***
“Stop there,” Piper said as she pointed to a drug store. “I’ll run in and grab us some snacks and bottled waters.” Piper and Nick were geared up to go to the beach in Boca Del Sol later that afternoon. Covered in Coppertone suntan lotion and donning swimsuits, baseball caps, and swim shirts, she and Nick were ready to roast in the warm sun.
Nick pulled their sports utility vehicle into the parking lot, and Piper hopped out and sped into the store for a few bags of popcorn, mixed nuts, and bottled waters. She wanted to keep the snacks somewhat healthy, though she knew Nick often preferred much less healthy options. Cheetos, chocolate, and pork rinds were not on her shopping list. She grabbed a shopping basket and filled it with snacks and drinks before approaching the cash register to pay.
A long line had formed in front of the only open cash register, so Piper slowed her pace and took her place in the line, a little bummed that five patrons were waiting in front of her. Looking to her left, she noticed a closed register and wondered where its cashier was. The two self- checkout machines had signs indicating they were out of order.
Oh well.
She watched the dark-skinned cashier in front of her, rapidly processing the items the patrons presented and taking payments. A few people lined up behind her.
An old woman approached with a shopping cart in front of her, wearing garb consistent with the outfits worn by wealthy New Yorkers in Boca Del Sol. It was obvious she was hanging on to her younger years, but her money was spent in vain. The doctor’s knife hadn’t been kind as it had stretched her makeup-caked skin across her skull and reduced her nose into something unnatural.
“Are you kidding me,” she howled. “Where’s your help young lady?”
“She’s on break,” the cashier responded without looking up, possibly in a passive aggressive sort of way. Piper surmised the woman had dealt with such sorts of people in her past.
“A break? Why would she be taking a break right now? Look at this line. I count nine people. This is ridiculous! Ridiculous!” Instead of taking a place in the line, the woman stood in front of it, as if waiting to be first in line should the other cash register open.
Everyone in the line in front of her tried to ignore the old woman, though they were perhaps in hurries themselves. The moment spurred the customers in the line in front of Piper to form a bond with one another in full support of the cashier. Each thanked her after each transaction, and the cashier thanked each back for coming into the store.
“Call corporate. I demand you call corporate and report this incident. Do you know who I am? You need to do what I say!”
Something about the woman’s pompous ways called Sir Oren into Piper’s mind. She thought of the way the figures in the dungeon flung horse manure at Sir Oren. She’ll probably end up in the dungeon, flinging horse manure at the people around her.
The other cashier walked over to her cash register and opened it, so the old woman jumped into the front of the line. The cashier was about the same age as the old woman and perhaps had had some experience with impatient wealthy sorts, who were a little too common in Boca Del Sol.
“I’m sorry. I need to help the next people in line before I help you.”
Fairness had taken priority. Piper moved over to the other register, behind a woman who had been standing in front of her.
“What!” The old woman grabbed the twelve pack of toilet paper in her shopping cart and smacked it down on the counter. “I don’t think you know who I am. My husband could buy this whole chain if he wanted to. I’m taking my business elsewhere!” With a huff, she stormed away.
Such a miserable woman.
“And here we’re in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. No wonder it was also voted one of the meanest,” she said to Nick after recounting the story.
Piper wondered what sort of impact that being in a place like Boca Del Sol was going to have on her dad and sister. Hopefully they will be able to steer clear of such misery. Or maybe seeing people like that woman will help them to better appreciate the kindness and humility of all of the decent humans occupying the same space.
That night, Piper had another dream. She sat in the back of a camper style van. Her dad was at the wheel and Linda, Nick, Sailor, and Rob were also in the van, as was a small black dog. She peered out of the window by her side and noticed the van was ascending up a gigantic, snow-covered mountain. After a while, she observed that the road upon which they were traveling was starting to become more and more difficult to see, as the snow falling outside of the van was beginning to cover any view of the road. Piper shivered in fear. She looked at her dad, who was bravely driving the van, which hugged the road along the side of the mountain as they ascended. Every so often Piper felt the wheels as they slipped and slid on their icy path. What surprised her was that when the terrain became more difficult to navigate, her dad’s response was to drive faster. Faster and faster he drove and soon they were charging up the mountain along a pathway that no one could see. Piper hoped and prayed that her dad would be able to maintain control of the van. Snow was dumping from the clouds and it was becoming increasingly difficult to see anything around them as the van moved higher and higher into the sky. Then the van slid off the road and into an embankment. Piper couldn’t see past the embankment as the clouds and the snow were blinding. Everything was white. Her dad decided to take a chance so he gunned the van forward, thinking there was a road in front of them. There wasn’t. The van sprung into the air until it was gripped by gravity, resulting in a downward freefall. Everyone screamed, feeling that no one could save them. The black dog barked and jumped up and down, skipping back and forth across the van. Their fates were sealed. They heard a great wind as it whistled under them, carrying them across the sky. The van landed softly in a snowy embankment and everyone got out, relieved that their lives had been spared. Piper prayed that this dream represented the fate of her doubting family.