Amma

Buying fish-fingers and a trifle at the local supermarket the check-out assistant looks up at me in despair.   She is wearing a black fashion turban at the back of which emerges a long black ponytail.   Feeling empathetic, I ask if it has been a long day.  She nods sadly.  ‘You look as though you are about to cry’, I say.  ‘I wish I could’, she says.  ‘It might make me feel better’.  I wonder whether asking my question might cheer us both up.  So I do.

Her eyes show the hint of a sparkle.  ‘Do you want to know mine?’ she asks.  ‘Yes please’, I say.  It was chosen, apparently, because she was born on a Saturday.  We agree that it is a good day to be born.  I pack up my shopping and wish her a good evening.  ‘You too’, she says more cheerful than when we met.  ‘Have a good evening’.