Gladys and her Million Dollar Piano

Meeting

"ANDERSON!!" Ms. McMacca shouted.

"Coming!"

"Go get me some chips from the seven-eleven down the street. I forgot to get some for our party tonight, and I need to get some before the girls get here."

"Alright mom. Should I get cheddar Ruffles like usual?"

"Yes! Now get out of here!"

Anderson walked out the door. As he was walking down the street, he heard his mother yell, "Hurry up, I don't have all damn day!"

He kept walking. He didn't let his mom get to him, but he also wasn't her slave.

He walked into the store and to the potato chip section and got the chips his mother wanted.

Then he walked up to the counter. He smiled at the cashier. She was a little old woman with gray hair pulled up in a messy bun. She smiled back.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes, I'd like to get these chips, please."

The woman rang up the chips.

Then she said, "If you spend four more dollars, I can give you a discount."

Anderson went over to the movies, and picked Alive. He'd seen it before and liked it, but he never actually got around to buying it.

He brought it over to the counter.

"Oh, Alive." You know, my son was on that plane when it crashed. He lived though it though. A miracle. I don't know if you've seen the movie yet or not, so I won't spoil it for you, but let me just say, it's truly amazing."

"Wow." Anderson thought. "She acts like shes just a fan of the movie."

"I've seen it a few times before, so you won't spoil anything. But it really must be amazing to have your own son go through it, and tell you that crazy story."

"Oh, it was." Said the woman. "That was way back in '72. I remember when it was announced that the search for them had been given up, and losing all hope. It was awful. But then, we heard that they had been found, and the survivors were being brought home. I remember all the mothers and fathers of the children, all gathering together, not knowing if their children were dead or alive. I have to admit, I thought mine was gone. So it was a GREAT surprise when he came home. I honestly can't describe it. Just wonderful."

Anderson didn't know what to say. He was just amazed that this woman had gone through all of that, and then just talk about it like it was almost nothing.

"I bet it was!" He said dumbly. "I can't believe you just go on talking about it like that. If my mother had gone through anything near that, she would never be able to talk about it. You act like its just part of life!"

The woman shrugged. "That's because it is a part of life. My life, anyway. The way I look at it, there's nothing you can do about it, so why get upset? I'm lucky my son came home alive!"

"Wow. I never thought of it that way."

"Well, that's the way it was. And then,

after he got home, we-"

"Excuse me ma'am!" A costumer said rudely. "I've been waiting here for five whole minutes, waiting for you and and pretty boy here to finish your conversation, but if you want to take five years talking about some stupid plane crash, let me get these damn groceries and get out of here. Some of us have lives, y'know!"

"Hold on." The lady said to Anderson. Then she turned to the costumer.

"I'm terribly sorry for keeping you waiting, sir. But there is no need to use that language here."

The costumer looked like he wanted to punch the woman straight in the face, but she was calm as could be. Her calmness seemed to irritate him even more.

"WELL MAYBE I WOULDN'T HAVE TO IF SOMEONE WOULD DO THEIR DAMN JOB AROUND HERE!!!" The costumer shouted. The woman was unaffected.

"Again, terribly sorry sir."

The woman looked like she wanted to say more, but she bit it back.

"Your lucky I don't report this to your boss. You could get fired."

"Let me just ring your groceries up, sir. Wouldn't want to waste any more of your precious time."

Anderson could tell that the woman was obviously making jokes, but the costumer looked smug, like he'd just won an argument.

"Well I'm glad you see it my way."

The woman didn't say anything. She just rung up the groceries and handed them to the costumer, who walked away rudely.

"Have a nice day!" The old woman called after him.

After he left, both Anderson and the cashier started laughing. To him, it seemed like they were laughing for ages. When they finally stopped, Anderson remembered how calm the woman had been with the costumer, when anyone in their right mind would have either yelled back, or been scared out of their pants.

"You were really calm with that costumer, you know. Weren't you mad? Or at least scared?"

"Well," the woman started, looking a little embarrassed, "I used to be a hippie, back in the sixties, and we used to deal with people like that all the time."

"That's really cool!" Anderson said, and he meant it. Just then, he remembered what he was supposed to be doing.

"Hurry up, I don't have all damn day!"

His mother had said. She was going to kill him.

"I'm really sorry, but I have to go. If I'm not home soon, I'm going to be in HUGE trouble. But I'll definitely be back tomorrow. For sure."

The lady smiled. "I'll be here."

{I might not be 100% accurate on the things i wrote about the Andes plane crash or any other things. Feel free to correct me on any facts that I messed up on!}