Page 2 of Wishful Thinking

“Damn, I know I gave them to you. What kind of store is this, anyway? Why are you trying to cheat your customers like this?” Her lips pursed, and the anger made them quiver. Tink leaned forward, elbowing the conveyor switch to the on position. Edna’s items moved down the belt, a few small pieces of papers slipped down into the seam, lost in the bowels of the machine.

“Christ, look what you’ve done! How will I get those back? I think that was my prescription; I need it. What the hell! You are both stupid and an imbecile. I’ll have your job before the day is out, watch me.”

Ednabegan shaking, then muttering to herself. She held a hand over the seeing eye of the apparatus to stop the conveyor and shot her things back in her purse at lightning speed. The last item was beneath a paperback romance novel. The stack of coupons tucked in pink stationery, then held tight with a rubber band.

“Here, I could have sworn I gave them to you. Make certain you take these off the total.” She threw the coupons at her and swung the faux-leather designer bag back up over her shoulder. The aroma of her rancid cheap perfume filled the air giving Tink a headache. She grabbed the scissors while breathing through her mouth to avoid the stench, snipped the rubber band, and scanned them over the glass. The machine denied five of the ten coupons, two for expiration and the other three for not reaching the quota listed. Tink looked forward to pissing Edna off more before she made her escape.

“I’m sorry, these aren’t usable. Do you want me to throw out the expired ones? The others, you need to purchase at least two of the items listed to get the discount.” Tinks smile was bright as Edna’s cheeks turned a crimson red.

“Thoseexpired ones were good yesterday. I couldn’t get over here to shop because of my spa appointment. You can force them towork today, right? The others, well, I can’t buy two boxes. Do you know how long it would take me to eat it?” Edna switched gears, attempting to play nice. Tink was beyond giving any quarter on the subject.

“I’m sorry. I could lose my job for accepting expired coupons; I’m not about to do that. The others, did you think about donating the extra stuff to charity? There’s a lot of hungry people in this city and a little goes a long way in helping folks out. I can wait while you go grab the seconds to use your coupons. Folks could sure use your help. There’s a big barrel where you came in. All the donated goods go to the local food bank. The holidays are coming. It would be a generous thing to do, right?”

Edna shook her head and grabbed the coupons out of Tinks hands, then slid her credit card through the slot of the machine.

“I’m done with you. I can’t afford to be feeding myself and the homeless. Those coupons are a waste of paper. Expecting people to spend extra to save a few pennies. This country has gone crazy, with the prices going up daily, and for what? So that stores can hire trash like you to work here? You make more than you’re worth. Girls like you will never amount to anything, trailer trash is just that, trash.” Edna grabbed the plastic make-shift pen and scribbled her name across the blank boxon the credit machine. The receipt spewed out and Tink ripped it off with a flourish and handed it to Edna.

“Have a wonderful day, Mrs. Babbitt. Please, comeshop with us here at Sav-A-Buk again. Try to use someone else’s lane next time, okay?”

Tink flicked the light switch on the stand to off, grabbed her jumbo-sized plastic water jug, and shimmied by the woman as she headed to the office. Edna pushed her cart through the double doors and glared back at the girl, her ponytail swished back and forth as she slipped down the employees-only corridor.

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