Norman woke up early on Saturday, and resolved to put the cooking book he had received for Christmas to good use. He flipped through the pages and decided upon the “Spring Omelette” since it looked simple to make. However, upon inspecting his refrigerator, Norman found that he was out of cheese, and only had one egg left.
Norman glanced outside. The sun was shining. He looked at the weather app on his phone, and saw that it was currently 53 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s a nice day. Maybe I’ll walk over to the drugstore to pick up the eggs and cheese.
Eager for the chance to exercise, Norman grabbed his jacket and snatched his keys from the hook by the door, backtracking for a moment to recover his reusable grocery bag. He trotted to the street, and then made his way towards the drugstore. There were only a few cars on the streets, and Norman met no pedestrians on his way to the store. It’s a shame, he thought, that everyone is sleeping through such a beautiful morning.
He turned a corner, and saw a homeless man who had sat himself on a bus stop bench. Norman stopped short, his breath froze in his chest and his mouth pursed. He recovered his composure, and tried to continue, hoping that he hadn’t offended the man with his reaction. However, the homeless man noticed Norman approaching, and stood up to meet him.
“S’cuse me boss, but kin you spare a dollar?”
Norman shook his head vigorously and turned his eyes away. He stammered, “I, no, I- I’m sorry. Can’t, I’ve got…” Norman passed the man and hurried ahead, forcing his gaze forward. The man sat back down, unbothered.
Norman continued to the drugstore, his mood noticeably darker. He picked out a fresh-looking carton of eggs and found a bag of pre-shredded cheese. Norman went to the cash register to pay for the items.
The cashier was a middle aged woman, with greying hair and dark bags under her eyes, She smiled weakly at Norman. He returned the smile.
“Will that be everything?”
“Um,” Norman thought for a moment. “Yes.”
“Do you have a reward card?”
“No,” Norman said, and before she could ask her next question, “and I don’t want one.” He placed his money on the counter.
The cashier rang up his items and put them in Norman’s reusable grocery bag. As she did this, Norman glanced at the “tip jar” that rested on the counter. It was full of ones and miscellaneous change.
The cashier grunted and shook her extended fist at Norman. Confused at first, he reached out and took his own change and receipt.
“Have a good day sir.”
Norman nodded in return and left the store.
As he walked home, Norman approached the homeless man again. He entertained the idea of crossing the street to avoid the man, but he doubted that he could make it look natural. The man looked up at Norman and started to speak, “S’cuse me boss, but-” then stopped and settled back into the bench.
Norman paused, reached into his pocket, and extended his fist to the man. “Here. It’s all I’ve got.”
The homeless man took the money gently and inspected it. “Bless you, suh. Bless you.”
“Yeah.”
Norman hoped that the man would spend it on food, instead of drugs.
He walked the rest of the way home. Once there, he put away his jacket and assembled the rest of his ingredients. Norman managed to overcooked the vegetables, but the omelette still tasted fantastic. After he cleaned up, Norman placed a post-it note on the page and resolved to try out a new recipe next week.
Submitted January 18, 2016 at 01:05AM by Orlendr http://ift.tt/208m0Xv lifeofnorman
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