Mall Rats

With a day off school, I needed to find something to do to entertain Maggie. The nurse was scheduled to arrive around noon, which gave us the whole morning to do something fun. I realize, of course we could do fun things with the nurse, but it is a different dynamic with another person along. Maggie and I cruise along without focusing 100% on tube feeding time catheterization time. I did all of that before we went out which gave us more freedom. We did what girls do; we headed for the mall.

In all honesty, I am not much of a shopper. I never have been. Generally, I know what I need to buy and go in, get it and leave. But the mall is a perfect place to hang out with Maggie. It is flat, warm and full of interesting things to see. If she gets bored, she can easily start pulling at clothes on the rack and get my attention. No time for boredom yesterday. Too many things happened.

We started at Macys. First, we ran into our neighbor Dolores, who is 80 and complains nonstop about being old. You know what? It is hard to feel sorry for someone who says she cannot do anything while shopping for her trip to Hawaii. I used to do a lot of stuff for Dolores, but stopped a few years ago. I grew very tired of her telling me I needed to get back to my “real life.” Finally, I told her that caring for Maggie WAS my real life and let her call the shuttle to take her to the airport for her various trips.

While we were waiting to pay for something at Macy’s, a couple unintentionally cut in front of us in line. I noticed, but it didn’t really matter. They were so focused on what they were asking the clerk, they did not even notice us. When they looked up and saw us there, they were falling all over themselves to apologize. The couple was probably in their 70’s and spoke English with some sort of accent – maybe Russian, maybe Eastern European. I assured them it did not matter. The woman came over to greet Maggie and asked if she could give her a kiss.
Ummm….. Really? It’s sweet, but it’s weird. This person is a perfect stranger. Generally, I would not agree to that, but something made me say yes. He gave Maggie a kiss (and Maggie screwed her face up). The woman was still talking to Maggie when she suddenly walked away mid sentence. She was crying.

CRYING!

Ok, now what do I do. It was so obvious, her lower lip was shaking and she was fishing for her sunglasses. I opted to ignore it, as it was apparent that she was embarrassed. The clerk just looked at me with an uncomfortable look and I just raised my eyebrows like “wow.” The couple left without another word. I had the feeling that the tears were not for Maggie, but rather that Maggie stirred up something from her own life. I felt very bad for her. (If I thought she was crying over Maggie I probably would have been angry, but I wasn’t)

We left there and ran into Maggie’s former teacher Sheila. That was fun for all of us. Sheila is a hoot. She always said if her students could talk, they would call her “Evil Sheila” and that always made Maggie laugh.

I was pushing the feeding and cath time so we high tailed it out of there – or tried to. The elevator was undergoing repairs and we had to go to the freight elevator in the back part of the mall to get out. We went down the single flight and that elevator door did not open for about 10 minutes. Just as I was getting freaked out, it opened. I made a beeline for the van.

We were 45 minutes late getting home. The nurse was waiting for us and worried that Maggie may be in the hospital. I was not answering my phone (in the elevator, never heard it). I appreciate her concern. My story sounded like a teenager who did not make curfew.

I do not think I will be developing any hankering to head back to the mall anytime soon – oh, wait -- I have to. The clerk from Macy's called and I dropped a check while I was there. It is waiting for me at the cashier’s desk.

Of course I did.