in front of my changing cubicle, I start trying on leisure wear.
First is a pair of velour jog pants. In my life I’ve always vowed never to wear velvet anything, but needs must as there’s hardly a selection available at this stupid place.
Shoving my legs into the trousers one at a time I pull them up at the waist and it comes to the bottom of my boobs.
This won’t do!
I could scream as I turn and look in the mirror because I must have grabbed an extra long pair of jog pants by mistake. The waist is hiked up much too high, so I shove it down.
“Oh great.” I grit my teeth because now there’s tons of fabric hanging down at the crotch. Also, the legs of the trousers are pooling around my ankles. “Bollocks to this.”
Ripping off the sale items from my personage, I get redressed into my ill-fitting jeans and t-shirt. I walk —no, I stomp— out of the dressing room and out of the entire store. I guess I’m going to have to shop online because I simply can’t find anything that fits. As I plop myself into my damp car I’m at least hopeful that I’ll get my next errand of the day completed successfully. That assumption goes right out the window when I walk into the health food shop.
There’s an Oliver robot here too!
“Seriously?” I bellow. Does everyone in this bloody town now own one of these contraptions.
“Oh hello, Emily. Here for the usual today?”
Heading towards me down one of two aisle in this small shop is Paige. Her husband works at CoTechnic with Callum and we’ve had them round for dinner. Lovely people. It’s only a bit weird how they kind of live off the grid. I don’t know how Paige and her husband Jonty have managed it, but they have land that they’ve built an organic house onto, which they just keep building onto all higildy-pigildy like. I know this because Callum and I have been round to theirs for dinner parties as well and let’s just say I prefer our place that isn’t situated in the deepest darkest recesses of the English midlands.
As Paige nears she pushes a glob of her long, bushy brown hair out of her face. She’s wearing her trademark fleece top, faded jeans and steel-toe lumberjack boots.
She’s a very rustic girl.
Crossing my arms, I start tapping my foot on the floor impatiently. “Are you sure you want to be keeping that thing around here?” Pointing, I indicate the robot to Paige’s right. It’s a triangular thing and its front and back is shaped like a step ladder. There are robot arms extending from it as the bot rearranges stock on the shelves.
“Why ever wouldn’t I?” Paige asks. “This thing has helped out loads around here.”
Running a hand through my long blonde hair, I squint menacingly at the robot. “One of those things malfunctioned last night and almost killed me!”
“Did it?” Paige looks astonished. I proceed to tell her that it did indeed, at the spa. “Well.” She adds, “I suppose it’s a good thing there’s no pool in here then!” She barks a laugh and turns on her heel.
While she’s gone I fill my arms with a few new items from the shelves. When Paige returns to the shop floor with my reserved items, I meet her at the till and pay for my regularly scheduled order of supplies. Ever since the wedding plans began I’ve been trying to incorporate healthier foods onto the cafe menu.
So far, it hasn’t been working to due lack of flavour, but that’s something I’m determined to change with every new recipe I try out.
“I still think you should be very careful around that thing, Paige.” This time when I look at her I swear I see a shadow of doubt play across her features. But then when her ladder shaped robot comes floating towards us her demeanour softens.
“The little bot isn’t really bad company, Emily,” she states simply.
Shrugging my shoulders I take my bags of health food items off of the checkout countertop. “Suit yourself, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
As I leave I’m completely put off by the fact that her ladder robot follows me all the way to the door.
***
When I get back to the cafe I notice my behemoth oven robot is finally gone. “I see Oliver collected his stupid robot!” I shout to Anika as I make my way into the kitchen, laden with carrier bags. “Although