Late Night Olives

My niece asked me the other day

'Auntie, what do you do when you stay up late?'

Because my sister and brother-in-law
Are very strict on bedtimes
So when she comes to my house
I let her stay up as late as she wants
But in the morning
She's very aware of the fact
That I managed to stay up
Even later than she does

'What do you do when you stay up late?'

Like she's so impressed with me

I tell her that her Auntie's always liked staying up late
And that her Mom used to too
Before she became a Mommy

And then I tell her my little secret

When I stay up late
And when I'm not baby-sitting, of course
I like to food shopping

She laughs
Because she thinks I'm kidding
But I'm not

I love looking in my cupboards
And realizing I could use
Some olives
For absolutely no reason

Then going to the all-night market
Down the street from my house

Have you ever been to the market
At three am?

It is...

...an experience

It might not be the traditional time
For food shopping
But that's part of what makes it so much fun

Believe it or not, there are hardly ever
Any crazy people

At least, they don't look crazy
On the surface

Most of them are just people who work late
Or college seniors like me
Who get tired of their apartment
With a roommate who prefers to spend all her time
Down the hall
With the hipsters
Who play Australian gospel choirs

People who specifically don't schedule
Early morning classes for themselves

Because listening to a lecture on 'The Tempest'
At eight am
Is not something
That any person should be subjected to

Oh, and yeah, there are nurses
And club bouncers
And insomniacs

And there's this one cashier
Who's always so nice

Even though she occasionally has to deal with
The shame-filled extreme couponer
Who secretly buys all eighty-seven bottles of ketchup
When she thinks nobody else will see her

I like wandering the aisles
Knowing that if I came on a Sunday afternoon
I'd have to fight my way
Past parents with screaming children
And little old ladies
And the whole thing would take me
Two hours
Whereas at three am

I can pick up my olives
And just...stroll

Enjoy the too-bright lights
And the distinct chill of the frozen food section
And the fading smell of baked bread
In the quiet bakery section
And the...

The whole place really

You know, a supermarket is really very peaceful
At three am

And all that food
And light
And all those varieties of cheeses

It's...

Comforting

And then you go home
To your apartment
Which is also quiet
But in a different way

You put away your food
You open up a bag of the pretzels you bought on impulse
You watch twenty minutes of a movie
You won't even remember the name of tomorrow morning
And you...

You remember that your niece is coming to stay with you
In a few days

And then you feel it

Then you feel
That sense
Of peace