Food, Beer, Milk, Lottery, Gas, and Wooing

I've actually been using my Wonder Woman journal to jot down ideas. S. can attest to that as she glanced over them while I was hanging out with her this weekend. Some of them she could immediately discern what I was going to write about, but a couple of them perplexed her. One of those was the idea that simply read "Citgo."

I started working at my job about a year and a half ago. What a wonderful year and a half it has been! I could go on and on about the love I have for my job. While this story is about "love," it's not about my love.

Soon after I started my job, I noticed that the Citgo station close to my work had consistently lower gas prices than its competitors -- sometimes as much as ten cents per gallon lower. So, because I'm a smart girl on a tight budget, I started consistently going there. As is often the case with convenience stores, the man running the store is also the owner of the store. He took a liking to me from my very first visit.

At first, I thought he was flirty with everyone, but I soon realized that wasn't the case. His face would light up when I entered the store, and he would tell everyone in the store how happy he was that I was there and ask them to take a look at what a kind, beautiful woman looks like. I would smile and blush and feel uncomfortable at the attention.

After a couple of months, he decided to ask me out. I told him that I wasn't interested in dating as I'd just come out of a long marriage and was newly divorced. He told me he could wait. I cheerfully replied, "Be prepared to wait forever!" He kissed my hand.

But he also seemed to take the hint and toned down his attempted wooing. He would still occasionally compliment me and would always smile, but nothing that made me feel like I needed to start getting gas elsewhere.

Lately, though, he must feel like I've had enough time to get past the divorce because he's back to full-on-flirty mode.

"Put me in your pocket and take me with you!"

"Oh, shucks. No pockets today. Next time!"

(It's a pain to always have to remember to wear pants and shirts with no pockets on days when I might have to buy gas. Or to have to pay six cents more a gallon across the street. 'Cause you can bet your ass he's gonna try to climb into the first pocket he sees on me.)

He's back to telling everyone in the store how wonderful I am and saying, "This is the girl I am always talking about. Isn't she lovely? One day, I will convince her to go out with me." I smile and remind him that I don't plan on dating ever again.

If he really, truly creeped me out and/or worried me, I would move to another gas station and fork out the extra 82 cents for peace of mind. While I think he truly has interest in me, I also think it's just a bit of fun for him.

And as for me? Doesn't everyone need an ego boost every once in awhile?