Can I help you?

“Can I help you?” I asked him with a smile, as he leaned over the counter, peering at the miscellaneous items on the shelves behind me. He didn’t respond.

Then after a pause he asked, “Do you have at least an M.A. in psychology?”

“No, but I have an M.A. in Communication Studies.”

“That was meant to be a joke,” he said as he turned his back to me.

“Yeah. I got that, but just a little too late,” I lied as he walked away.

It’s hard to ‘get’ jokes when people don’t smile. The fun is all in the smile. Otherwise, it’s just another put-down.

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