British English spelling and grammar.
All info about British supermarkets is correct.
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BAPU
Prologue
"What the hell is BAPU?"
"I knew you'd ask that and I'm not going to tell you, but I will confirm if you guess it right. Otherwise it's a secret!"
Chapter 1
"Are you ready to try it yet Sheila? We usually do it on a Sunday morning anyway." I asked.
"Not yet Glen, I'm still considering it. We can do everything else though. Get your pyjama trousers off."
I had been angling for anal sex for a long time; a very long time. And Sheila was slowly coming round to the idea. This morning, we had oral foreplay and both orgasmed with full penetration sex; now we flopped onto our backs satisfied.
"Still as good after all these years." she remarked.
"It sure is babe. You're as sexy now as you were on our first night -- what, twentyfive years ago?"
"It's a bit more than that. A girl never forgets losing her virginity. And I want to enjoy losing my anal virginity too. I'm almost ready to take the plunge. I've already bought some special lubricant."
I laughed.
"So have I!"
Chapter 2
"What are you drinking Glen? It's my shout."
"Guinness please, Larry."
I heard him at the bar: "Guinness for Glen and I'll have a pint of Greene King, Jimmy."
Jimmy smiled, and so did I; as if we'd ever ordered anything else. I think if either of us requested ditchwater and tonic, and a pint of elephant's piss -- Jimmy would still pour a Guinness and a Greene King. Larry sat across from me and there was a reverential silence while we each drained a quarter of a pint or so. Traditions observed; I spoke.
"So what makes you drag me off to The Green Man on a Tuesday night, mate?"
"It could be bad news Glen. Don't shoot the messenger."
"I'm listening."
"Does your Sheila still work at Pricesmart?"
"She does -- been there a year now. She got four days a week, part-time, the moment our Adrian got married and moved up to Manchester."
"Well my daughter May has just started there, also part-time. She wants extra money for university next September. I can finance all her education -- no problem. But she's eighteen now, and always insists on at least trying to pay her own way."
"Good for her; I haven't seen her for ages."
"No, we sent her to that expensive boarding school."
"I remember -- did she do well?"
"Very well, she's only gained a place in the London School of Economics."
"Wow! Only Oxford and Cambridge beat that."
"True, but she'll graft at the supermarket through the summer."
We drank some more.
"Anyway, May thought she recognised her, though Sheila wouldn't have recognised May - she's blossomed in the last couple of years."
"You said not to shoot the messenger; what did she see?"
"It was more what she overheard really. It's embarrassing."
"Better just spit it out then." I encouraged.
"It's that Turner, the boss. He's been bragging he can have Sheila any time he wants. He claims he's already had most of the married ones. It seems to be some sort of hobby."
"I doubt he'll get Sheila."
"That's what I thought, but May says she's been flirting and leading him on. You know how women get as they approach the menopause. My Sharon was just the same; suddenly wanted to try a black man."
I had to ask: "And did she?"
"I hope not. I put my foot down and said it would be divorce if she did. She pestered for about six months and then gave up the idea."
"Well that's all right then."
"I don't know, it still niggles at me. Towards the end of the six months, her company sent her away to London on an software update course. She was in a hotel Monday to Thursday night."
"And you think she might have strayed?"
"Who knows? The timing was right. We spoke every night on the phone. The usual 'I miss yous' and so on. She described the other attendees and sent me photos. But I checked with the hotel and they're only busy till Friday checkout. You know; all businessmen. And they confirmed they always have live music and a dance on the last Thursday. Everyone likes to let their hair down. None of these companies expect much work to be done on Fridays. It's all dishing out certificates and packing for home."
"So that was her big chance."
"Exactly; and after that week, she stopped mentioning black men. I never quizzed her about it; I preferred not to rock the boat."
"I couldn't do that with Sheila. I'd have to know."
"That's what I thought, so that's why I'm telling you now. I never looked for any more clues with Sharon, I just let it ride. But if the clues are there for you; at least now you've been forewarned."
"I appreciate it mate. Fancy another?"
Chapter 3
"So why does your Mr Turner use all these weird initials?" I asked. "What's the point?"
"OK, I'll explain. It's a precise science."
"Hang on then; I'll open a bottle of wine."
"Some items have a fixed location. They'll be the same in most supermarkets. Fruit and veg for example are always just inside the entrance. It gives the impression that this is the place to shop for everything fresh. The deli, meat, fish and dairy -- are always across the rear. They need frequent refills from the store rooms behind them,"
"Yes, I've noticed that. It makes sense.
"The bakery is always located in the corner farthest away from the entrance."
"That doesn't sound very convenient." I said.
"It's not supposed to be. It's the item that most shoppers come in for -- especially now all the private bakeries have been forced to close. So they put the bread in the most inconvenient place. Then customers have to walk past a few thousand items on the way to pick it up, and back to the checkout. Surveys show that on average a customer who intends to buy just a loaf of bread -- leaves the supermarket with three or four other items."
"That's pretty clever."
"And did you know they don't vent the bakery hot air to the outside?" Sheila went on.
"Where does it go then?"
"Ducts take it to the front entrance. So when you walk in it hits you and you think 'Mm, I love the smell of fresh bread.' And you go and buy some; whether you intended to or not."
"And pick up other stuff on the way,"
"That's right."
"This is all very enlightening, but what about the labels?"
"In the staff canteen, there's a huge board showing the layout of the whole store. The labels are stuck on that. It doesn't need to show where the fixed items are, like the veg and dairy, only the movable stuff."
"Why would you want to move stuff?"
"It's to keep the customers on their toes. Make them walk down as many aisles as possible."
"I get the picture." I nodded.
"If you want them to think they're getting a bargain, you remove the items from the shelves and dump them in a circular cage at the end of the row; we call them tubs. That's where we put BOGOF and WIGIG."