The retail front

There are brief moments when being here is extraordinary and those moments prevent me from leaving. A man came into the shop during my morning shift wearing a perfect suit. He brought a beautiful garlic bulb to the till and smiled. At this very action, the morning shift was harmonious for a few vital seconds. The timing of the man’s movement across the shop floor; the shimmer of his brilliant suit; the beauty of nature as manifest in the garlic bulb and the morning sunlight which cascaded gilded dust particles around the smiling customer: it all felt magnificent. I preferred being behind the till during such scenes rather than behind the delicatessen counter; there is a better view of the shop floor. I carefully placed the garlic bulb on the scales and then asked the customer…