Bumpy WheelA Story by Samuel DickensIt ain't round!As usual, I grabbed the wrong grocery cart and went bumpity-bumpity down the aisle. Maybe there's a wad of gum or something stuck to a wheel. I bent down to see. A jelly bean! For goodness sake! For the prices Piggly Wiggly charges, you'd think they could keep the jelly beans off the floor! I cleaned the sticky mess from the wheel with a tissue and proceeded on. Bump-bump, Bump-bump. Now, what? I bent down again to examine the infernal wheels. A flat spot! How in the hell do grocery carts get flat spots on their wheels? Spinning the left rear wheel and despising its imperfectness, I saw a foot with pink polished toenails, wearing a flip flop, just inches from my nose. "Excuse me." said the foot's presumed owner. I mumbled something and tried to scoot over. "I'm sorry, sir; I just need to reach over you and get to the canned tomatoes." Curses! Can't a guy fix his wheel? What was the use? I stood up and sped off toward the cart corral. I'll just get another damned cart! Moments later, I pushed a smooth-rolling cart through the store. Nirvana, at last. My teeth unclenched and all was well. Now, for those hotdogs and TV dinners. I found the frozen foods and stood with lasagna in one hand and spaghetti with meat sauce in the other. Hmm. This lasagna has a lot of cheese, but not much meat. This spaghetti has meat--well, it looks like meat--and no cheese. In my confusion, I dropped the lasagna. As I reached down for it, I saw that foot again. Two of them, actually; both in flip flops, with pink polished toenails. I knew they needed more room and squeezed myself over. " I'm sorry, again. If you'll just move your cart back a little, so I can get to the frozen vegetables." Good grief! Am I being punished for having a smooth rolling cart? I stood up and moved out of her way. She must've noticed my frozen food choices and said, "Craving Italian, are we?" I had no choice but to look my tormentor in the face. "Uh, yeah." God, is this Trish? She's my big "if"! Thirty years ago, we went on one date together and I was afraid to even hold her hand because she was so pretty! Oh, man, she's still a knockout! Her big brown eyes caught mine and held them. "Do I know you?" she asked. The scared teen in me grunted, "I think so." "Are you Buddy White, the one who drove that '55 Ford with whitewall tires and baby moon hubcaps?" Any girl who'd remember those beautiful hubcaps deserves a reply. "Yeah, that's me." Trish and I rolled our carts together down Piggly Wiggly aisles, while catching up on old times. After checkout, we went to her car and I loaded her groceries. We were both single again, and I really wanted to ask her out. I told her, "Well, it sure is nice seeing you again." She smiled and replied, "It's nice seeing you, too." Things became awkward. The scaredy-cat in me wanted to run, but wheel-man stalled for time. I bent down low to eye her tires. "You know, this left rear tire is wearing unevenly. My friend has a tire shop and I could... " Trish put her hand on my shoulder. "I'm making Italian tonight. Would you like to come over?" "Why... yes, yes, of course." On the way back to my apartment, I may have hit a pothole and dented a rim. It bumps like hell, but who cares? I'll fix it Monday. Or maybe Tuesday.
© 2022 Samuel DickensAuthor's Note
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Added on September 27, 2014Last Updated on July 8, 2022 AuthorSamuel DickensAlma, ARAboutGreetings, all. I'm a seventy-six year-old father of three sons who enjoys writing, art, music, motorcycles, cooking, and a few other things. From 1967 to 1988, I served in the US Navy, where I travel.. more..Writing
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