Brandy scoured the rows of bubble gum bright shampoo bottles. How much time had passed already? She looked to the front of the store but couldn’t see the checkout lines. She had only been to Jeff’s apartment once so far and didn’t remember what brand he used; that would have been the safest choice. Start with the easy part: dandruff shampoos were out. Kids’ shampoos were out. Overly girly-smelling shampoos were out. The panic loosened a little. She was left with two contenders: Herbal Essences and Suave. Herbal Essences was $7 per bottle, the most expensive shampoo she had ever seen. It seemed like the one he might conceivably choose, as a successful adult professional in his… early 30s? Returning to the checkout line with Herbal Essences might make it appear like she fit into his world. The other option was what she used, what her family had always used and stretched by adding water as it neared empty, what she had never even questioned buying until this moment. Suave for 99 cents.
The dilemma was that Jeff was the one paying for the shampoo, and it was for communal use at a beach house; probably most of it would be left unused at the house at the end of the weekend. And it was entirely possible $7 shampoo would seem as excessive to him as it did to her, regardless of the circumstances. It wasn’t right to be frivolous with someone else’s money. After another few seconds of breath-holding indecision, she grabbed the kiwi-green Suave and headed for the check out.
The cashier was just starting to scan his items as she arrived.
“I told you you’d make it in time!” He smiled that perfectly symmetrical smile, joyous and certain of himself. That smile inspired people to take big risks with their projects. Or sometimes to take big risks in announcing their attraction to him. His smile let you know that he expected good outcomes.
His request for her to run and get the shampoo was obviously not a test. Not an intentional test. She was supposed to just know which shampoo to get.
“Here you go.” She extended the bottle toward him.
His eyes said it all. Like he didn’t quite believe what he was seeing. “This stuff?”
“They didn’t have a lot of options.” She broke eye contact to study the objects on the conveyor belt, as if they were the most interesting items in the world. Roman tiles being excavated and brought into the light for the first time in millennia. Cheeses and a jam and real whipping cream flowed into the cashier’s deft grasp.
Brandy had had a crush on Jeff since her first day in
