A Pleasant Man

"You got another year or two?"

"Yeah, one year or sodepends, you knowon how hard" He tried to think of something funny to say, but couldnt. The tall man was waiting for him to speak. "You know how it is."

"I do, I do" He looked down at the case, switching the jacket to the other hand. He gazed at the row of salads. The young man knew what he wanted. Two pounds of salad. Separate containers.

"Can I get one of kidney bean and" He trailed off, whistling. "How bout the pasta or the cucumber" He looked at the young man for a decision.

The young man removed two plastic containers from the stack. "The girls just made the pasta two hours ago. Its as fresh as it gets."

"Fantastic." He punctuated the word. FAN. TAS. TIC. He was looking at the row of bread beneath the deli case. "What bread is good?"

The young man finished pricing the salads. Both were over, but there was no need to ask if that was OK. It was always OK. The young man learned not to ask. "The Lithuanian rye just came in today. Real good stuff, if you like rye."

"I do." He hefted the loaf under his arm. The young man set the salads on the counter, one on top of the other.

"There you go."

The tall man smiled and stood for a moment longer. Conversation, the young man thought. "Hows the wife?"

The tall man paused a moment, his smile wavering for a moment, as though he just remembered something. "Shes fine. Doing great." Pleasentness.

"Great."

The tall man balanced the salads in his hand. "Heyyoutakeiteasybuddy. Dont work too hard." This guy was so very city.

"Yeah, you too, my man." He raised his hand. The tall man tipped his hand holding the loaf of bread. A real pleasure.

The tall man went to the cashier, a short nervous girl popping gum in and out of her mouth. She was only sixteen, but pretty. Her blond hair was tied neatly behind her head in a tight bun. The tall man put the salads on the counter. "Hello there"

"Hello," she said. She popped the gum. "Is that it for you?" Her eyes searched his face. He was very handsome and not too old. She tilted her head. Big, dark eyes staring up at him.

"I think so. Wait," He pulled some gum from the candy rack. "And this"

She added it up, her eyes flicking from the food to the register to him. God, he was cute. The tall man knew she was flirting and was slightly flattering. But he was used to it. She always did that.

"9.02" He gave her a ten. She took two pennies from the penny jar. The register opened with a metal clunk and she pulled out a dollar. He said thanks and took it. She put his salads in a bag and was about to get another bag for the bread.

"No, Ill just carry that." His teeth gleamed white in his grin. Her heart thumped. He took the bag and the bread. He walked to the door. She looked at his back. Strong shoulders, nice butt. She popped the gum slowly. He turned around, backing out. Another man walked in the store. The tall man held the door open for him. "Thanks," the man grunted.

"No problem, buddy."

"You have a nice day," the cashier said.

"Yeah," the tall man said. "and you be good."

He walked to his car, a shiny Ford and put the stuff in the passenger seat.

The young man behind the counter watched him leave, his hands on his hips. A pleasure. The door dinged. Another haggard mother stepped in, dragging a toddler in her hand.