Cat and Mouse
Last Friday C and I ventured to the monument to consumerism otherwise known as the Mall of America. (We call it the "big mall".) I needed some ideas of Christmas gifts for C and we wanted to do a little people watching. In colder weather, the big mall is the perfect place to do that.
As we drove around looking for a parking spot, C said, "Wouldn't it be funny if we saw Karla here?" I answered promptly, "No! It would not be funny at all."
A word of explanation is in order here. Karla is a distant relative of mine that I wish were more distant. She actually lives within 50 miles of us. I'm grateful for the fact that the Twin Cities metro area is a large one so the chances of running into one another are fairly small.
I'm sure some of you are shaking your heads at me. We are supposed to love all people and especially our families. We are not supposed to say such things. You are right. However in reality I'm sure that most, if not all, of us have at least one person that we prefer to avoid when possible. For me, that person is Karla. I'm fairly certain that she feels the same way about me.
We found a place to park and went into the mall. We were standing just outside Bloomingdale's when C grabbed my arm.
"Look over there," he said quietly. I looked in the direction he pointed. "Isn't that Karla?"
I could only see her from the back, but I knew he was right. Karla has two small boys and one of them was walking beside her. Rats.
We decided to walk in the opposite direction and keep a sharp eye out for them. C is much better at recognising people from a distance so I knew we would be able to avoid them.
We looked in a few stores and decided to go to a hat shop I like. We were walking along when C suddenly pulled at my arm. We went into the closest shop we could find. It was a store that sold sunglasses and ski accessories. We were the oldest people there and seriously out of place.
"I saw them," C said, "They were headed straight for us."
I pretended to browse while C monitored the outside hallway over a rack of sunglasses. We were waiting for them to pass by. I had to laugh at us. Here we were lurking inside a store we clearly would never patronize like a couple of kids playing hide and go seek.
I know that we could simply walk past Karla and her family without a problem. I wasn't sure about her. She can be a nice person, but she can also be a huge drama queen. She would have no problem making a scene in a public place. Her husband, Steve, is the kind of person that, if he doesn't like you, would resort to things like tripping you or bumping you so you spill your drink or drop your packages. That is the reason why we were lurking.
C didn't see them and I was tired of lurking. They must have gone into a store or something. We left the shop and went to look at hats.
We wondered around for several hours looking at hats,teas,clothes and cooking utensils. We decided to go over to Sears and check out some things there. We went to the first floor entrance and took the escalator up to the second floor. We wondered around there for awhile. It was time to go. We had bought all that we needed and we were both tired. We left the store and guess who was outside it? Karla, Steve and her two boys.
We were across an open area from them. It was close enough so they could see us, but not so close that they could yell and expect to be heard. If they hadn't spotted us before, they did now.
Since we hadn't seen each other in over five years I had hoped they wouldn't recognise us. Steve saw us and pointed at me. If he said anything I didn't notice. I tried to look past him. I'm not sure if he said anything to Karla or if she turned to see what he was pointing at. Thankfully, we were far enough away to avoid them without being obvious. I took C's hand and we walked in the opposite direction from where they were sitting. We strolled away.
I suppose it was going to happen sometime. Almost everyone goes to the big mall during the Christmas shopping season. I'm just glad that we handled it in a mostly dignified manner.
I might bring a baseball cap next time. Just in case.
As we drove around looking for a parking spot, C said, "Wouldn't it be funny if we saw Karla here?" I answered promptly, "No! It would not be funny at all."
A word of explanation is in order here. Karla is a distant relative of mine that I wish were more distant. She actually lives within 50 miles of us. I'm grateful for the fact that the Twin Cities metro area is a large one so the chances of running into one another are fairly small.
I'm sure some of you are shaking your heads at me. We are supposed to love all people and especially our families. We are not supposed to say such things. You are right. However in reality I'm sure that most, if not all, of us have at least one person that we prefer to avoid when possible. For me, that person is Karla. I'm fairly certain that she feels the same way about me.
We found a place to park and went into the mall. We were standing just outside Bloomingdale's when C grabbed my arm.
"Look over there," he said quietly. I looked in the direction he pointed. "Isn't that Karla?"
I could only see her from the back, but I knew he was right. Karla has two small boys and one of them was walking beside her. Rats.
We decided to walk in the opposite direction and keep a sharp eye out for them. C is much better at recognising people from a distance so I knew we would be able to avoid them.
We looked in a few stores and decided to go to a hat shop I like. We were walking along when C suddenly pulled at my arm. We went into the closest shop we could find. It was a store that sold sunglasses and ski accessories. We were the oldest people there and seriously out of place.
"I saw them," C said, "They were headed straight for us."
I pretended to browse while C monitored the outside hallway over a rack of sunglasses. We were waiting for them to pass by. I had to laugh at us. Here we were lurking inside a store we clearly would never patronize like a couple of kids playing hide and go seek.
I know that we could simply walk past Karla and her family without a problem. I wasn't sure about her. She can be a nice person, but she can also be a huge drama queen. She would have no problem making a scene in a public place. Her husband, Steve, is the kind of person that, if he doesn't like you, would resort to things like tripping you or bumping you so you spill your drink or drop your packages. That is the reason why we were lurking.
C didn't see them and I was tired of lurking. They must have gone into a store or something. We left the shop and went to look at hats.
We wondered around for several hours looking at hats,teas,clothes and cooking utensils. We decided to go over to Sears and check out some things there. We went to the first floor entrance and took the escalator up to the second floor. We wondered around there for awhile. It was time to go. We had bought all that we needed and we were both tired. We left the store and guess who was outside it? Karla, Steve and her two boys.
We were across an open area from them. It was close enough so they could see us, but not so close that they could yell and expect to be heard. If they hadn't spotted us before, they did now.
Since we hadn't seen each other in over five years I had hoped they wouldn't recognise us. Steve saw us and pointed at me. If he said anything I didn't notice. I tried to look past him. I'm not sure if he said anything to Karla or if she turned to see what he was pointing at. Thankfully, we were far enough away to avoid them without being obvious. I took C's hand and we walked in the opposite direction from where they were sitting. We strolled away.
I suppose it was going to happen sometime. Almost everyone goes to the big mall during the Christmas shopping season. I'm just glad that we handled it in a mostly dignified manner.
I might bring a baseball cap next time. Just in case.
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