Cup Hooks

By Maryanna Gabriel

     Living on an island has it’s challenges and today it was finding cup hooks for a project I am working on. The two stores here did not have the right size. Snow is coming anyways. Time for a supply run. So, based on cup hooks alone, I caught the ferry to the “Big Island”.

     Last year at this time, I was travelling early in the black of morning in a gusting wind. The man beside me opened his car door. The wind caught it so hard, his door slammed into my passenger side, creating a dint. This unfortunately involved an insurance claim.

     Once I was on the ferry and half way across, my blood ran cold. I had forgotten my purse. There was no way around it. A crew member asked the captain if I could stay on board and return to get it. The captain allowed it. I raced home and found it waiting for me by the front door, right where I had left it, then roared back to the terminal. The whole process took about four hours. These things aren’t easy.

     My technique for shopping is simple. Go before anybody in their right mind wants to get up, then get out fast. I was standing in front of some oranges on sale, when I noticed a favourite hand knitted glove was missing. I paced the cheese section where I had just been. No glove. I asked at the lost and found. No glove. I returned to the deli section and asked there. No glove. I was mystified. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror.

       There it was, perched delicately on my decolletage, lodged within the folds of my scarf. Sigh. These five in the morning starts are not my best times.

     By the third store, I found the size of cup hooks I needed. I was home by noon. Let it snow.