"Broccoli. Fish sticks. Fruit leather. Vitamins. Smart. It's a mess out there. Everybody is sick. This looks healthy," Louise said, packing a bag of veggie chips into the customer's canvas shopping bag.

 

"My kids like them," the woman got out her wallet and prepared to pay for her groceries. 

 

"Bubble bath, nice. I bet you need a relaxing soak taking care of those kids," said Louise.

 

The woman glanced up, looking a little annoyed. "Just the groceries, please." 

 

"Yes, ma'am," Louise hurried through checking the rest of the items. She could only refrain from commenting for a matter of seconds. "Yogurt! Home remedy for fungus, you know." The woman swiped her card, grabbed her groceries and left the register with an irritated look. "Happy holidays, ma'am." Louise called after the woman, but she was already outside in the drizzle. 

"Oh, hello, sir." Louise adjusted the gray bun knotted on the very top of her head, and tugged her blouse away from her damp armpits. She couldn't contain her curiosity and her chatter, but she never knew when it would be too much for someone. "Peanuts, and cashews huh? Pickles? And chips? Late night snacking for you tonight, I suspect. Little Netflix and nuts?"

 

The man said nothing. He was reading the news on his phone. "Netflix and nuts?" Louise repeated. 

 

"What?" said the man. He scratched his beard. 

 

Louise scanned the man's six pack of beer. "Hazy IPA. ID, please." The man pulled out his wallet and showed Louise his driver's license. In the photo, he was freshly shaven. "Winter is a good time for a beard. It helps keep out the chill. But I've heard that they can get itchy too. Do you have a good moisturizer?" 

 

The man furrowed his brow, scratched his beard, scanned his card and left with his things. "Happy holidays. Have a good night. Enjoy those nuts." The man was out the door and didn't respond to Louise's cheerful farewell. 

A young woman was next in line. "Jasmine tea, cat food, more cat food. You must have cats," said Louise.

 

"Yes, I have three," said the woman. 

 

"Chicken thighs, beef burritos, well, you're not a vegetarian," observed Louise.

 

"Um, no," said the woman, as she picked up her small bag, "Goodbye then." 

 

"Happy holidays. Stay dry, it's wet out there, but, ha, you can see that. Typical Seattle winter. Some people get the blues around this time of year. Did you grow up here?"

 

"Yep," she said and left the store. 

The store manager came over to Louise's register. "Can I talk to you?"

 

"Sure. No problem," said Louise. 

 

"What are you saying to our guests?"

 

"Just chit chat about the weather and what they are buying. Small talk."

 

"Why does everyone who goes through your lane look upset when they leave? Whatever you are saying or doing, maybe don't, or just keep it normal."

 

"Ok, I can stop," said Louise, but she knew that she couldn't. 

 

"If people start complaining, we can't have you working the register. You'll have to organize the cold storage, and I know that you won't like that, since you said that you get chilled easily." It wasn't the first time the manager had told Louise this. She had moved from stocking the shelves to working the register. The shelves did beat the refrigerator, but since Louise was only four feet nine, she always had to find another employee to help her stock the top shelves. The manager didn't like it when she asked the customers to assist her. It would be better if she could stay at the register. This was Louise's third grocery store job in the last four months. She sincerely hoped that she wouldn't have to find something else before Christmas. 

The young woman came back in the doors. "I forgot something," she called in Louise's direction as she hurried down an aisle. 

 

"Need any help?" called Louise. 

There was no response, but the woman was back in a few minutes with a pomegranate. "Oh! A pomegranate. Those are so good."

 

"They were my mom's favorite," said the young woman, "but I always make a mess of them. My mom knew some kind of trick to open them, I think." 

 

"Oh yes. It's simple. The inside has ridges in the shape of a star. You make a cut at the top of the peel in the shape of a pentagon or a hexagon, depending on how many white ridges there are inside. Then you peel off the top and cut straight down each ridge." Louise had taken out her pocket knife and was opening the pomegranate. 

 

The woman smiled, "Thank you! I'll go get another one now." 

 

"Of course! I'm sorry," Louise laughed nervously, her fingers were stained with red pomegranate juice. She licked the tart juice, and then hurriedly cleaned her hand with sanitizer behind the register. When the woman came back with a new pomegranate, Louise turned, "Your mother must have liked sweet things, if she cooked with pomegranates. Has she been dead long?"

"No," said the young woman, "six months. This will be my first Christmas without her," she was about to cry. "Why did you just say it like that? That she's dead. It was so blunt. No one does that." Now she really was crying. She took out a tissue and blew her nose. 

 

"Oh no," said Louise, "Oh, I am sorry. Now look what I've done, poor girl." Louise reached around the credit card machine and patted the young woman's shoulder with her stained hand. "It's just this thing about me. Maybe it's not right, or it's not normal, but I can't help it. I am curious about people, about their stories. And when things come into my mind, I blurt them out. I just wondered... But I never meant to... I'm sorry!"

The manager came over to the register. "Is she bothering you, ma'am? What did you say, Louise?" 

 

"Actually, no," said the young woman. She looked right at Louise. "I think I needed that. I've been missing her so much lately. She would always say exactly what she thought, like you. So thank you. I'm going to go home and hug my cats now. And eat my pomegranate. Thanks for your help. Happy holidays."

 

The manager hovered for a few more seconds, then walked away muttering.

 

"Happy holidays, dear," said Louise. "Try not to freeze out there. The beef burritos and chicken thighs will help too. Protein is important for mental health. And take a bubble bath when you get home."