This is a story you may not believe unless you know me in person and my penchant for getting into odd situations. In fact, I get this trait from my mother’s elder sister. My aunt is so well-known for getting herself into strange situations that her nickname is “Lucy.” As in, I Love Lucy.
Now, put us together and what do you get? This epic failure of a grocery shopping trip.
It all started when my Aunt Lucy and I had both arrived in Seattle to spend some time with my other mom’s sister, who had just been widowed. Neither of us was familiar with the area, as I was coming from Florida and Aunt Lucy from Indiana.
My mother sent me off to Seattle with explicit instructions to treat my aunts well and keep them both as happy as I could, along with the command to cook for them at least once.
So what happens my first full day in Seattle? My mother calls my aunts in the morning and immediately begins to rave about my ability to make chicken handi – pretty much the only Pakistani dish I knew how to make at the time.
Of course, I didn’t mind – I’d just need chicken, onions, tomatoes, a little plain yogurt, and an assortment of spices. Except…we were all out of tomatoes.
Since we didn’t have access to a car, we’d have to take the bus. My experience with public transportation was practically negligible, but Aunt Lucy was ready to go with me to the nearby Fred Meyer while my younger aunt was going to stay home, relax and pray.
And so, we set off to get the tomatoes. How hard would it be, after all? I only needed four, and the bus would pick us up close to my aunt’s home.
Or it would have, if Aunt Lucy and I had arrived in time. We missed our bus and proceeded to walk toward its next stop, where we finally got on. I relied on Google Maps and my younger aunt’s directions to figure out where we’d need to get off – not the best idea, mind you, since I have always been terrible with directions, but I had Aunt Lucy with me. It’d be fine.
Except, of course, we missed the correct stop. We got off at the next one, and then proceeded to walk around in circles while Google Maps attempted to reroute us. Eventually, Aunt Lucy asked a group of teenagers for directions, and we were on our way.
Finally, finally, we’d found Fred Meyer! And it had only taken us an hour… to find a grocery store that was only 15 minutes away by bus. And this story is only getting started.
