Charles Heiner

“At the checkout, the blond cashier asked, “Did anybody help you?” “Yes,” Ginika said. “Chelcy or Jennifer?” “I’m sorry, I don’t remember her name.” Ginika looked around, to point at her helper, but both young women had disappeared into the fitting rooms at the back. “Was it the one with long hair?” the cashier asked. “Well, both of them had long hair.” “The one with dark hair?” Both of them had dark hair. Ginika smiled and looked at the cashier and the cashier smiled and looked at her computer screen, and two damp seconds crawled past before she cheerfully said, “It’s okay, I’ll figure it out later and make sure she gets her commission.” As they walked out of the store, Ifemelu said, “I was waiting for her to ask ‘Was it the one with two eyes or the one with two legs?’ Why didn’t she just ask ‘Was it the black girl or the white girl?’ ” Ginika laughed. “Because this is America. You’re supposed to pretend that you don’t notice certain things.”
― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah