the imploding event, which made matters worse when she pushed her overloaded cart deeper into the collapsing display. She watched in horror as the red, orange, green, and yellow baskets collided into a colorful pile. The implosion stopped, and a shallow sea of brightly colored plastic baskets surrounded her. She reached down and picked up two of the fallen items. She awkwardly searched the area to see whether anyone had witnessed the incident.
A man nearby observed the collision between the shopping cart and the fallen display. He looked at the debris at her feet. She was uncomfortable, and nervously began to laugh. Not a full belly laugh—simply a quiet shaking laugh of self-consciousness. She was caught. How could she not be? He was right there. It would have been impossible for him not to notice. And equally impossible for her not to notice his eyes. In a split second, she realized he was the same man from Pete’s Market and the car dealership. The brilliant and colorful display encircling her paled in comparison to the bright red her cheeks had become with the hot flush of embarrassment.
“How about this being our little secret?” She smiled at him, scrunched her face, and tilted her head with a begging shrug.
He grinned. “Sure, no problem.”
She bent down and picked up a few more baskets. “I guess I should organize them, huh?” She spoke without raising her head from the mess.
“Nah, I’m sure that’s somebody’s job. I would, however, suggest you leave before someone arrives with police tape to block off the area.”
“Yeah, I think you’re right.” She stood, took hold of her cart, and walked toward the cash registers. An announcement for cleanup assistance in the back of the store came over the loudspeakers. She paid for her purchases and was happy—very happy—to leave.
Celia loaded her purchases into the back of her car. She got into the driver’s seat, fastened her seat belt and dialed Kate.
“Kate!” She all but screamed into the phone.
“You’re calling from your cell phone? Please tell me there isn’t anything wrong with your new car. Tell me you’re not having a problem. Please.”
“I’m fine. The car is fine. This is much worse.”
“Celia, what’s wrong?” Kate prepared herself for terrible news.
“I just saw him!” she shrieked. “I’m at the Linen Closet and I saw that guy with the nice eyes! The one from Pete’s Market and the car place! The non-booper! Oh my God! He was in the store when I was there.” Celia started the car, but didn’t drive away; instead, she sat, idling the engine.
“You scared me, Celia. I expected something terrible.”
“This felt terrible. I’m so embarrassed.” Kate heard the panic in Celia’s voice.
“Why are you embarrassed? Celia, you were shopping in the same store. It’s not a thing to be embarrassed about. I’m sure there were other people shopping too. Right?”
“The store was almost empty, and he was right near where I was. I knocked over a few trash barrels. He watched the whole thing. He was right there! I felt like an idiot! I asked him to keep the little accident our secret. I’m an idiot, an absolute idiot. Now I hope I never see him again. I’m totally embarrassed.”
Kate laughed, and Celia knew why. “Don’t say that. This is what they call a cute meet. You see this in movies all the time. It’s a fate thing or something like that. Maybe your clumsiness will help him remember you better. What was he doing in a store like that?”
“What do you mean, a store like that? What’s wrong with that kind of store? I was in there.”
“I usually don’t see a lot of guys in linen stores. You know what I mean?”
Celia was silent for a minute. “I guess you’re right.”
“What kind of stuff was he buying?”
“I have no idea. I had just taken out an entire end-cap display of trash thingies. I was thinking about how stupid I looked. I never thought to check out his purchases.”
“What do you mean, an entire display? You said you knocked over a few trash barrels.” Kate laughed. “You took out an entire end-cap. I knew it! I knew it wasn’t as simple as you tried to make it sound. You’re too funny.”
“Stop.” Celia was used to feeling this sort of embarrassment.
“You’re so klutzy, it’s comical. Are you still in the parking lot? See if there’s a Navigator in the lot. Maybe he bought that car he was looking at.” Kate found Celia’s mishaps, of which there were many, very amusing.
“You’re a genius. Why didn’t I think of that?” Celia turned to her right and then craned her neck to look behind her car. “I don’t see anything.” She continued to peruse the parking lot for his car.
“You could wait until he leaves the store, then you could see what car he goes into. Would this be considered stalking?” Kate didn’t expect a serious answer to the question.
“I don’t know. I think it is stalking. I’m going to Google stalking to see if I fit into the stalker category.”
“He probably lives somewhere around there.”
“I wonder if he does. I feel like a real jerk.”
“Don’t worry. I’m sure it wasn’t that bad. Right?”
“Yeah, right.” Celia didn’t believe her own words.
Before going up the three flights to her apartment, she ran down to the basement, unlocked the padlock to her storage bin, pulled out her laundry detergent, ripped open the package of sheets and pillowcases, and threw them into the coin-operated washing machine. She fumbled into her pockets and found the correct change, fed the money into the coin slot, and tossed in the bath towels as well. She wanted the sheets as soft as possible when she climbed into bed and the towels fresh and fragrant for her morning shower.
The comforter made its way onto the bed, the pillows into their pillow shams, and the dish strainer and knickknacks were placed appropriately around the small apartment. She was excited and looked forward to getting into bed with her brand-new comfy cozy sheets, a book, and a lollipop—or cigarette if she couldn’t shake the image of the trash barrel incident at the Linen Closet. Decision made: her treat would be a lollipop. She didn’t want to lose the fresh scent of the cleaned linens.
We Have a Winner
“Lunch. Noon. I’ve got a funny story for you.” Emma barely stuck her head into Celia’s office to make her lunchtime announcement.
Celia was about to respond when she realized Emma was no longer at the doorway. She anticipated an entertaining lunch.
“I’m excited to tell you this story.” Emma sat down across from Celia. “It’s one for the books—literally.”
“Start
