A Walk Down the Aisle

I walked down the soda aisle, trying to decide whether to buy diet or regular. It had become pretty much a daily routine for me, deciding between what I wanted and what I needed. I reached for a cherry Pepsi. I didn't mean to overhear them, but the second I did, it was too late.

"You told me it didn't matter to you, and now you're saying... Just like that?"

I would have mistaken it for a quiet argument between a middle-aged married couple on what brand of wine to buy for dinner had it not been for that unmistakable sound in her voice that gave her away...heartbreak. Before I could reason why, I was frozen, and my heart started pounding.

"I told you we shouldn't talk about this now...let's just grab the wine, take it to them, say our goodbye's, and we'll discuss this when we get home."
"I should have known...I should have known this would happen. How can I face them now? When my own husband..."
"Stop it! This is neither the time nor the--here, I'll grab the wine, you go to the restroom and compose yourself for God's sake." His voice was even less sympathetic than the words he spoke. I dared not flinch for fear I would spook them like a deer in the woods, and perhaps never find out how this tragedy ended.
"Compose myself? Ha! Now there's a summary of our marriage: Compose yourself, look pleasant, don't ruffle any feathers, don't FEEL anything!" Her voice gained confidence and volume.
"Okay, okay...look, I'm leaving...you can't have this discussion by yourself--"
"Why not? I've been having discussions by myself for 20 years...every one but this one...I didn't even attempt it, but it was the one conversation that mattered..." I leaned in hard now, I was in too far to walk away.
"Fine!" he yelled in a whisper, "You want to talk about this is the supermarket? Fine! But I'll tell you one thing, you won't like what I have to say!"

"Can I help you, ma'am?" I jumped, startled awake from the drama unfolding.
"Shhh!" I snapped before realizing.
"Excuse me?" I saw the teenage boy's expression turn from helpful to concerned...concerned he may have to call security.
"No, I...I'm sorry--"
"Why are you whispering?"
"Nothing, I'm fine...I was just trying to think--"
But then he heard it too, the shouted angry whispers of two people on the next aisle. And somehow it was the whispering that made you want to hear all the more.

"It's not the women, and it isn't even about children...it's that... I've just never been enough for you! And now that I've found something that makes me feel like--a human again...that's it?"

"Excuse me, could you tell me where I can find the hummus?"
"Ssshhhhh!" The boy and I snapped in unison.
"Wha...? I'm sorry, I--" But it was too late, the lady in the blue coat was now hearing what we were, and there was no time or need to explain. Toddler in cart, she leaned in with us, drawn by the sound of raw human emotion on the other side of the Sunkist.

"I can't have children...what do you want me to do? It's not possible...there!" His voice broke like a dam that had been under too much pressure for too many years. "Is that what you wanted from me? To take the blame? Okay, it's my fault you don't feel like a human, it's my fault what happened last May, it's my fault I'd rather be with another woman than face you and your eternal...disappointment!"

The lady in the blue coat's baby reached for a mini soda can and craddled it like a baby, unknowingly adding to the theme.

"You're right, this isn't the place for--" the woman softened.
"Oh no, you wanted it, you're gonna get it!"

...And then it happened. With all the force of a NY Yankee, the little girl, who couldn't have been more than 2, hurled that can of soda into the air. In slow motion, and surrounded by looks of horror, that little can was propelled farther than any of us imagined possible.
Up...up...over the aisle...announcing our presence there, and worse... heaping disdain on the brokenhearted couple just a couple of feet away. My immediate reaction was to run...like a teenager who'd just taken a prank too far, but my knees buckled, and a gasp was all I could muster.

"Pop!" The soda hissed and sprayed so high in the air, we could see it above the Perrier on the top shelf.
I thought I heard the woman wimper for a moment, but then I realized the sound coming from the aisle was a soft laughter. And out of nowhere it erupted into a full-out cackle, followed by uproarious, out-of-breath wheezing.
I imagined them looking into each others' eyes while they shared that strange, intimate, solemn but silly moment in the grocery store aisle. I wanted to look, but I didn't. I just gave a half smile to my two fellow evesdroppers, gave the child a nod of approval, and went on my way.

I've imagined many times since that day how the rest of the story played out. I've wondered the details of their story. Did they ever have children? Would their marriage last? Did they even make it to that dinner party? Though I never saw their faces, I imagine they left the supermarket that day with more than just wet clothes and sticky hair...they left with a fresh perspective. Life and relationships are defined as much by the funny, spontaneous moments as by the devastating, heartbreaking ones. And intimacy can be shared anywhere... even in a grocery store aisle, with the whole world listening in.