by Christy Noel
All the signs were there when they emptied the pickle case. The next weekend my list order scrambled itself to oblivion. Soups lived in the old Mexican food neighborhood. Cereal boxes switched sides like confused soldiers. Cookies stayed close to home but candies jumped shelves in bewilderment. Marinades and mustards replaced something entirely forgotten. Would the disappearance ever be more than a vague recollection to tickle my brain? I searched in vain for the fancy olives and canned roasted peppers, which departed randomly from the black olives, but they later turned up over the potato salads and vacuum packed deli slices, after I'd given up hope.
A woman struggled with a new plastic shopping cart and bemoaned, "This cart is too wide! I can't get through." Another with husband in tow said, "I can't find anything. Has anyone seen the tuna fish? Has anyone seen the instant potatoes?" A few panicked shoppers lingered near the artichokes and zucchini where everything stayed in place. Fruits and vegetables offered sanctuary, but veteran customers feared the spring flood of farm fresh produce, all that chaos, all those extra crates and bins and boxes and cartons.
The last refuge exists on the dairy aisle, but what if the cows conspire to crisscross the cheese and the cream?
"What You Seek is on the Top Shelf" ©2004 Christy Noel. All rights reserved.