by Anne Wagener
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\nAt first I think it\u2019s just the wind, but then I realize someone is behind me.\u00a0 I step back, and one of my Fuji apples rolls away.\u00a0 The stranger wears a black trench coat and an unsettling expression.\u00a0 He bends down and picks up my apple, grasping it in his palm with no apparent intention of giving it back.\u00a0 A few seconds lapse as we stare at each other.<\/p>\n
A beat.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m standing now with my back to the car and only the shopping cart between me and this stranger, holding my apple and slowly rubbing his index finger back and forth across it.\u00a0 He\u2019s in his early forties, probably, and he\u2019s all roundness and circumference\u2014no wonder he wants my wide Fuji apple.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought you might need some help with your bags,\u201d he says.\u00a0 His voice is very middle-class, and I\u2019d almost call it kind if I wasn\u2019t alone with him in a deserted parking lot.\u00a0 \u201cI was behind you in line, and I thought the cashier should have offered to help you take these out to your car.\u201d<\/p>\n
He pulls a Snickers bar from his pocket, and seeing him reach into his coat sends a little shock through me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t need any help, thanks,\u201d I say, trying to keep my voice even.\u00a0 One part of my brain is formulating speech, and the other is running fast with text, stock ticker style: shove shopping cart to incapacitate him then jump into car and drive off.\u00a0 Throw milk jug at face.\u00a0 Slide key between index and middle fingers and punch him.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cOh,\u201d he says, and smiles.\u00a0 He\u2019s still holding my apple, but instead of giving it back to me, he offers me the Snickers.\u00a0 \u201cDo you want this?\u00a0 Hmm?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo thanks,\u201d I say.\u00a0 \u201cI should get going.\u201d<\/p>\n He nods but makes no sign of moving away.<\/p>\n \u201cActually, I could use some help. See, I\u2019m working on this project.\u201d<\/p>\n My hands begin to shake, but I keep the rest of my body steady.\u00a0 I nod.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m building a time machine,\u201d he says, cocking his head to one side.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s almost done, see, but there\u2019s one part that\u2019s missing.\u00a0 It\u2019s a computer chip that goes on the motherboard.\u201d<\/p>\n The stock ticker resets to scroll one word over and over: psycho!<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI need your help,\u201d he says.\u00a0 He holds up the Snickers.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s a few of these in it for you.\u201d<\/p>\n I slide my right hand into my pocket, fingers groping for keys.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry, but I don\u2019t know anything about computers.\u201d<\/p>\n He shakes his head and says, \u201cNo matter, I just need a fresh set of eyes is all.\u00a0 See, I\u2019m going to go back to the last decade and make millions of dollars inventing the Internet.\u00a0 If you come with me, we can split the money.\u201d<\/p>\n The door to my car is unlocked, and my fingers have found the car key.\u00a0 Before I can move, the cart begins to roll slowly toward another car that\u2019s parked a few spots away.\u00a0 If he turns to look, or move after it, that\u2019ll give me a chance to get in the car.\u00a0 But he stands in the same place, motionless, his head still cocked to one side.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m really going to need your help.\u201d<\/p>\n He takes a step closer to me.\u00a0 Now there\u2019s nothing between us but cold, cold air and some leaves kicked up by the wind.\u00a0 In my pocket, I slide the car key between my fingers.\u00a0 My hands are numb from the cold.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry, but I can\u2019t help you,\u201d I say again.\u00a0 The shopping cart makes a thud as it hits the other car, and I jump.<\/p>\n He takes another step closer and puts his hand on my shoulder.<\/p>\n \u201cPlease!\u201d\u00a0 His voice rises half an octave.\u00a0 \u201cI need to finish my time machine!\u201d<\/p>\n At that moment, the sliding door to the grocery store opens and the cashier walks out, pushing a row of shopping carts in front of him.\u00a0 Checking out my groceries earlier, he hadn’t spoken a word to me and had looked as if he’d been hypnotized by the red light of the barcode scanner.<\/p>\n \u201cHey!\u201d I shout.\u00a0 The stranger has his hand on my shoulder and is talking loudly about computer chips.\u00a0 His breath is acrid, and I gag.\u00a0 The cashier hasn\u2019t heard me over the sound of the shopping carts rumbling and the wind.<\/p>\n \u201cHelp!\u201d I\u2019m screaming now, and my heart is louder than the stranger\u2019s ranting.\u00a0 The cashier looks up at me, looks me right in the eye, and keeps pushing the carts.<\/p>\n \u201cPlease, help me!\u201d I call to him.\u00a0 He loads the carts into the corral and looks back at me, blankly, as if he\u2019s not sure what to do.<\/p>\n \u201cPlease!\u201d I scream again, flailing my arms.\u00a0 This alarms the stranger, who takes a step back.\u00a0 Trying to catch him off balance, I punch him in the eye, hard, with my key.<\/p>\n Without waiting to see the effect, I open the car door, jump in the front seat, slam the car door behind me, hit the lock button, and turn the key in the ignition.\u00a0 My car grumbles with the effort of starting in the cold, finally revving up.\u00a0 I put it into drive and speed off, looking for just an instant at the stranger in my rearview mirror.\u00a0 He is covering his face with one hand and holding my Fuji apple in the other.<\/p>\n Sobbing, I speed past the cashier.\u00a0 He looks at me with an empty expression, as if he only sees barcodes everywhere, and not faces. by Anne Wagener At first I think it\u2019s just the wind, but then I realize someone is behind me.\u00a0 I step back, and one of my Fuji apples rolls away.\u00a0 The stranger wears a black trench coat and an unsettling … Continue reading
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\nANNE WAGENER<\/strong> lives and works in the Washington, DC area. To survive the commute, she listens to books on tape and scribbles notes for stories at stoplights (and occasionally while the car is moving). She is working on a collection of short stories.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"