Wednesday, July 15, 2020

At 4:30, I go down to the supermarket, as usual, to get a yogurt and an apple. I pause in front of the guard. His thermometer dangles by his side as he focuses on something on his phone. He waves me through. I know where everything is at this point. I grab a green apple without slowing down. I’ve settled on them. I haven’t had a satisfying red apple since I moved here. I’m told they need a climate with an autumn like we had in the States to grow well. I walk halfway up the aisle, turn left, and go to the end. The yogurt that I like is about a meter to the right. I have to look at them to see what to get. The ones that I like, with nuts in the lid, are usually at the near edge of that part of the refrigerated section. Sometimes, though, they get shuffled. I’m not interested in the ones packed with candy. The first open checkout aisle doesn’t have any customers. I put my two items down. The cashier doesn’t react. I say, “Hi.” Nothing. I dig a ten-shekel coin out of my wallet. The cashier is either staring at something on the screen or at the blank space beyond it. Finally a manager comes over. She stands behind the cashier, says something to me that I don’t understand, and points to the next aisle. I pick up my things and move over there. No other customers appear to be waiting. The cashier looks up at me, says “Sorry,” and gestures toward the end of the counter. Someone else’s purchase is piled up there. That customer has run off to find another item. It will probably be a while. I pick up my things again and head to the next open aisle, two lanes down. I start to put my items on the counter. The cashier gestures for me to stop. “I’m waiting for change.” I sigh. I’m annoyed, but I can’t complain. Literally. I don’t have the vocabulary. The last aisle is open and free. I walk over with my purchases. “Possible?” I ask. The cashier nods. He rings up the items. The yogurt is always five shekels. The apple varies between three and four, depending on the price that day and its weight. They’re expensive now, since they’re out of season, but it’s not that much of a difference. I hand him the ten-shekel coin. He hands me my change. He puts my receipt on top of the yogurt container and the apple on top of that. I take the stack and wander back up to work.