An Anticlimactic Adventure, But An Adventure Nonetheless!

When I say "I witnessed a robbery." People assume that it was some intense stand off with a gun pointed at the cashier. Allow me lower your expectations right here. If you have expectations about an epic tale of greed, tension, and bravery, you will be extremely disappointed. It was an anticlimactic adventure, but it was an adventure nonetheless!

 It was a Tuesday; The work day had completely drained me. I was ready to just go home and relax for the night.

After work, I drove up to the University campus to pick Stephen up from his last class of the day. As I waited for him, I made a mental note to stop by the store one the way home for some feminine hygiene products; "Auntie Flow" had made an unexpected visit and I was running low on necessities.  

Once I saw Stephen approaching the car, I got out of the drivers seat, greeted him with a kiss, gave him the keys, and plopped into the passenger's seat. The mental note I had just made was immediately archived as Stephen and I talked about our days. 

We arrived back at our apartment at quarter to eight. I slumped down on the couch and watched Netflix while Stephen worked out. (Perfect representation of our personalities, right there.) The archived mental note I had make while waiting for Stephen suddenly came into my head. 

"Honey, we need to go to the store." I announced. 

"Uh... can you go by yourself?" Stephen replied.

I made a pouty face.

"I'm a big girl! I can do stuff by myself, I just don't want to."

Stephen laughed and agreed to come with me. 

By the time we got in the car is was 9:45. We decided just to go to the Walgreen's down the street. 

When we entered the store, I went straight to the feminine hygiene aisle. Stephen suddenly realized why I needed a late night grocery run. I grabbed what I needed and went to checkout.

There was a single register open. The cashier was a young, timid, dark haired girl. The man in front of us was trying to dictate which pack of cigarettes he wanted. 

"It's looks like that one," he pointed behind her.

"...but it is that color." He pointed to another pack. 

"But it is that brand!" He directed again.

The young cashier seemed flustered as she tried to figure out what he wanted. 

I stood there, awkwardly holding the large box of tampons. Stephen was flipping through magazines.

Finally the man decided on which brand he wanted. It was a large carton of cigarettes. The cashier rang up the total.

"Oh, I don't think I have enough." He said. He picked up the cigarettes and walked out the door.

I assumed he was going to get more money from his car, it didn't register to me that he would just walk out without paying; Especially with witnesses and cameras that saw him. 

The cashier ran after him. By this time there were 3 other parties in line waiting for checkout. 

A few minutes passed. We all were just waiting, twiddling our thumbs, wondering what happened. Suddenly we heard the sobbing cashier come back into the store.

"We were robbed!" She cried;  mascara streaming down her face.

"We we've just been robbed and he tried to hurt me." 

The man that was working at the photo center in the store ran to her. He walked her to the employee lounge where she called the police. 

"Did anyone see what happened?" The man asked when he came back out.

"I saw what happened in here, but not anything that happened outside." I answered. 

"Would you mind waiting here until the police come and filling out a witness statement?"

"No problem." I said, still a little stunned at the situation.

I glanced over at the cash register. I noticed for the first time that the robber's total was over $500. He had everything from beer to crayons rung up and he only took cigarettes. 

10 minutes after the robbery, the man at the cash register finally got everyone checked out. The police arrived and went to talk to the young employee. 

After another 10 minutes, the male employee working the cash register seemed to suddenly realize what I had purchased.

"Oh!" He exclaimed

"You probably want to get home." He said as he looked at what in the plastic bag.

"Here," He printed out a long, blank receipt. 

"...Write down your statement on here and your phone number. If the police have any other questions they can call you."

I wrote it all down. I wrote down what he looked like. Stephen also wrote down what he remembered. By the time I finally had my statement written down, the police came out to talk to us. 

At the end of it all, what had been a simple tampon run turned into a 45 minute ordeal. I don't know what happened outside the store, I don't know if he had a gun, a knife, or just his fists; I just know I'm glad I wasn't the one to run after him. I also know that I hope this was a once in a lifetime experience.