1 gallon of water 1/2 dozen eggs Store brand Vanilla bean ice cream And toothpaste on sale Patiently in stop and go traffic On the way to the cashier The sound of hollow beeping Echoed in my ear My tampons moved closer Behind the 1 gallon of water 1/2 dozen eggs Store brand Vanilla bean ice cream And toothpaste on sale Belonging to the young man In black Dickies With shrugged shoulders A tense worry in his eyes Yet he carried a soft demeanor And stood about yay high. “$8.80” she said coldly Pushing his groceries aside Slid his debit card Declined Slid his credit card Declined He became flustered He shuffled between a $5 dollar bill And 3 tattered old dollars The cashier grew impatient. The bag boy shook his pockets for 3 quarters and 5 coopers. I pushed my tampons up closer. “Just put it all together” I gestured. “I got it” I paid. He bagged the eggs and ice cream in plastic together and moved out of the way. I watched the bag boy double up on the water. I half smiled at the cashier and I swung my tampons over my shoulder. He hesitantly offered me $8 I kindly rejected and set him on his way with 1 gallon of water 1/2 dozen eggs Store brand Vanilla bean ice cream And toothpaste on sale for his mother.