Compline

The customer was droning on, waffling between lipsticks. She’d already picked the perfect shade of eye shadow but the lipstick decision threatened to undo the “Sunset Touch” accord. 

Alice casually looked around, with an occasional ‘oh, yes’ to keep the woman on track to an attractive purchase total. Because the counter was near the entrance a constant stream of people came through the doors and swirled around her. 

The customer was, of course, oblivious to the ebb and flow of so many lives directly behind her. 

“But is there enough coral in this to pick up the orange tones in the ‘Sunset’?”

It took a second for Alice to realize the break in the customer’s patter indicated some form of reply was expected. She blinked a couple of times and looked at the customer’s hands. 

“Oh, you have an excellent eye, madam.” Alice had no idea what the woman wanted but knew what to say. “This whole product line has some  dynamic lip/eye combinations. Leanbrook excels at designing a challenging palette.” She paused for a breath and to assess the reaction. “It really does appeal to the most discerning eye.” 

The customer heard confirmation in this Delphic response. She straightened up, nodded and patted the counter. 

“I’ll take them, then. And the California Kiss foundation, too.”

Alice put everything into the bag and rung up a total that exceeded her wages for the next week. Smiling weakly, she handed over the purchase with the obligatory, “Enjoy.”

The customer nodded. As she reached for the bag she paused a moment to look a little more closely at Alice. 

“You look very familiar...did you have girls on the Arnott Soccer team?” 

Alice looked around again trying to decide on her reply. She’d anticipated the question because she’d recognized the customer several minutes ago. 

“Yes. Ellie and Cathy, the twins. How’s your girl doing these days?”

“Of course. The twins....Oh, Janine is great. You knew she got a full ride soccer scholarship to Nebraska, didn’t you? Well, she came out of it with a BCom...met a lovely young man in the Bechtel corp and now they’ve got two girls and a boy.”

Alice smiled politely. “I bet they keep you busy. Are they coming up for Christmas?”

“Oh no, we’re all going to Cabo in a week..we’ll stay there till the New Year—Benton, that’s Janine’s husband—has a couple of developments there and we took out a time share in the same complex. It’s so nice to spend time somewhere not winter, don’t you think? “

Alice nodded in agreement, pretending she had an idea of what it was like to be anywhere else. She smiled politely and began to fuss with the display to her left. The other woman didn’t pick up on the signal. 

“So, any grandchildren in your life?”

“Ah, well, Cathy has two boys. They live out on the east coast.”

“Oh, nice. Will they all be here for Christmas or do you go out there?”

“No.” Alice looked about in hopes another customer had materialized for her rescue. “They’ll stay out there, too hard to get the time off.’”

“Oh, of course. What about Ellie then?”

“No, she’s on the west coast with her partner. They’ll spend Christmas there with Dan and his new family.”

Oh, Dan...right. I thought I’d heard something about that. So, do you have other family here for the holidays?” 

Alice hadn’t even taken a breath before the customer glanced at her watch. “oh look at the time...I have a hundred things to do before I can start to pack....It was lovely catching up with you. Maybe we can get together in a few months when the swallows return.” 

She laughed at what was obviously a private joke. “Lingerie is just over there, right?” She was already merging into the crowd when she tossed a quick “merry Christmas” over her departing shoulder.

Alice sighed with relief and waved at the woman’s back.

The Sally Ann bells seemed to be ringing constantly now and the Christmas Muzak was on a very short loud loop. Alice didn’t even notice it anymore except when customers strolled past singing along with it. 

She looked into the middle distance and smiled with what she hoped was an inviting air. After two years here, it was second nature to adopt the store’s required waiting posture. 

Welcoming but not targeted. 

Don’t want to scare off the timid potential customer. Draw them in, that’s the idea. 

The hubble bubble of voices washed up and over her. For just a second she noticed an older man standing off to her left, by the nylons display. He looked very familiar. She snuck another sidelong glance. 

He was tall with silver streaked wavy black hair and a neatly trimmed, steel grey van-dyke beard. No one wore that style anymore. Not the beard, anyway. The coat was a classic men’s cut but, still, she couldn’t recall seeing it on a rack for at least the past 10 years. 

She could hear a hint of whimpering off to her right. A small child was standing beside a display of the store’s iconic blankets. Confused and starting to cry, the wee tyke was giving in to panic as she searched for a parent. 

Alice moved along the counter towards the child when a frantic woman in a camel wool coat rushed over. She bent down, hugged the child who immediately stopped sniffling. 

It was obvious the woman was alternating between words of comfort and mild threats. Every parent knows the pattern. I love you, where were you, thank God I found you, if you ever wander off again...

Alice felt a rush of warmth at the sight. Is there a person alive who hasn’t gone through the experience from both sides? Right down to that camel coat almost exactly like the one her own mother wore. 

As more people moved past, a whiff of pure lavender floated in on the current from the perfume counter. 

That was the smell of Christmas for Alice. The first presents she bought for her parents. She’d saved her allowance for months to have enough to buy a lavender sachet for mother and a bar of shaving soap for her father. 

Shaving soap! That’s why that man looked familiar. Dad had been equally finicky with his beard. 

She looked over to see if the man was still there but, of course he’d moved along. 

The bells continued to ring and the smell of lavender got stronger. Thinking it must be from a customer Alice looked along the counter but no one was there. 

A young woman darted out of the crowd. She was moving quickly from one aisle to another: turning over a few sweaters, pulling up blankets. She’d stop for a moment and look about. 

Alice remembered seeing her before but when? Could have been a few hours ago or days. She remembered her holding up those same sweaters, comparing size and colour. Brushing the blankets with an appreciative, gentle hand as she passed them by. 

That moment of strolling indecision was familiar to Alice. Those blankets had always appealed to her but the cost had never been within reach. Obviously it was the same for this young lady. 

But now she was here with a different purpose. The search was not for something to wear or give. Briefly the young lady glanced over at Alice’s counter. Alice smiled with what she hoped was gentle reassurance. 

It would be okay, she wanted to say. 

No matter what is bothering you, it will be okay. 

A smile couldn’t possibly hold all she felt but Alice tried. 

She didn’t recognize the clerk who came over to the young woman, holding out a small clutch purse. A thin strap dangled by one corner, obviously broken. The young woman reached out with one hand as the other clapped over her mouth. 

There was laughter and the clerk gave her a gentle pat. They faded into the next wave of shoppers rushing past. 

Alice slowly bent over the counter, folding her arms on the glass and resting her head on them. The bells rang frantically, the crowds rushed past in a blur. The lavender was cloying, bringing a damp fever to her cheeks. Nausea rose in her throat as the colour drained from her face. 

She blinked a few times, making an effort to open at least one eye. The man was back by the nylons. He smiled at her. She tried to lift her head, to smile back. She wanted him to come over. There was something she wanted to say to him, about the beard. How she’d always loved that beard. 

The mother and child were there too. Looking at her. A scene from her own childhood. 

She remembered that now. 

More people came out of the crowd. Some stood quietly watching. Like the young lady with the broken purse. 

Like so many moments Alice began to remember. 

People rushed over, pulling out cell phones and waving frantically at nearby clerks. Someone helped her to lie down on the floor behind the counter, speaking clearly and keeping a firm hand on her shoulder. 

But Alice couldn’t hear her. Another voice, a gentle, familiar voice was in her ear. Telling her it was okay. No matter what was bothering her, it would all be okay. 

Even the bells had stopped to listen.