“There, dear,” said the elderly woman. “Take your time.”
I swallowed hard and got it in.
“Thank you. All of you. If you hadn’t been here…”
“Take your time.”
She kept her hand on the bag until I had the zipper closed.
I wiped my face with my sleeve.
“No problem, girl,” the woman with the tote said. “Just so you know, I was fully prepared to make mashed potatoes with him.”
I laughed before I could help myself. The others joined me.
“I was fully prepared to make mashed potatoes.”
The doors were open, the platform wide and bright and ordinary.
“Glad I could save your potatoes,” I replied.
I picked up my tote and took a breath, then stepped toward the exit.
Behind me, a bag scraped the floor.
The woman in the cardigan lifted her purse and fell into step beside me.
“Glad I could save your potatoes,”
