PIN-ning Down What’s Wrong Here

My boyfriend and I are doing our weekly grocery shop and are next in line at the checkout with our heaping cart of items. The lady currently checking out looks like she stepped out of an online article about “How to Look Like an Incognito Movie Star in a Small Hick Town”. She’s got oversized sunglasses on, a floppy hat, claw-like fake nails, and a bejeweled cell phone she’s clutching at a cocked angle, with someone on speakerphone on the other end. She’s clearly not in a rush, and she has her debit card sticking in the card reader, looking and sounding quite bored while she nonchalantly holds up the line.

Movie Star Lady: *Casually hollering into her phone* “Yeah, baby, I’m at the checkout and the PIN you gave me isn’t working.”

Guy On Phone: “Which card are you using?”

Movie Star Lady: “The one you gave me. I tried [PIN #1] for the PIN, but it didn’t work.”

The cashier, my boyfriend, and I all exchange horrified looks. Yes, this lady just hollered out a PIN for everyone to hear. And remember, she has the guy she’s talking to on speakerphone, so everyone can hear him, too.

Guy On Phone: “That’s my other card. The PIN for the one I gave you is [PIN #2].”

Movie Star Lady: *Loudly repeats the PIN he just told her.* “Are you sure? Because [PIN #2] is the first one I tried, and it didn’t work, so I tried [PIN #1], which didn’t work, either.”

This continues for a bit, and the cashier, my boyfriend, and I are getting a bit agitated at how flippant she’s being about holding up the line while casually yelling out this guy’s legitimate PINs.

The woman finally returns to the card reader to punch in a PIN.

Movie Star Lady: “Okay, I’m trying [PIN #2] right now. Oh, it worked. Okay, because, yeah, I tried [PIN #2] first, and it didn’t work, so that’s why I tried [PIN #1], but yeah, [PIN #2] worked this time.”

She finally got her receipt and her little bag of purchases and sashayed away in her sunglasses and hat, still yapping on her phone. My boyfriend and I exchanged an exasperated giggle while shaking our heads, feeling sorry for that guy and the security risk movie star he’s dating.