100 Words: Masked and anonymous

Masked and anonymous in the Trader Joe’s parking lot, moved nearly to tears by the speech of the worker who advises us on how to behave once admitted: “All of us have someone we love at home, someone we want to protect.” It’s a ritual akin to baptism to wait, to be handed to a freshly sanitized cart, to be admitted into the confines of the deliberately underpopulated store in which sweet-and-sour 80s pop tunes reverberate as we maneuver our carts up and down the aisles, picking up our frozen pizzas and coffee and pasta. Don’t you forget about me.