My sister and I dubbed her “Kat Lady” because of the three whisker-like cuts sliced diagonally across both of her cheeks. Her name has since been shortened to “Kat” and in my mind, that is what I call her each time I see her. Kat has been occasionally ringing us up at our local Wal-Mart since I was too short to see over the register. Currently standing at 5’10”, those days are long gone. If my memory serves me correctly, I did read “Catherine” on her name tag when she rang me up this morning.
Anywho, this story has less to do with “Kat” and more to do with me.
They say there’s help for people like me. I have a slight addiction to obsession with nail polish which I believe stems from my fixation with my hands. No matter how much my weight has fluctuated over the years, my hands remain the same: slender long, and delicate. And so I take pride in pampering my hands with jewelry, nail polish, scented lotions and the like.
But this story has less to do with my hands and more to do with me.
This morning, after the gym, I went to Wal-Mart and discovered that they are now selling one of my favorite brands of nail polish: O.P.I. O.P.I is nice but very expensive. At $8 a bottle, I only purchase them once in a blue moon. When Kat rang me up, the total came to $8.43 for four grapefruits, five apples, a pack of balloons and the nail polish. She snatched the receipt from the register, handed it to me, and bid me good day. As I walked away, I checked the bag for the nail polish and tried to convince myself that this free nail polish was a blessing not a test. Blessing, not a test. Blessing, not a test. There’s a funny depiction of my dilemma here. I only made it about three registers down before I decided that it was indeed a blessing and turned around to make my way back to Kat. I told her that she must have missed the nail polish, we went through the receipt, and I paid for my blessing.
“God bless you for coming back, dear,” said Kat as I was leaving the register for the second time.
“He already has.” I replied, smiled, and wished her a blessed day. It was indeed a blessing. I’m blessed with a free conscience, piece of mind, and the feeling that somehow I have sown a good seed though my eyes may not yet see it.
I did the right thing. Spike Lee would be proud.
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