If you haven’t read my other post about my lovely, elderly neighbor, you don’t know that she is no longer my neighbor. About six months ago she fell and it’s not a wise idea for her to be on her own. So, she’s in an assisted living facility nearby. We try to visit her every weekend, she does not have children and the niece she does have, is a little loopy.

Lucille called me earlier in the week to ask if I could take her shopping today.  “Of course I can take, I’ll pick you up at 9:30.”  She was ready when I arrived, I wheeled her to my car and off we went.  When I asked her where she wanted to go she said, “No where in particular, where do you need to go today?”  Uh-oh, I thought, didn’t she need things, have something specific she wanted to do?  Nope, “I just wanted to get away from all those old people for a while.”  She asked where I needed to go and if I had specific shopping to do, since she knows Saturday morning is usually my time for errands.  After some more back and forth we decided Wal-Mart would meet both of our needs.

It wasn’t easy but we got through my list and Lucille’s list in less than 90 minutes.  Navigating the aisles and displays with a cart and wheelchair proved easier than we both anticipated.  Of all the Wal-Mart’s she’d been to, Lucille said this one was the most friendly to any person using a wheelchair.  I was happy to hear that, for sure!

When we neared the cashier she said, “How are we going to do this?”  “What?” I asked. “I’ll put your things up first and then mine and we can each pay the cashier separately.”  She nodded approval and rolled down the aisle in front of me. I watched her as she watched Denise, the cashier in the blue Wal-Mart vest and the big smile, scan each item and then ask for the $25.26 when everything had been bagged.

It took Lucille a good while to dig out the twenty-six cents from her purse, but Denise smiled and made small talk.  I was so thankful that she was not one of those cashiers who rolled their eyes and sucked in their breath when waiting on someone who takes a little longer than the average person. I could tell that this is Denise’s way with customers all the time, but today I appreciated she did this for my friend Lucille!

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