And I don’t understand what she’s doing. She seems to pick up each item, study it and turn it over in her hands before putting it on the belt. The young man at the till scans it, and then she picks up the next item and examines it. Has she never been to a supermarket before? Does she not see the people lining up behind her? The young man says something to her, and she looks annoyed.
‘I’ll give you a hand,’ I say as I come to stand next to her and unload her trolley.
‘Careful!’ she says when I drop five packets of dried yellow lentils on top of two bags of dishwashing tablets.
‘Careful what?’ I ask, pulling out six tins of tomatoes and seven packets of cake mix.
‘You’re going to break things,’ she says.
Hardly, I think, loading up eight tins of beans and four packets of flour. ‘What are you doing with all this stuff?’
‘I’m stocking up,’ she says.
‘What for?’ I ask, putting down five packets of batteries. ‘Warfare? Another pandemic?’
Finally, he announces that it comes to £218.50.
Teri turns to me, her eyebrows raised in expectation.
‘Can you hurry up please?’ I say. ‘I’m already running late.’
‘Well, that’s two hundred and eighteen pounds fifty.’
I blink at her. ‘I know.’
‘Well, can you pay, please?’
I let out a half laugh. ‘Are you joking?’
‘No.’
‘Why would I pay for your groceries?’
‘Because I don’t have a lot of money, Kate. You know that. You’re working, earning money. I’m not working, and I have no money.’
I let out another half laugh. ‘Are you serious?’
She points at her foot. ‘I can’t work, Kate, do you not understand that? I would have found a job by now if I hadn’t been in an accident.’ She says the last part with intent, leaning towards me a little, her tone somewhere between patronising and dismissive.
‘Who are you?’I almost say.
‘Excuse me, there’s a queue…’ the young man at the till says, vaguely waving in its direction.
A woman pops her head out behind Teri and says, ‘Can you two sort this out later?’
I grit my teeth. ‘I’m not going to pay your bill of two hundred pounds?—’
‘Two hundred and eighteen pounds fifty,’ the young man clarifies.
‘I’m not going to pay it,’ I say firmly. ‘So, Teri, if we’re done here, I’m going back to my car and back to work.’
‘Hey! Can you move along and take this outside?’ someone shouts from the line.
‘I can’t work, Kate! I’m broke! I spent all my money on my house! I’ve got to eat!’
‘Not my problem.’ I loop my bag over my shoulder.
‘Not yourproblem?’ Teri says, the word bursting with outrage. ‘Your stepdaughter, Holly, who doesn’t know how to drive, got behind the wheel of a car and slammed into?—’
