#18 A Few Synapses Short Of A Full Set

Around 9:30am or a bit after, I went out to get breakfast from the restaurant. It was about a five-minute walk through the corridors of the hospital. I got a coffee for myself and a pain au chocolat. I walked over to the till where a rough man in his fifties filled out his Sodexo shirt and was engrossed in looking at his phone.

I had heard him talking to the two ladies in front of me. He seemed friendly and on good terms with them. A bit rough around the edges, but what does one expect? I placed my items in front of him. He seemed pretty distant. He seemed to have switched from thirty seconds before. No more of the friendly, chatty chap. I prepared to pay.

“Contactless?” I asked.

“Yep,” he replied. “I’ve just said we should pull out, you know? Just get on with it,” he continued.

I smiled politely.

“Oh right?” I offered.

“Brexit, you know? We should just get on with it…”

A bizarre interchange ensued. I imagine he must have been thinking about it in his head and he just slipped into outward conversation mode and expected me to catch up. He clearly had a few synapses short of a full set. I think it helps to be a little stupid in this world, though.