.

Bagged groceries a few weekends ago for a fund-raiser type dealio.

Of course, weird situations ensued.

Here:

I would approach patrons that were digging in their wallet/purse at the check-out line and say to them, with all the right amount of flattery, “Would you like help bagging your groceries, ma’am/sir?”

And a couple times, this happened:

I get a response of a terse sentence, and a polite smile.

This could go either way, I feel, so I am forced to ask, “What was that?”

The second response is nothing but the same, and just as cryptic. I hear the word “Thanks” muttered, but I do not have enough contextual evidence to determine if it came from a “Oh, I can do it on my own, thanks” or a “Oh, sure, why not, thanks.”

And I am left, not wanting to be an asshole by asking for a third time if they would like assistance with their groceries, to instead just say, “Okay!” and smile, and then leave.

I then slowly get out a paper bag, get it all fixed up, all the while trying to pick up on any clues on to whether I am doing the opposite of what they asked for, or for some sign, like a smile, that will give me the go-ahead. Nothing. Eventually their groceries come down to where I am, and I am forced to make a decision to go through with the grocery-bagging process.

But while I do this, I swear, I just swear, that they are giving me nasty looks, and cursing me under their breaths for my debauchery and outright outlandish refusal to accept their simple “no.” Because, of course, they said “no” twice, quite clearly.

But nobody ever said anything to me.

And so I will never truly know if what these people said, was a “yes” or a “no.”

End story.