SEVERANCE

‘Oh hello,’ I said to the woman stood behind the counter I’d gone to with the hat I’d chosen after having tried on several styles.
‘Hello,’ she said adding my name which I will not be revealing at this time in my on-going attempt to maintain a level of privacy affording me the freedom to write with as little self-censorship as possible.
‘What you doing here?’ I said.
The last time I’d seen her was at a party after her departure from her character was mercilessly dissected to a point from which there appeared no return with only Her Indoors (for that is where she is right now) resisting the opinion I had some sympathy with. (As usual what gets lost is a person’s humanity, and, goodness, I’ve been judged by others I imagine both fairly and otherwise...)
She fumbled with the hat as we chatted.
‘I’m only here on Saturdays,’ she said.
She looked tired.
‘Been here long?’ meaning this morning.
‘Only a few weeks,’ she said. ‘It’s until Christmas, you know, a bit of extra money.’
...fumble...
“Do you want a bag?’
‘No thanks,’ I said having a bag-for-life.
She gave me the hat.
‘You got some scissors?’
‘Oh yes,’ she said and cut the plastic link between the label I held away from the hat and the hat itself.
‘Thanks,’ I said.