I really wanted those socks. They came in a pack of three, assorted colors. When one grows up poor, getting anything from a department store felt like Christmas, even if it wasjust footwear. Hell, stepping foot inside of a department store was a treat beyond words.
Each aisle in the store was indeed like buried treasure. I was in the first grade at the time, and soaking in all I my brain could take, and I was thrilled when my mom told my dad that my sister and I needed some new socks. Oh my God, oh my God, I was going to get something new! I was ecstatic.
The rest of the shopping trip was a blur, but I do remember a few other things being tossed in the cart, probably things my dad needed for work. I didn’t pay much attention because I only gave a damn about my socks, and the feeling in my stomach was like a swarm of butterflies…migrating. I thought my stomach might shoot through the roof of my mouth, through my skull, and up into the sky. There was no containing my excitement over having something new. I made the mistake of letting my guard down.
As my parents began taking our items out of the cart and placing them on the cashier’s conveyor belt, a loud crashing sound boomed just outside of the store, and the thunder and lightning, created a symphony so scary that had I known the word apocalyptic at the time, I would have used it. Just as my little
three-pack bundle of socks was making the slow journey to the cashier’s hand, the power in the store went out. Then the thunder sarcastically clapped again. The noise scared me of course, not just because it was earth shattering, but because it was the foreshadowing of continued disappointment to come.
The power was not restored after 15 minutes or so, and the store manager decided they would need to close up shop for the day. NO! I was in tears, not to mention shock. Why can’t we just pay for our things without the power being on? We just write them a check. There was still enough afternoon light to see to write a check. I was in a panic. I didn’t understand what was happening, and my heart was now in my throat, my stomach back down from the sky, and an anger and confusion that I cannot explain. Why God, why can’t I have just one little thing, one small thing that belongs to me? It was only a package of socks. Socks with ruffles.
--Amphitrite
