We ran into my wife’s cousin, Diahann, and her husband, Heath, again. We seem to run into them frequently. And it always seems to be at a supermarket.
Last year, we bumped into Diahann and Heath at our local Acme Market. (Acme, a supermarket with its roots in Philadelphia, is a now a wholly-owned subsidiary of the mighty Albertson’s, the second largest supermarket chain in North America.) Mrs. P and I were guiding our cart through the produce section, when my spouse spotted Diahann. We all chatted briefly — I remember pointing out the misleading signs that were placed by the sweet potatoes — and then we parted ways.
A week or so ago, Mrs. P and I had just finished a quick run through the aisles of a Giant supermarket*. While I scanned our purchases at the self-checkout, my wife picked out Diahann and Heath strolling past the deli counter.
“Is this the only place you ever go?,” I asked, with an obvious sarcastic tone in my voice. We all laughed.
Just yesterday, as we entered the Acme market, we were met by the now-familiar sight of Diahann and Heath. They had just paid and were leaving the store. Again, we laughed at the absurdity of these on-going encounters. That is, until they mentioned that their next stop was another supermarket within five miles from where we stood. The conversation turned into a store-by-store comparison of nearly every supermarket the four of us had visited within the last several years. We highlighted prices, selection and even cleanliness. We were reminiscing like a bunch of teenagers before a concert trying to outdo each other's experiences.
Then, Diahann and Heath realized that they should be on their way. Instigator that I am, I refused to let them go without bringing everyone's attention to the unusual circumstances of our last few meetings. I offered with a smile, “Y’know, going to the movies is pretty good entertainment, too.” Heath told me they just signed up for a Netflix account.
I'm fairly certain that they rent movies at the supermarket.
*no, not a giant supermarket, as in enormous. It’s the name of a conglomerate owned by Dutch retailer Ahold, based on the East coast.
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