As she left the last shop she checked her list.
It had taken an age when she considered her plastic shopping bag only contained four items. As it happens, none of them were for her. On the list: jar of pickled gherkins, pregnancy test kit, kitty litter and jumbo-sized paperclips.
An extra-large jar of pickled gherkins for her brother who collects bugs; he just wants the jar. He dropped the last one and some of his specimens escaped. He told her that the jar was a perfect, size, shape, and everything. Who could argue with that?
A pregnancy test kit for her friend, who works at the canning factory on the edge of town. She convinced her that she really couldn’t bring herself to go into a shop to buy one herself.
A small bag of kitty litter for her Mum’s phone. She dropped it in the sink and has had it drying out for a couple of days. Then she found out that you could bury it in a bag of kitty litter to dry it out.
A box of jumbo-sized paperclips for her boyfriend who has a passion for modelling little art pieces with them. He made a bicycle once, using large paperclips and a couple of cardigan buttons.
She was on her way to the bus stop when she saw the girl from her office, who was about to enter a coffee house when she was spotted and received a friendly wave.
She was nice, but a hell of a gossip. What the hell! It would be good to get the weight off her feet. She gave her a smile as she approached. They went in together and found a table.
“Hey! I’ll get them,” she said, “I’ve just had a successful morning’s shopping. It’s my treat.”
Not really thinking, she put the bag down and went to the counter. The bag gaped open and the girl peered in.
When she returned. The girl said, “I must say, you have an unusual collection of items in there.”
“Don’t ask!”