicker.  “Shut Up, Dirk,” she said, without even turning her head toward the cash register behind her.  While she was embarrassed to admit it to most, she and Dirk had been an item.  Amy had learned the dangers of dating a co-worker with that fiasco, as now the two were stuck working together everyday.  The worst part was that Dirk hadn’t really gotten over Amy.  It had been a couple months since the breakup, but he often still treated her as if he were about to bring her home to his mother.  The other half of the time he enjoyed tormenting her to the point that she would do all of the shelf stocking just to get away. 

“I didn’t say anything,” said Dirk.  Amy didn’t have to see his face to know he was mocking her. 

While she didn’t think she had any feelings left for Dirk, she had been rather lonely since they had split.  It was hard to meet people herself because she was holed up all day at the store.  She had been on a couple of blind dates, but either her friends didn’t know her at all or men had all suddenly become awkward and unappealing while she and Dirk were dating.

 

Tuesday at Star Grocery presented little drama as usual.  Aisle three had a minor soap spill around lunchtime, but thankfully Nick, her boss, requested that Dirk clean it up.  The store was quiet, but for the buzzing symphony of the old freezers and fluorescent light fixtures. Amy loved the calmness of the store during the lulls throughout the day.  It was why she couldn’t imagine working anywhere but in a neighborhood store.  She examined her nails, which she had been trying not to bite, as she awaited Dirk’s return and to ring up the lone customer perusing the produce section.  She hoped that the spill would take Dirk a while to give her a little breather from his at times obnoxious antics.  She pulled out yesterday’s Chronicle from under the counter and turned the pages absent mindedly, hardly interested in the boldfaced headlines of “Police Identify Female Run-Away as Cause of Recent Bay Area Crime,” “Bush Verifies New Medicare Plan,” and “Warriors Rally into First Place,” but trying to pass the time.

As she skimmed an article on a recent clothing store hold-up in Oakland, she felt the cool February air shower her as someone entered through the swinging door.  When she looked up, she was startled to see Mike leaning on the counter before her.  She quickly refolded the paper, leaving it bunched and crumpled in her haste.  When she looked up to address him he was staring at her.  She couldn’t help but notice the intensity in his eyes; as if magnetic, they drew her in.  She could feel her heart thumping in her throat.   

“Can I help you?”

“Amy.  Hi.”  He continued to stare, a sly half-smile chiseled above his prominent chin.

“Uh, hi.”

Mike took his hands off the counter, making sure to brush gently against Amy’s arm in the process.  He proceeded to wander off into the store, leaving Amy to ponder the interaction with confusion.  She stared at him as he veered down the cereal aisle.  As he picked up a box of Cheerios, he glanced up toward Amy who attempted to avert her gaze without his notice.

“Checking out the customers, are you?” he called.  Amy felt her ears and cheeks flush.  Dirk came stomping down the aisle a moment later, and he sidled up next to Mike, pretending to sort the Rice Krispies from the Cheerios.

“Hey, man,” said Mike.  Dirk glanced at him, scowled, and headed off toward the freezers in the back of the store.  Unphased, Mike returned to his cereal.  Two minutes later he appeared at the cash register with the Cheerios and a carton of milk.  Amy wished more than anything that Dirk were up here too.  For some reason she thought it would make her feel less nervous around Mike, although why, she couldn’t for the life of her say.

“You work every day?” Mike asked.

Amy nodded, her mouth dry.  She didn’t trust herself to say anything.  She reached for a brown bag, unfolded it with the flick of her wrist, and loaded the cereal and milk.  As she handed it to Mike, she stole a glance at his face, and noticed how soft his lips seemed between the scruff of his upper lip and chin. 

“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then, Amy,” Mike said.  “I think I’ll be needing some laundry detergent or an apple.”

As he turned to leave Amy urged her brain to think of something clever to say.  “Your twenty-nine cents,” she blurted.

“Excuse me?” he smiled, turning around to face her.  What a nice smile, Amy thought.  Good teeth.

“Your money, from yesterday.  You didn’t take your change.”  Stupid, stupid, stupid, thought Amy.  Of all the things I could have said, I chose that?  She hoped that her humiliation wasn’t obvious from the outside. 

“Why don’t you make it a store credit?  Twenty-nine cents off will just make my day tomorrow.  Well, that and the chance to talk to a beautiful woman.”

What was it with this guy, Amy wondered.  She couldn’t help but feel flattered.  And like so many other young women, she was a dreamer.  Despite the fact that she knew nothing about Mike with the exception of his name and cereal preference, she imagined them wining and dining the night away, goodnight kisses, and falling head over heels in love. 

“I don’t like him,” said Dirk. 

“Yeah, I’d say you made that a little obvious with your temper tantrum back there.  What was that all about?”

“He’s, he’s…I don’t know, Amy, I don’t like the way he looks at you, and he’s, well, I dunno.”

“Thank you for that insightful remark.  But I’d appreciate it if you would stay out of my personal life, Dirk.  That kind of goes with the role of ex-boyfriend.”  Dirk sailed off in a huff, but his epithet had soured Amy’s mood.  She wasn’t about to let Dirk get in the way of her first legitimate prospect.  He’d just have to learn to deal, thought Amy.  

 

Amy was daydreaming on Wednesday, when the sound of Mike’s voice snapped her out of her daze.  He suggested a date, to which Amy pretended to give a few moments of thought.  From behind her she heard Dirk’s shelving technique become noticeably louder.  She offered to meet him at the restaurant or wherever they were headed, but Mike declined.  He said that no, that wasn’t necessary, for he lived nearby to the store and could pick her up there.  He set the date for right after closing on Friday night, 7:15, and said they would go to Grasshopper and then to see the new James Bond film.

“You seem to have thought about this before,” Amy remarked.

“I’ve been waiting a while for this, that’s all,” Mike said.

 

“Bye Dirk.  Bye.  Leave.  Get out.”

“I don’t like that he’s meeting you here.  It doesn’t seem very romantic, picking you up at a grocery store.”

“Sure it is.  It’s where we first met.  But it won’t be romantic if you’re still here.  So leave.”

“Fine.  But don’t get mad when I tell you ‘I told you so.’”

“Whatever, just leave.”  

“Finally,” Amy sighed.  She locked the cash register and the receipt box.  She untwisted her hair and stretched her arms to the ceiling with a yawn.  Her feet hurt as they typically did at the end of the day.  With a little skip in her step she then went in back to turn off the overhead lights and to check that Dirk had stocked the pasta shelf as the manager had requested.  When she passed the cereal aisle she smiled; Mike had been on her mind persistently over the past several days.  And while she couldn’t speak for him, it seemed to her that her feelings were mutual.  He had showed up every day this week after all, and twice on Thursday. 

Amy glanced at her watch: 7:09.  The seconds were passing so slowly. Amy hated the feeling of anticipation, and waiting around didn’t sit well with her system.  Inside of her stomach were not butterflies, but hornets.  She trotted into the back bathroom to give herself a final look over before Mike arrived, where next to the sink she found Dirk’s wallet.  “Idiot,” she said to herself in the mirror. As she looked her hair over, in the finger-smudged mirror, smoothing it, she wondered why on earth she had agreed to meet Mike right after work.  She hated it when Dirk was right.

As she adjusted her purple tank top, Amy heard a firm rap from outside.  She had told Dirk to leave the door open on his way out, but it was just like him to pay her requests no attention.  The sound grew harsher as she hurried toward the thick glass panes.   Amy spotted Mike as she maneuvered around the bulk food containers; he looked whole-heartedly peeved.  In spite of the fact that it wasn’t her fault, Amy felt a shock of guilt pulse through her chest.  When her eyes met Mike’s, however, a nervous cacophony once again erupted within. 

Mike bustled past Amy into the store without so much as a nod in her direction.  He was wearing a black jacket, a backpack, and gloves, although it wasn’t cold outside.

 “Hey.” Amy said.  But Mike didn’t even seem to be listening to her.  Instead, he was looking deliberately throughout the store.  The wine section, aisle one, two, three.  Produce.  Amy couldn’t help but feel a little jealous of the apples, the way Mike was eyeing them.  “Uh, Mike?”

Finally, he jerked back towards Amy.  “We alone?” he asked.

“Yeah, we’re…the only ones here.” The swarm within Amy’s stomach crashed with a heavy, uneasy lurch.  She took a step back from Mike and suddenly wished that she hadn’t kicked Dirk out so fast after closing.

“Okay then,” said Mike.  And he took a breath.  As he exhaled, Amy felt chills prickle down her back.  “Here’s what’s going to happen: You are going to unlock the cash register.  I’m going to take your money and all the other shit I can find and you are going to sit here and keep your pretty little mouth shut.  And if you don’t, I’ll slit your nice little throat.”  Mike reached into his jacket pocket and produced a small knife. 

Everything went still as snakelike terror bound Amy’s legs and restricted her voice.  She didn’t move, didn’t say a word.

Mike took a step closer, smirking.  “Come on, Amy.  Whatcha waiting for?  Don’t wanna be late for our dinner reservations, is that it?”

Amy looked down to avoid looking into Mike’s face, now inches from hers.  Then, regaining some sense of control over her body, she pointed towards the check out stand.  “They’re in there.”

Mike trotted over and reached under the counter for the keys.  Amy couldn’t bear to watch as he roughly emptied the register.  He had obviously done this before.  “Now where’s the safe?”

Amy pointed in the direction of the storage room.

“I knew you were right for this job.  Such a good girl.”  Mike laughed and grabbed a bag of M&M’s from the rack to his left.  Amy heard a dozen pieces crash onto the cracked tile floor as he ripped it open.  He walked over to where Amy remained standing and shoved an M&M into her mouth.  “Dessert.”

Mike zipped his backpack and jacket and headed for the door.  “It’s been a pleasure,” he said.

Six minutes passed and Amy had not moved.  She just stood there, shocked.  Her trance was interrupted suddenly by a pounding at the door.  Amy’s breath became shallow and quick.  What did he want now?  Was he coming back to kill the witness? 

“Amy.  Amy come on, open up.”  It was Dirk. “I left my wallet, come on now.”  Slowly, Amy walked to the door and opened it.  “Hey, I just saw your lover boy bolting down the street, you scared him away that fast?  Geez, you look…dead.  And the cash register, Oh Amy, he didn’t…”  Dirk reached for Amy and pulled her, trembling, into his arms.

Amy shook her head, “You told me so.”