three lovely strangers
a neat fact about me: my hearing is excellent. a woman some fifty feet in front of me in a grocery store parking lot dropped her lightning cable and kicked it as she walked towards the intersection -- i heard it! all of it! i jogged to catch up, and upon returning it to her, she said "thank you, baby." i was gleeful all throughout my shopping trip. beautiful timing; a very warming appreciation.
usually grocery store trips make me anxious. i'm glossing over Those Details because i would rather jump into the happy parts than get existential about supply chains, consumers' alienation of labor, and taxes!!
OK! as i checked out, cart loaded with ingredients for my mom's birthday falafel and chocolate cake, a man approached me-- "is your tattoo a pineapple or strawberries?"
he pointed to the star-patterned bowl of strawberries on my arm, smiling. he traced it with his pinky, and though i'm usually very sensitive to touch and personal space -- with everyone -- i didn't actually mind. i asked if he had any; he said his mother never allowed him, so he likes to admire other peoples'. he said some red would make the strawberries really pop.
between us, i lied through my teeth to that man. "i'm very happy with it," i told him, but the truth is that a few days ago i was wondering why i got such a large flash tattoo for my first one, in such prime real estate. there's significant blowout, people think it's either an easter egg or a pineapple when i'm wearing t-shirts that half-conceal it, and it's more bowl than strawberry. but his compliment and kindness have really helped put my heart at ease about it! it's permanently on my skin anyway, so why not love it? i hope to fill up my arm with even more strawberries one day.
lastly: when i was scanning my chickpeas and chocolate, a woman in blueberry hues was across from me. i wanted to compliment her color palette, but i held my tongue -- not every stranger wants to chat with me, even if i want to talk to just about everyone who smiles my way. we were fated to chat, though! i stopped by another store to pick up pita bread -- unavailable at the other shop -- and as i was checking out, so was she.
"pardon me-- sorry if this is strange, but i was just beside you at the other store!"
she put a hand on my shoulder. "oh, it's not strange at all -- it's always a two-store thing, isn't it?"
i laughed and nodded. "so what did they not have at the market?"
"fresh thyme and pie crust! i'm having a tea party and i'm making a special treat for my ladies. and you?"
"pita bread," and i just had to ask, "what kind of tea are you serving?"
earl grey, she said, and she gave me the details. they'll start with some tea, share a quiche lorraine, then have tea sandwiches -- one with bacon and mayo round the edges then rolled in chopped parsley; another with something i can't remember, then her dessert. she told me the magic number of 6 guests plus herself (and her husband, who supplies them the hot water), talked about the games they'd be playing (1970s candy bingo; prize, 1970s candy / gosh, others i can't remember, but the prizes were a pack of digestive biscuits and something else!), and the keepsake earrings she makes for each guest. sometimes her friends wear the earrings from the last party to the next party, she said, and she complimented the choker of soda can tabs wrapped around my throat.
i love people. i just, i love them. i have been having a lot of trouble with my emotions these days, studying war and capitalism and bloody colonialism and climate change and artificial intelligence and trying to compose music and write poetry and make art to capture this moment in humanity... searching for a job, grappling with my friends leaving for school (again! this time without me!), untangling the person i once was and no longer want to be from who i'd like to become...
but gosh, the catharsis of happy interactions with strangers lifted my spirits. i just wish i didn't only meet them at grocery stores and gas stations, you know? like, those are The anchors of our car-dependent, product-driven society, and i want more than that. here's to those in-person jobs pulling through so i don't have to keep working remotely!
if you're reading this, what's your favorite song right now? i am really liking this song! it captures the end-of-summer, approach-of-autumn feeling for me. upbeat, patient, a little sad, but altogether warm.
x! az