Miss Gloria Goes Grocery Shopping

Before I get this story going I just want to announce that I will be putting Rate-O-Rama on hold for a while as I am unable to write the new gloria adventures and continue Blackbird Fly and Voices while also doing Rate-O-Rama. R-O-R is my lowest rated of these four so for now it will be on vacation. Thank you, RHC

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"Okay, Miss Gloria," Debbie said as she walked over to the bed where Gloria was sitting. She helped her stand up so she could transfer into her wheelchair.

"Thank you, sweetie. You take such good care of me. By the way, can you grab my black sweater? It always gets so cold in those grocery stores."

"Certainly. Here you go, Gloria. Now let’s git going."

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The Lot Boy at Smart Market Grocery Store

"I’ll be right back, Gloria. I’m going to get the lot boy to bring one of those motorized shopping carts to the car. That way, you can maneuver through the store on your own."

"Great idea, Debbie."

Debbie came back with a young Hispanic man with dark wavy hair to help Gloria out of the car and into the cart.

"Why, thank you, son. You did such a great job. What is your name?"

"Thank you, ma’am. My name is Vilhelm."

"Vilhelm? That’s a Scandinavian name. I would have pegged you for being a Guillermo."

Vilhelm snickered. "Yes, my mom chose the name. She said she wanted a blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy. But we’re Mexican—so she got me."

"Well, you’re a good-looking boy with your dark curly hair and sparkling brown eyes. I’d kiss you."

"Gloria!" Debbie called out. "He’s just a boy."

"No ma’am, I’m a man. I’m 18 years old," Vilhelm said, taking Gloria’s hand and kissing the top of it.

"Oh!" Gloria blushed. "I’ll never wash this hand again."

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The Watermelon Bin

"Debbie, give me my black sweater. I told you it was going to be cold in here."

This was Gloria’s first time using a motorized cart. She was a bit shaky with it and ended up crashing into a bin stacked with watermelons. A large watermelon came crashing down and split open on the ground.

"Come on, Debbie. Let’s get out of here. I don’t want to get in trouble for this."

"Gloria, we can’t do that. I’m going to get someone to clean up the mess."

Debbie returned a few minutes later with a store employee—but Gloria had disappeared. She looked all over for her and couldn’t find her. Then she heard a whistling sound. Finally, she spotted Gloria at the far end of the produce section, hiding behind a tall display of discounted day-old bread.

Gloria motioned to Debbie, waving her over.

"Gloria, why are you hiding?"

"The last time this happened I was banned from the store for a month. I didn’t want to get in trouble."

"Everything’s okay. Come on, let’s get our shopping done."

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The Man in the Dairy Section

Looking at the shopping list, Debbie commented, "You need some milk, Gloria. Let’s go this way."

"Look at that man over by the eggs," Gloria said. "He’s driving a cart like mine—and he’s good-looking. Let’s go over there."

"Gloria, come on. Let’s just get the shopping done."

"No, no, no. You go get the milk. I’m gonna go tease him a little—you know, flirty-flirty."

Gloria drove over to the egg section.

"I like Eggland’s Best the best," she said to the elderly man looking at the eggs.

He looked over and smiled.

"Yes, but they’re so expensive."

"They’re worth it. They have ten times more Vitamin E than other eggs, double the Omega-3s, and more antioxidants. Eggland eggs are the healthiest eggs on the market."

Impressed, the man responded, "Well, you sure know your eggs. You must be new here."

"Well, yes, somewhat. I usually shop at the other store down the street. But I like coming here every so often because they have a great selection of roasts. I prefer the rump myself."

"Ah, the rump—yes, the rump is a nice piece to grab."

“Well, I’ve still got a prime cut myself - just ask my chiropractor,” Gloria chuckles.

Just then, a gray-haired lady with swollen ankles drove up in the store’s third motorized cart and purposely bumped into Gloria.

"Howard! Come on, stop lollygagging!" she scolded.

As he drove away, Gloria called out, "Next week—same place, same time!"

The old man winked back at her.

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Time to Pay

Looking over the grocery list, Debbie said,

"We have the milk, avocados, water, ginger ale—looks like we have everything. Let’s go cash out."

"Cash out! I’d rather be cashing out with that Howard. I’d even take little Vilhelm for an ice cream Sundae."

Then Gloria caught a good glimpse of the cashier and licked her lips, gearing up for one more round of flirting.

She looked at Debbie. "I like this store. I’m going to have to make this my primary shopping location."

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Thank you to Mariann Carroll for giving me the idea to write a story about Gloria going to the grocey store.

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With Love, RHC ❤️