Old Dour Sour Woman

At a certain age we become invisible the woman said. You will know when you get here. People make jokes about people with no teeth. I show her my mouth; I am pretty toothless. No one makes fun of me that I know of. Parties go on without you, she tells me. Not because you weren’t invited, but because you did not go. Because you knew they really did not want you. You were an obligation, not a choice. I did not feel obligated to spend another minute with this stranger in the checkout line.