Lentils Are Not Staring

Back in Beijing.  Ten days on the road.  There’s only a fleeting blink or two where this seems anything other than as normal as can be.  The cabbie sighs when I tell him where I’m going.  It’s only half the fare he was calculating for himself as sat there in line three hours awaiting the privilege of picking me up.  I pay attention or a minute or two to make sure he knows where he’s going.  He does.

Back in my own kitchen.  But it isn’t I who’s gone and done the last two shops.  And so there is no cheddar cheese to nosh on.  The can of roasted sunflower seeds empty.  Can’t find any grapefruit juice.  I ask the kids what they want for dinner.  ‘Whatever’.  I bike over to the market thinking spaghetti and meatballs.  That’ll do.

ENGLISH.  Loud American English is emanating from aisle number two.  I start my customer journey in aisle number one and hope they’ll move on soon.  They are obviously parents from the same school that my daughters attend.  They are talking about a student film that one of their children had made.  It certainly sounded like a laudable effort but I wasn’t involved in the conversation and I didn’t want to be.

They had made their stand in front of pasta and the tomato sauce.  Now I’d need to confront them.  I stooped my shoulders and grinned implausibly directing my gaze to the pasta.  They were polite and made way for me.  At the checkout, the young ladies had the counter covered in receipts.  "Do you need a moment?"  "Yes."  I left my cart and went off to get some bananas.  And when I returned another lady or two had taken up a place at the head of the line.

My turn.  Load em up.  The film crew and an assortment of other foreigners were all in line behind me.  Lentils.  Can’t make veggie meatballs without lentils.  I darted back to aisle two while they worked through my basket.  There were no lentils.  There must be lentils.  Lentils are not staring out at me.  There’s a different word for Lentils in Italian, right?  The young ladies must be nearly through my assortment of check out items.  Come on.  Seriously?  No lentils?  Damn.  Alright then.  Veggie meatballs with kidney beans then.  I return to find my stuff all bagged.  The tensions seems to just begun to wax.

Tuesday, 5/23/17