The store was going broke. Who’d be fired first?
DOUBLE-WIDE ISLES! the ads for Mehadrin Shopper proclaimed. DELI! FISH! BUTCHER! PRODUCE! ALL UNDER ONE ROOF!
He remembers his boss Gavriel had snorted at that ad, said the supermarket’s marketing gurus had killed the campaign with one typo. But Rachamim, though he smiled at the joke, knew customers wouldn’t remember that gaffe. They’d remember the flashy interior design, the nifty self-checkout option. And Rachamim knew that Gavriel knew it, too. The marked creases on the ad, which had been refolded so many times, that it practically tucked itself back into Gavriel’s pocket, told him as much.
Rachamim is still counting wagons boasting the cheerful Mehadrin Shopper logo when a jalopy containing an alarming number of young workers pulls into the parking lot. The driver looks over at Rachamim, who loses count. Though he might just be a curious new shopper cruising by, he hits the accelerator and pulls away.
It’s a good thing, too. The dashboard shows 7:58, which means he has two minutes to get to work on time, and Rachamim is late an average of once every three years. It would take more than a newly sprung competition to taint that record, and besides, Gavriel is waiting for him.
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