A very busy day

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Mariela has been working at the Supermarket since 8:00 in the morning and it is almost 4:00 in the afternoon. This is her Saturday shift. She has been a cashier for five years. There are a lot of people shopping,the carts are full of products, a couple of children run through the aisles grabbing packages of cookies that fall on the floor. Their mother scolds them as she picks them up, but they don't pay much attention and as soon as she neglects them, they run again and collide head-on with a very tall man who comes with some packages in his arms and they are scattered on the floor.

The mother runs over there.

"Oh, excuse me!, I'm so embarrassed"

While the children look frightened at the man and his mother, the man smiles and tells her.

"Don't worry, ma'am, I used to get into such mischief when I was a child".

A supermarket worker helps pick up the packages and puts them in a basket which he hands to the man and the matter is solved. The mother takes the children by the hand, this time they will no longer feel like disobeying.

While this is going on, an old woman with glasses and a white scarf on her head, is taking the items out of the cart and placing them on the cashier's table while she comments

"You have to see that these young mothers do not raise their children with discipline. ¡When in my time!".

Mariela registers the prices with the bar code reader, her movements are automatic, and she moves the items to the other side of the table. When she finishes, she says to the old lady.

"It's 32 dollars and fifty cents."

"Oh no!, it can't be!, you couldn't have made a mistake. That's a lot of money.

Mariela, with all the patience that her years of experience in dealing with elderly customers have given her, repeats the operation.

"Yes, ma'am, that's the amount".

The old lady looks at her behind her very thick glasses and tells her

"Well, I'll have to take some things out", and with that said, she starts to throw out some products. A packet of rice, a packet of sugar and a packet of butter fall hard into the cart.

"Take out the bill again", he says with a grimace on his mouth.

"Now it's 25 dollars and 10 cents."

"In this supermarket you can't buy anymore. Everything is too expensive, how is it possible, and you employees are not at all nice to the customers." She gives her another look behind his glasses and leaves the things on the cashier's table and walks away, tapping the floor with his cane: apples, bananas, a piece of cheese and a piece of meat, a package of pasta and a package of flour are left in the cash register.

Mariela watches her go, she is used to such comments. A long line has formed at the checkout and people are impatient. They fidget and murmur. The supermarket is very crowded and the cashiers can't keep up. Mariela looks around for some of the young people who are arranging the merchandise to remove what is scattered on the table, but she can't find them. She motions to the supervisor and he gestures with his hand for her to hold on.

Mariela is already tired and wants to go home. It's only half an hour before the end of her shift. She imagines taking off her shoes and lying down on her comfortable sofa. She loves that gray piece of furniture with blue and pink cushions, so soft that she can sleep peacefully on it.

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Rafael is very cheerful and friendly and smiles at Mariela to cheer her up. He is always in a good mood.

"Ready Mariela!, you can continue".

"Thank you very much Rafael, you are a sweetheart" and she gives him the best of her smiles, the freckles on her face give her a very funny touch and he looks at her with adoration and says goodbye with a wink of the eye.

The rest of the half hour flies by, she attends to four more customers and before her replacement companion arrives, she puts up the notice "Cashier's desk closed". A young brunette with long black hair arrives at the cash register and greets Mariela. She responds as she gathers her belongings "Hello Cristina, good luck friend!"and heads to the administration office to collect her paycheck.

On the street she waits for the bus and it doesn't take long to arrive. She is thankful that there are empty seats and sits down in front of the window. The streets are full of people and most of them are dressed warmly, it's getting cold.

Mariela gets off at the bus stop a block away from the building where she lives, walks quickly, arrives, goes up to the second floor, and opens the apartment door.

A very shaggy dog with black and white spots jumps on her as soon as she enters and starts barking insistently. Mariela tries to get him off her back, "Mota stay calm", when she almost has a fit when she sees the sofa full of boxes and clothes and a briefcase and black sneakers lying on the floor. On the coffee table a half-filled cup of coffee and the butts of a cigarette on the glass and the rest on one of her porcelain saucers.

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A smiling face with a mane of black curls peeks out of the kitchen door and runs up to Mariela and hugs her while the dog keeps jumping and barking.

"Sis dear, long time no see, I missed you so much".

"And why didn't you let me know you were coming", Mariela looks at her, looks at the dog and at the sofa. Goodbye to her plans of lying on her couch and watching a movie on TV while she eats a chocolate ice cream she has in the fridge.

"Because I wanted to surprise you and also celebrate with you... my only sister, big news. You're going to fall backwards when I tell you".

"If I'm going to fall backwards, you'd better let me clear the sofa, it's a total mess".

"Ja, ja, ja sister!, you always have your mania for order and cleanliness, don't worry about that right now, I'll pick it all up later. Now we are going to celebrate that they have given me an excellent job in this city, and we are going to be able to live together. Don't you think it's wonderful?"

"Of course, I do Rosalie!, I love this news, and I am happy that we will live together and they embrace again. Inwardly, Mariela is already thinking of a thousand and one ways to maintain order and peace in her house. This news has taken her by surprise because she is used to living alone, but she recognizes that she missed her sister and was sure they were going to be fine. And looking at Mota, she says to him, "You and I have some things to talk about".

Thank you very much for reading my participation in The Ink Well Fiction Prompt #111