An hour left to my shift at the store
and flanked by empty boxes on the floor,
I am startled by the appearance of a young woman
pulling her stroller to a stop beside me.

In a mad dash back from droning deep thoughts
I immediately fumble competency with a Midwestern ‘ope!’
followed by a stuttering attempt at understanding 
the goal of this common interaction.
Is the customer having trouble finding something?
Is she trying to shop the wall behind me?
Or is she just trying to politely squeeze by?

Then, almost as immediate,
a slightly more reflexive shift
in thinking.
She’s actually kind of cute,
has a really pretty smile;
do I dare a glance for a ring?
There’s nothing on her fing–

Thmp!

The daughter
pelts me in the gut
with the last bite
of her banana.

You’re right! I’m sorry!
Boss has spoken! Mom just
caught me off guard and
even the best of us slip up sometimes.

The shocked mother sharply inhales,
gently coos we don’t do that! It’s not very nice!
then to me, laughing nervously, she offers her apology.

I laugh with her
                (did she even notice the dipping of my eyesight?)
offer an empty box for the discarded morsel
                (she’s probably caught and still catches so much worse)
then she carries on with her day
                (I’m not even sure if what I did could be considered wrong
                 but I try, all days and always, to stay conscientious.)

As for the little girl in her stroller,
yet unaware of the centuries old back-and-forth
she just threw her first punch in,
her widened eyes never once stray away from me.
I hope when she’s older
she’ll still have that fire,
wielding it sharp and graceful
for when the threats are real.