standing in line at the plaid, tall dough boy who i usually see behind the cash register is headed out the door, skateboard slung over his shoulder, nods as he walks by, we exchange muttered dudes. the fluorescent light is bright, the linoleum floor is white. i recognize the song.
I never meant to cause you any sorrow.
I never meant to cause you any pain.
I only wanna one time see you laughing.
I only wanna to hear you...
inside, i start to sing along. usually the wait is interminable, a mockery of the slogan:
GET IN
GET IT
GET GOING
but tonite i have a song i haven't heard in ages. but just as i start to groove, the cashier reaches over and skips the track. this is the plaid, so all hopes & dreams must die. suddenly, a guy who had just checked out and was walking away stops, turns & juts his face into the middle of the transaction.
you turning off purple rain?
the cashier is surprised. he obviously hasn't fully considered the consequences of that decision.
uh, yeah he stammers, confused.
the man just stands there, shaking his head. he is middle-aged like me but wears his years worse. his hair & beard are thoroughly salted. his face is a slab of pink, tenderized meat.
you turning off purple rain?
he says it again, his tone lands somewhere in between a question & an emphatic statement of disbelief. he turns and skulks out the door, yet another thing a working man can't have.
and the cashier, who never meant to cause him any sorrow, who never meant to cause him any pain, moves on.
next transaction,
next song.
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