Five and Dime

I got a new Joshua Radin CD today called Underwater. Joshua is my all-time favorite singer, and in tribute to him, I had an idea to use his song Five and Dime as a writing prompt for my blog post today.

The part of the song I selected is:

“Annie waits in line at the Five and Dime,

The men stare; she says she doesn’t mind,

There’s seven mouths to feed,

And she wears it on her sleeve,

And she remembers the day she said she was gonna leave.

She says take me back,

To a time I knew before

Before I opened my eyes and knew I wanted more.”

Annie shuffled her feet in impatience, staring down at her tattered black flip flops. The line refused to move forward, and she felt the eyes of the men who ran the oil rig on her back, her golden hair, her hips. The men stared at her whenever they saw her in town, but today, stuck in line at the Five and Dime, she was captive to their attention. She tightly gripped her basket with a loaf of bread, a package of Kraft Singles American cheese, and a half gallon of milk. With seven hungry children and a husband who demanded a home-cooked meal, an eight dollar supper was almost expensive for her.

Kurt, her husband, worked on the oil rig with the guys and didn’t defend her when the men increased their advances to include degrading comments.  He said he spent forty hours a week with those men and couldn’t have them hating him. If she had to endure a few comments, it was for the good of his job, he said. Deep down inside, Annie wished he would stand up to the men one day.

Finally, the hold up at the checkout counter was resolved, and the line began to move. Annie smiled at Glenda, the kind old cashier.

“How you doing tonight, honey?” Glenda asked as she rang up the purchases.

“Oh, I’m just fine, thank you. And yourself?”

“As good as can be expected for an old lady like me.” A worried look crossed her face as she said, “Those oil rig guys been looking at you like you was a piece of candy for them to suck on.”

“They don’t bother me. They’re friends of Kurt’s from work,” Annie assured her.

“Alright, honey. So long as you feel safe in this here store. Have a good evening.”

As Annie walked the five blocks home down Main Street, she remembered back to her junior year of high school, when she’d found out she was pregnant with Reggie. She’d told Kurt, and he had been so supportive and protective of her. He made sure she and the baby were well nourished even if he had to skip a meal. Where were those caring attentions now? All he did now was work and drink. And he used the supper money to pay for his liquor.

She’d threatened to leave him, threatened to take the kids and move to New York City. Surely, the city of dreams would give some of its promise to her and her children. But Kurt had gotten so angry. His face had become taught with rage and his eyes darted in different directions as if he were trying to out think Annie before she could dart out on him.

She’d agreed to stay for the sake of the children. After all, they needed their Daddy. Just like she’d needed her Daddy before he left her Momma. Before she knew that married couples weren’t always happy. Before she knew that having children didn’t make you love each other more.