Chapter 2

At first, it seemed a luxury. She had always liked to pick out produce herself. And she worried that perhaps she was exploiting someone who couldn’t work from home. But then, that person had to earn a living, didn’t he or she? Maybe by not ordering the groceries, she was harming rather than helping society. All this social consciousness was becoming wearing, so she decided to set it aside and take the plunge. She could always go back to doing a kamikaze run to the local store, mask and gloves firmly in place.

The first day, she waited and waited for the sound of the truck. She had a tip for the deliveryman—she was sure it wouldn’t be a woman—but didn’t want to tape the envelope to the outside of the storm door that she was never so grateful for until she saw the deliveryman approach it with the bag. Then once he left, she would bring the bag into the hall, removing only the perishables, cleaning them off and putting them in the refrigerator. The rest would wait till the next day.