Me, You, and Mason

3

Dee had been on her feet all morning. From storage and inventory to stocking and scanning, sometimes it felt like she was the only staff member at Graham's who did any work.

"I can get you over here, sir!" she called from her register.

A man approached with one arm holding bread and condiments while the other hung at his side, hand dangling for the grasp of a little girl who owned doe eyes that matched his.

She smiled slightly at the little girl, sending a wave as the man unloaded his items onto the conveyor belt. The little girl did the same, unveiling a missing front tooth.

Dee loved moments such as this. It was the little things.

Nowadays, cashiers don't get much play in the store. Nobody but elders cared for the smile and instruction of another person anymore.

Dee couldn't be too mad. After all, she too enjoyed scanning and bagging her own items. It made her feel extra accomplished after a shopping trip.

Besides, it was easier to steal shit in self-checkout. Not that anyone here cared.

In a town that'd been poor since the 80's, stealing was just a fact of life. The way she saw it, anybody that stole out of here definitely needed it. Whether it be diapers or bread, she and everyone else would look the other way.

She recalled a colleague, Ben, insisting that they start cracking down on theft soon. He'd made valid points— loss in inventory, the store losing money, so on— but he'd been a real pain in everybody's ass since he became manager so no one cared to implement his policy.

It was hard to empathize when everyone was losing money— to bills, to childcare, to taxes. Rich people losin' money too? "Join the club," Dee thought.

She entered codes and printed receipts while Eric, another coworker, bagged items.

She loved working shifts with Eric, who would often keep her company and keep her entertained while she worked the desolate register.

Whether it be stories about his weekend or jokes about current events, there was rarely a dull moment with him.

"Lunch is calling my name," he shook his head, "and I know it's calling yours too. Let's go."

Dee agreed as her stomach spoke for her, but suddenly, there was a new customer approaching the register. And another one after that, and a line after that.

Usually, she wouldn't hesitate to close her lane and let someone else handle the rush, but one cashier had already left and the other— Lisa— wasn't back from her break yet.

Dee, unfortunately, was the last man standing.

"If I end up working through my lunch, I'll be the next one stealing some bread," she thought, sending a smile to the next customer.

"I'm finna collect some baskets, but after that, I'm gone," Eric informed her.

"By the time you get done with the baskets, lunch'll be over," she scoffed, taking into account that his basket collection often included a smoke break too.

"You're right. I should do it when I get back," he nodded.

With that, he was off with a smug smile. Dee could only shake her head, turning to face the conveyor belt once again.

"Thank you for shoppin' at Graham's. Did you find everything alright?" She greeted the next customer, with eyes lasered on each item being scanned.

"Yeah."

She made it through the last item, bagging everything up before enabling payment.

"That'll be $84.68," her eyes finally met the customer before her.