The Receipt Songs

A fictional found-receipt noir-Americana ballad about white bread, lightbulbs, matches, and soup bought one hour before a blizzard.

A found receipt: Starbucks, 248 State Street, Hartford, Connecticut. Wednesday, March 8th, 9:14 AM — one Caramel Macchiato, Venti; one Pike Place Roast, Grande. Twelve dollars and one cent. Visa ending 4417. The Pike Place went cold.

A found receipt: The Cornerstone Café, Mercy General Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island. Thursday, October 12th, 2:43 in the afternoon — one small tomato bisque, one dinner roll, one small fruit cup, half portion mac and cheese, one black coffee. Eleven dollars and fifteen cents. Visa ending four-four-seven-one. Cashier: Janet. He wasn't hungry. He just needed something to do with his hands while the rest of him held very still. Four hours now. The surgeon said three.

A found receipt: Memorial General Hospital, Building C, Hallway Four. Thursday, March 14th, 2:17 AM — Austin Cheese Crackers, twice. Snickers. Sprite. Machine coffee. Ritz crackers. Nine twenty-five. Exact change. Quarters. He wasn't hungry. He was just feeding the only door that opened when he knocked.

A found receipt: Mercy General Hospital, Patient Services Vending — B Wing, ICU Level Three. Saturday, February eleventh, 2:48 AM. Lay's Original, Nature Valley, M&M's Peanut, Planters Trail Mix, Nutter Butter, Quaker Chewy Bar, Chips Ahoy. Seven fifty. All in quarters. She wasn't hungry. She just needed something to do with her hands. Room 307 is down the hall.

A found receipt: Walgreens, 4812 Oak Park Avenue, Oak Park, Illinois. Saturday, March 7th, 11:47 PM — Birthday Card, one, $4.99. Visa ending 8804. No envelope selected. He stood in that aisle for seven minutes. She doesn't even like lighthouses.

A found receipt: Quick Stop #117, 804 Burnside Ave, Akron, Ohio. Thursday, September 19th, 3:47 AM — Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia (1 pt), Advil PM (20 ct), Bic disposable razor (3-pack). $14.23. Cash. No receipt printed. She pressed no. She stood in front of that shelf for four minutes. She hasn't decided anything. She's just very tired of deciding things.

A found receipt: Blue Anchor Discount Liquors, Portsmouth, Virginia. Saturday, October 8th, 10:22 PM — six Budweiser, one night in Room 14, one bag of pretzels. Thirty-eight forty-five. Cash. No change returned. Exact. He lined them up on the dresser and sat down on the edge of the bed. Monday he ships out. She's asleep in the car.

A found receipt: Total Beverage, US-30 East, Somewhere, Pennsylvania. Tuesday, November 5th, 11:58 PM — Bullet Bourbon 750ml, Meiomi Pinot Noir, Tostitos Hint of Lime. $49.77 plus tax. Card ending 2203. Two people. A kitchen floor. The map went red. Neither bottle was opened.

A found receipt: Kroger, Columbus, Ohio. Thursday, March 14th, 2:17 PM — chardonnay, sharp cheddar, stonewheat crackers, two Bartlett pears. Twenty dollars and seventy-five cents. Card ending 4471. He'd had the badge on his lanyard since 11:40. Nobody at the register knew.

A found receipt: Lakewood Target, Lakewood, Colorado, June 3rd, 2:47 PM — Huggies Snug & Dry, a Graco sound machine, Carter's onesies zero to three months, Johnson's Baby Wash, a Cloud Island owl nightlight. Total: $124.43. He'd been trying for ten years. Today the paperwork finally said yes.

A found receipt: CVS #4417, Millbrook Road, February 14th, 3:08 AM — Whitman's sampler, a $4.99 Valentine's card, Advil, a lemon Snapple. Total: $22.95. Self-checkout. He didn't have her address anymore. He bought it anyway.