Jim scans the shelves again in vain.  He knows he should ask an employee, but his stubbornness persists and he continues his futile search. 

Sighing in exasperation, he thinks about giving up and just going home.  He really owes Mark this game, though.  He’d been using the game as a coaster when he spilled his beer.  Mark had insisted it was okay, but Jim could swear he saw a visible pout cross Mark’s face.  So despite the fact that it was eleven o’clock on a Wednesday night, Jim was staring at a shelf in Walmart trying to make the game appear magically before his eyes.

Finally turning away, Jim decides to find an employee.  As he moves around the corner of the aisle he’s stopped by: “Ohmygod!  Jim!  What are you doing here?”

Jim stops, and is immediately accosted by an exuberant Kelly holding several dvds.  He wonders how she can be so upbeat at this time of night.

“What are you doing here?”  Kelly repeats.  Before Jim can respond Kelly bubbles, “I’m trying to pick out a movie to watch with Ryan.  We just finished Love Actually.  But I didn’t have anything new from Netflix, and Blockbuster was already closed.  Isn’t that weird?  I thought that was so weird.  I mean, it’s only eleven o’clock.  Who goes to bed by eleven?  Anyway, so after I found out that Blockbuster was closed, I called Ryan and he told me to come here and just pick something up, but there are just sooo many choices, and hey why did you say you were here?”

“Oh, I’m just here to pick up a game for my roommate,” Jim manages.

“That’s so nice of you!”  Kelly says.  “So since there are so many choices here, I called Ryan again, you know?  Because I totally thought he could help me.  He has the most awesome taste in movies.  He tries to pretend he doesn’t like romantic comedies but you should see the way his face lights up when I bring one over after he has a bad dream.  It’s so cute!  So I was on the phone with him telling him about all of the choices and reading the summaries on the backs of the cases to him and his phone died!  I hate that, don’t you?”

Jim nods, and glances furtively around for an employee who might be able to rescue him from this…barrage of words. 

He’s still glancing around for this non-existent employee when Kelly says, “So, what do you think, Jim?” 

She’s standing there, looking at him expectantly, and he realizes he zoned out completely.  Luckily, Kelly glances down at the movies in her hands, and Jim deduces what she must be asking.

“Maybe you should just get them all?”  He suggests it in a way that he hopes will simply end the conversation.  A glance at his watch tells him he’s been here far longer than he had hoped, wanted or intended.  All he really wants to do is go home and climb into bed.

Kelly’s face brightens, and she throws her arms around Jim, squeezing dvds in to his back.  “You are a genius!” She exclaims.  “I can’t wait to get home and tell Ryan how you totally saved our night.  He’ll probably want to thank you tomorrow.  Did I tell you how much he loves…”

“You should probably get home to him then, right?” Jim interrupts, hoping he isn’t being too rude.  “I mean if he loves these movies so much, why deprive him?”

“You are so brilliant!” Kelly nods as if Jim has just doled out the answer to the meaning of life.

“So…see you at work tomorrow,” Jim nods, backing out of the aisle.

He doesn’t wait to hear her response, and he knows now he actually is being rude, but it’s really late and he really wants to get home.  Maybe he should make a detour to the pain reliever aisle.  He’s thinking about picking up some Tylenol now that his temples are throbbing.

Grabbing an industrial size bottle, Jim pays cash at one of the self-checkout lanes, and leaves before he can run into Kelly again.

He’s halfway home before he realizes that he forgot the game, not that he ever found an employee anyway.  Still the thought of going back to that store again soon makes his head pound harder.