Saturday, December 8, 2007

Bubye, sugar

The roads are icy tonight, and there's a big storm on the way. I didn't have an ice scraper, so I ran into Wal-Mart to buy one. I got to the automotive section to find long stretches of white shelves and two small boxes of 97 cent plastic (and semi-useless) scrapers. I bought two.
I walked back to my car slowly, scared to slip in the icy parking lot. I walked past two men saying good-bye to each other. One of them sees me and says, "Hey, buddy, take this cutie-pie with you."
The other guy turns around, laughs and starts whispering "Hey there, sugar," under his breath.
I keep my head down, annoyed. Then, I hear crunching on the ice. He's actually coming at me.
And I'm alone in an icy parking lot where I can't run.
I try to walk faster without slipping as I hear Guy#2 continue coming at me. All I could think was: "Don't fall don't fall don't fall, this guy might be serious about taking you with him."
Just as I got to my car, I heard the guy slip on the ice. I only looked at him once I was in the car. He'd stood up and was looking at me.
"You ought to be more careful," he says. Guy#1 laughs and drives off.
I take a breath and start the car. As I leave I hear him yell.
"Bubye, sugar."

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