The Eternal Struggle Of Mature Adult And Man Child

I am standing in line at checkout, minding my own business. Because of social distancing and the length of the line, I am inside one of the aisles. Behind me is a man in his fifties or sixties who only has two items. He comes to stand RIGHT BESIDE ME to look over at the Twenty Items or Less lane. I allow this for about ten seconds before I feel the need to speak up.

Me: “Excuse me, sir?”

Man: “Yeah, I’m just checking the other lane.”

Me: “I figured. Can you please step back?”

Man: *Dismissively* “Oh, I’m fine.”

Me: *Stern* “Please keep six feet away.”

The man glares at me as though I just cursed at him and goes to stand a few feet behind me.

Man: “It’s not a big deal!”

I’m feeling fed up at people not taking this seriously.

Me: “I have asthma. My clients are mostly in their eighties or nineties. It is a big deal.”

Man: “Yeah, well, whatever, go talk to someone else.” *Mutters*

I’m thinking that he’s the one he needs to be spoken to about this, as I turn to face forward.

Me: “Just asked you to respect my space.”

Man: “How about you respect my space?!”

Me: *Incredulously* “YOU WERE THE ONE IN MY SPACE.”

The next few minutes are quiet. Because this store is popular but can only operate every other lane, the lines can be a bit long. I can barely hear customer service yelling for people with fewer than ten items to approach. I figure I’ll be the Mature Adult in this situation.

Me: *Turns around* “Hey, sir? They’re accepting ten items and less up at customer service.”

The man pointedly stares away.

Me: “Sir? You can go to customer service and you don’t have to wait long.” *Pause* “Sir, I’m trying to offer a peace branch; are you seriously ignoring me?” *Pause* “You’re ignoring me.”

I turned back around and just shook my head. I tried to be a Mature Adult, but it’s near impossible when you’re dealing with a Man Child!