I usually go into Santa Fé once every two weeks to get a massage, and buy enough to last until I go again.
On Sunday, I cancelled my appointment. I knew the person I saw changed the linen between customers, and sent everything to a laundry. I also knew his other clients weren’t always honest about their physical conditions. It wasn’t a risk I was willing to take.
That meant I needed to buy things locally that I usually bought in Santa Fé. One thing was a particular brand of mineral water. I knew it was available locally, but not in the bottles I preferred. I also suspected it was more expensive.
My first stop Tuesday morning was the same local grocery I had visited on Friday. I bought most of their mineral water and what boxes of my favorite crackers remained.
Even that early in the morning, all the checkout lines were busy, but the lines weren’t as long. It was possible to keep a cart’s distance from others.
I then went to two drug stores, and made the same purchases. Both were nearly empty, although the cashier in one was getting calls to know if the store still had something. It didn’t.
From there I went to the post office. Two older men gave each other an elbow bump at the counter. Greeting rituals are important in this town, and they were trying to adapt. However, they still stood shoulder to shoulder.
After they left, I stood a distance from the counter and asked the woman what would happen if my box filled up because I was only going to come into town once a week. She assured me, nothing would be returned. If the box filled, they would keep the overflow elsewhere.
My last stop was the dollar store that had started my peregrinations on Friday. They had not received any new stock.
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