She had a sad face, the sagging skin a victim of her permanent frown. She smiled momentarily--alright, a grimace really--but the effort seemed to be too much, the frown promptly returning. I noticed the shopping list sticking out of her purse. Everything had a line through it with the exception of "eyeliner" and "celery". These had squares around them instead and had clearly not been picked up. I guess she decided to forgo beauty and regularity for the six-pack of Diet Coke. I knew the feeling; for the past hour I’d found myself passing over items I otherwise would have picked up so that I could afford the necessities. Or, instead of the $4 cereal, I opted for the generic bag of Honey Nut Scooters. I could handle it, though. In fact, I probably smiled to myself as I lowered the bag of O’s into my cart, knowing that I was screwing the system...somewhat. I almost bought generic feminine products, but I decided some things are worth the 17 extra cents. The bleu cheese, though, didn't get anywhere near my cart: such a luxury would have to wait. But despite the corners cut, I managed to spend $55.39 for another week’s worth of pb&j’s and canned chicken...all before I got to Aldi’s for the eggs, Romaine and cottage cheese. I felt like I was shopping for my little family, but there were no little redheads at my feet, no wedding band on my finger. Just me (*said with a shrug*).
When it was my turn in line, I watched the checker ringing up the sweet potatoes, the bananas and the kiwi, hoping it wouldn’t put me over too much.
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