THE DREADED CART RETURN!

The grocery store, a place we all go to buy food and little odds and ends that we need during the week. Each week we pick ourselves up and trek to our local market. We make our list of food items and goodies that we have to have each week. It’s interesting how a simple trip to the grocery store can spawn life changing events. Darlene is like most people who shops at the grocery store. She makes her list of food items that she needs to make her week complete. Making the list is one thing, but sticking to it is another. We have all gone that route.

It was Saturday about 9 am and Darlene woke up went down stairs in her white furry bedroom shoes and her hideous food spotted, torn and raggedy pajamas. There’s no marriage and no children in Darlene’s world. She weighs about four hundred pounds; give or take a few. Moving is not what she does best. However a trip to the local grocery store is one of her favorite moves of all. After drinking a large cup of orange soda she finally got up and went to dress for the trip to the grocery store. As she undressed in the mirror she looked at the numerous large dented cellulite spots and massive rolls on her big body. It wasn’t an eye opening moment, but an oh well moment. Eating was what kept her sane and happy. Finally she got dressed in the normal huge, pockets in the front dress, aka “the moo moo.” She did her hair and added some make up and walked out of her tiny apartment. Yes, I said tiny. How ironic. As she was getting into her small red Kia she had to twist and turn and literally shove herself in her car. She couldn’t afford much, because going to the grocery store was where all her money went.

Darlene arrived at her local Smith’s grocery store in Las Vegas. Once again she did her usual song and dance twisting and turning and pulling to get her four hundred pound body out of the car. Finally success! Now she could enter the grocery store and get her favorite foods. Upon entering the Smith’s grocery store she looked over at the cart return. She dreaded the cart return. That meant that after loading her overflowing cart full of groceries in her small red Kia she had to move again and return the cart. How she hated doing that! In Darlene’s mind being big, that meant not much movement at all. After getting in the grocery story she headed down the isle full of snacks. Darlene filled her cart up half way with lays chips, Doritos, and corn chips. She really went for tostados along with her favorite mild salsa. She thought to herself “yummy can’t wait to get home to eat you!” She continued her shopping for very little vegetables and or meat. She did manage to get a pack of chicken thighs. Of course that’s the most fatty part of the chicken. To Darlene food was her life, but goodies were even better. After collecting ten bottles of Pepsi pop and strolling through the isles to make sure she didn’t need anything else she entered the check out line. There was young black girl at the register doing the check out. Darlene thought “oh omg, how could they let such filth work at my favorite store.” As the old gray haired lady was done getting her groceries wrung up she inched out slowly as a snail would on his patrol after a nice southern rain. It was Darlene’s turn. She put all of her food on the conveyer belt and the young black girl started to ring up her groceries. As the young black cashier was ringing up Darlene’s groceries she was snickering. Darlene couldn’t believe a black cashier was laughing at her. “I can’t even think what this black bitch is laughing about.” Deep down inside she was glad there was confrontation at least in her mind. She didn’t want to think of the dreaded cart return. Coming to the end of the cart full of groceries, the black cashier said “it will be four-hundred and twelve dollars miss.” Darlene was embarrassed but didn’t show it on her face. As Darlene swiped her debit card the young black cashier was still snickering. Handing Darlene her receipt she looked over at another cashier who happened to be a prissy white girl and continued her snickering. Darlene looked stunned but realized it was all part of society. Especially against big fat people who didn’t return their carts.

She wheeled her overflowing cart full of groceries to her small red Kia. Panting and out of breath she slowly arrived to her car and stopped to breath before loading the groceries in. Looking around she saw a few people, and she thought they were watching her. It wasn’t she was thinking, many people were just loading in their groceries and leaving. After taking nearly twenty-five minutes of loading her groceries in her car she was out of breath again. She stopped and leaned up against her small red Kia to catch her breath. She started to hold her chest as if coming to the grocery store was too much for her. “Well here goes to this disgusting cart return.” Darlene hated going back to return the cart. Returning the cart meant that people could spend time looking at her and her fatness. She really wanted to leave the cart there and go home and eat her Doritos. In an instant Darlene stopped and decided not to return the cart. She left it right there in the middle of the Smith’s grocery store parking lot.

Opening the door the whole song and dance started with her twisting and turning and shoving herself in her car. Just as she closed her door with the cart still beside her small red Kia in the middle of the parking lot, a car pulled up beside her. It was a nice car that no one wanted a scratch on. This car a white BMW 750I and my all means it was clean and brand new. Just as Darlene was beginning to adjust herself someone knocked on her window. It was a young black woman with a professional look and wearing nice tailored clothing. Darlene looked up and let her window down. The lady whose name is also Darlene but they call her D.L. was knocking on her window because the cart that she left hit her car. “Excuse me miss did you leave this cart here?” Darlene looked and thought “why didn’t I return that damn cart?” “Yes, I left it there, but people leave carts in grocery store parking lots all the time.” “Okay well then you will be glad to pay for the scratch on my new car.” “Why should I pay for the scratches on your car, when I didn’t do anything wrong?” “Well you intentionally left the cart in the middle of the parking lot didn’t you?” “Well…I’m not sure.” “Miss you just told me yes, you did leave it in the middle of the parking lot.” Darlene looked stunned and couldn’t believe all this was happening over not returning a cart to the cart return. Darlene sighs and looks at the sophisticated black lady. “Ok Miss…what’s your name?” “My name is Darlene.” Darlene’s eyes widen with surprise. She never thought a black person would have her name. “Okay what can I do?” “Well you can first start by getting out of your car and giving me all of your information.” Darlene with her overweight body managed to do her large song and dance by twisting and turning to get out of her small red Kia. The two Darlene’s exchanged information and as Darlene started to get back in her small red Kia her breathing started to get faster and faster. As she was holding her chest she turned around and looked at D.L. and extended her large hand. Mumbling she managed to ask for help and then clasped. D.L whose name is Darlene took out her iphone and called 911. The ambulance and the cops showed up in the Smith’s grocery store parking lot.

As Darlene was on the ground she started to dream of what else food. It took about an hour to get her four-hundred pound body on the stretcher. She arrived at the hospital and the emergency room team examined her in a panic. Darlene had had a heart attack. While in emergency surgery she dreamt again. This time it was about her wake up call of her life. She was overweight, racist, and lonely. After surgery was over she was wheeled in intensive care. She woke up the following day which was a Sunday and vaguely remembered what happened. She looked around and thought this looks unfamiliar and there’s no smell of food anywhere.

The doctors and came into her room and let her know what had happened to her while at the grocery store. Darlene thought to herself “all this while at Smith’s and for not returning a cart to the cart return.” Just then another doctor came in and she sort of recognized her but her memory was not fully there. As D.L started talking to her, Darlene remembered. “Hello Darlene remember me?” “I think so.” “I am the lady who you let the cart hit my car, and I asked you for your information.” “Okay now I do.” “Well I am Doctor Darlene, but you can call me D.L.” “We just operated on you and saved your life.” “Darlene looked stunned because the thoughts she had of D.L were terrible and racist. “I am so sorry for that cart hitting your car, I didn’t realize…” “That’s fine so many people don’t’ realize until they need help.” You were very lucky this time, but if you don’t change your life there may not be a next time.” Darlene bowed her head in shame, and said “yes doctor you are right, I do need to change my life, but change my attitude as well.” “What do you mean your attitude?” As Darlene started to tell Doctor D.L about her disgusting behavior about food, the doctor also learned about Darlene’s racist behavior. “Well what’s your feeling now, that you have had a wake up call?” “Now I do see the evil side of my ways.” “It’s not because I had a heart attack and survived, but because I was an evil fat, racist, and disgusting person who blamed people for everything, especially black people.” “I am so sorry for being that way!” Darlene’s eyes watered and she burst into a sobbing cry like nothing doctor D.L had seen or heard before. Doctor D.L picked up Darlene’s hand and told her it was going to be fine.

The next couple of days was resting and dealing with her health and her life issues. Darlene decided to work with a nutritionist and seek therapy to work on her issues of anger and fear while in the hospital. Within days it time to go home and continue working on her self and to start fresh. Thinking to her self as she plopped down on her tattered plaid sofa and smiling “that damn cart return, is no joke!”



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