i used to work at a Dollar General, and whenever we had stuff going on clearance we'd break out this long plastic table and set it up by the door. it was set up in such a way that a lot of people missed it walking in but took a little peek at it as they walked out. during one such clearance event a couple of elderly women came through my line to be checked out, as i'm bagging their items one of them noticed the clearance table. she was three apples tall and wearing a little floral dress and made the cutest little old lady sound when she saw the sale, "oooh ho ho! don't mind if i do," she said as she ambled over to the table, leaving her partner in groceries there to finish checking out. the woman in front of me was taller, and looked like she was strong all her life and could still probably throw down if she wanted. she watched her floral counterpart wander to the clearance table and said, "just can't take her anywhere," wholly exasperated, and then added, "but i do. she's my best friend, you know." and because small talk is part of the customer service gig, i asked if they'd been friends for a while, to which she replied, "we've been living together for thirty years." she was still watching her friend at the table while i bagged her stuff, and at this point she was smiling, reminiscing, i guess, "there isn't anyone i'd rather spend the rest of my life with," she said, "i'm so glad i got rid of my husband." and i was only half invested in this conversation since i was still scanning and bagging items, but that had me absolutely locked in. out of curiosity, i asked if she was divorced. singular beat of silence. "no." which had its implications, so i simply noted that it was probably a good riddance, and she happily agreed. she never outright admitted anything to me, of course, but yeah. that's the story of the elder lesbian who came to my store and admitted to the probable murder of her husband so she could live with her girlfriend.
