Can You Get Me One?
A short story from Harrogate to Kisumu.
Have you ever experienced that eerie sensation, like a pair of eyes were fixated on you? Well it’s real, and a feeling that takes quite a bit of getting used to. When Ami and I were out in public, that was our reality. People weren’t even subtle about it — they would just stare right in front of us. We had our own reply for these gawkers, which went something like, “Would you like a photo while you’re at it?” We had to have a sense of humour about it, or it would have driven us stark raving mad!
We had got used to the stares and comments, such as, “That’s disgusting” or “Look there, he’s holding the maid’s hand!” Being an interracial couple in South Africa at that time was, to put it mildly, unheard of. We’d hold hands walking down the aisles, maybe even engage in the odd bit of PDA to spice things up. It was our daily wind down, twenty minutes of fun in the supermarket. You have your glass of wine, we go shopping.
Eventually, after our long wait in the queue, it was our turn. I sprang into action, unpacking the trolley onto the checkout counter. The cashier turned to Ami and asked, “Can you get me one?” Ami looked at her and asked, “One of what?” to which the checkout lady replied. “A WHITE MAN?”
Ami replied, “You can have him. A man is a man. White, black, purple, they’re all the same.” The cashier looked at Ami for a few seconds and said, “But white men have money!” To which Ami replied, “Not all of them.”
The cashier handed me the receipt, convinced beyond any reasonable doubt that it was my money that was used to buy the groceries. This stereotype that all white men were rich, and all black people were poor drove Ami to distraction. If there was one button not to press, it would be that one!
Ami grabbed the receipt from me and stormed out. While I was trying to catch up to Ami, an elderly lady stopped me and said, “Why don’t you let the maid push the trolley?” I replied “Firstly, she’s not my maid she’s my wife, and secondly, I don’t want to tire her out, I’ve got a long night of passion planned.” That was it. The old lady turned and disappeared at a speed even Usain Bolt would have been proud of. 😃 😀
Thanks for reading.
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