Awkwardness at 6:00

Yesterday after tutoring at my church I went to Kroger for a couple of items. I bought escarole for the first time ever in order to make Escarole and Orzo Soup with Meatballs. I had some time to kill while I waited for 6 o'clock. You see, 6 o'clock is the magic hour when all of the baked goods at Broad Street go on sale for 50% off. So I lingered in the new international foods section, which turned out to be a lucky thing, because I also found orzo, a rice-shaped pasta the recipe called for. It was then that I realized just what this new Kroger could mean. I'm used to substituting or skipping when a recipe calls for ingredients that can't be easily found. I'd already bought some small macaroni to use in the soup when I found the small package of orzo in the "Italian" section. "This could change the way I cook," I thought.

I went to checkout and found myself in the uncomfortable position of buying something I didn't know how to pronounce. "What is this?" said the clerk when she picked up the escarole, asking the very question I'd hoped she wouldn't. I spelled it for her and resolved to look up the pronunciation so this doesn't happen again. Thanks to Merriam-Webster, I can now speak the name of escarole with confidence.

Then it was on to Broad Street, where I was happy to see that they had a couple loaves of honey whole wheat bread left. I asked for one and had handed over my money when the employee at the next register asked the guy who was helping me, "Did you just sell a loaf of wheat bread?" He looked confused, and I looked to my right to see the customer from whom I had just taken a loaf of bread away. And wouldn't you know, it was a friend of mine. She'd asked for the last two loaves of wheat bread, but I beat her to one of them! I tried to get her to take it, but she would have none of it. "I guess you know each other?" the girl employee said, as my friend gave me a hug. After some more protestations I received my change, took my bread and headed out the door, wondering what my friend was going to eat instead. I'd just taken food away from her!

I ate my bread with the escarole and orzo soup (which was delicious, by the way) for supper. I wonder what my friend had.

I have known for a while that if I go to McDade’s at 5 o'clock there’s a good chance I’ll run into some guy friend or another on the beer aisle. Now I know that I must be careful when buying Broad Street bread at 6:00.