The Face of Misery

I stayed at Lisa's the other night, and got up the next morning with a hunger for some breakfast. I went to the deli about a mile or so away, where they make a pretty decent egg and cheese wrap.

It's a local kind of haunt, and they certainly have their regulars. I am not one of them.

Behind the counter stood a young woman, maybe mid-20s, though I'm not sure because I'm awful at guessing ages (especially females).

Her: "Help you?"

RA: "Ham, egg, and cheese wrap please?"

Her: "What kind of wrap?"

RA: "Plain*" (* Yes, I am uber-Vanilla. Probably always will be.)

Her: "Anything else?"

RA: "No, thank you." (Insert Robbie-esque smile, an attempt to elicit anything)

She turned and went about her business. In the process, I couldn't sense whether she had a personality. To be honest, I wasn't sure she had any emotions. Her face was stone cold.

I was fascinated. Watching her work, it was clear that she simply deplored what she was doing. In a quick analysis, it seemed sad.

It could be that she really hated her job. Maybe she hates her life. Hates being in Dutchess County, NY.

Then again, given my nature of wanting to know the full story and not judge too quickly, it could be that she hated who she was working with. Or her boss had given her a hard time. Or a customer. Or she broke up with her boyfriend.

I guess the point is: who knows?

She might have simply been having a bad day.