To Be in Love

Today I was at a store in Kernersville, killing time until my mom and stepdad got home and I could go to their house. I wandered around the aisles, glancing at the posterboard, shampoo, potato chips, whatever. Stopping in front of the cleaning supplies (do I need any of this? I asked in my head) I heard a couple talking from a few aisles over. They both sounded youngish; the guy with a loud, excited voice, and the girl, a lower, almost bored one.

“Don’t forget the dish detergent,” I hear her say.

“Done!” he shouts triumphantly. “What else do we need, baby?”
She mumbles something.

Again, he happily responds, “No problem! I’ll get you anything you want.”

They appear around the corner: both in their early 20s, the guy tall and heavily built, with thick plug earrings, both sides of his lips pierced, black hair, black jacket, combat boots. The girl is pretty, skinny, with blond hair, tight jeans, lip ring.

“Do you know how happy I am, baby?!” the guy breaks into a huge grin, wrapping his free arm around his girlfriend, the other one holding the shopping basket. “I got paid today, and I feel on top of the world!”

“I’m glad, too, sweetie,” she smiles.

“I oughta make you pay for these cigarettes and Fabuloso,” he teases, and kisses her hair. “But I’ll get it all.”

She punches him good-naturedly in the arm, and they walk off to the cash register to pay.

Something about this hardcore, punk rock couple in love struck a chord with me. I don’t know anything about their situation or their relationship. Maybe they fight all the time. Maybe they just met. Maybe the guy hasn’t had a job in six months and just now got one. In any case, he’s overjoyed that today was finally payday so he can buy his girl some cigarettes and Fabuloso so they can go home to smoke and clean. No matter what the background story is, he was full of joy tonight, and it was a beautiful thing to see.