"Can you still get tinned fruit in syrup?"

the man with the shopping list asked me and another person. He was standing there looking at the tinned (canned) fruit and looking rather bewildered.

"Shopping for your wife?" the other woman asked.

"Shopping for myself," he said.

"You'd be better off with a banana," she told him and walked on. 

He looked at me and I said, "The answer to the question is yes - sometimes. Most tinned fruit comes in fruit juice. Here - these come in pear juice. The pineapple comes in pineapple juice... is that the sort of thing you want?"

"I suppose so. I really don't know much about this sort of thing. I just think I should have something like this occasionally. Those tins are so big. Could you freeze some of it?"

"Yes, you can freeze this - and this - very successfully. If you do it in single size containers then it is even better." I saw his expression and added, "The single size containers are around in the next aisle and they are re-usable...cost a bit to start with but save money in the long run."

He gave me a rather uncertain sort of smile. 

I don't know what made me do it but I then added, "Is there anything else I can help with?"

And at that point his eyes filled with tears and, with difficulty, he told me that he had just seen to the entry of his wife into a unit for dementia patients. They had been "getting by" until then on other things and his limited ability to cook some things and on take away meals. Now he was on his own.He was trying to do what he thought was the right thing, the sort of thing his wife had done when she was able. He had no family here to help and their friends had gradually faded away as his wife's behaviour had become more and more unpredictable.

The aisle of a supermarket is no such place to be talking about such things or giving help apart from rather quickly. We moved on as I showed him where to find the single serve containers. I told him how the "deli" area will cut a cooked chicken in half so that he did not need to try and cook a chicken himself.  

We parted ways. I finished my shopping and picked up something from the chemist.  I passed the florist. He was there getting flowers for his wife. I went out and was packing my tricycle basket when he appeared again. As he passed me he held out a single flower with a piece of cellophane and a tiny bow to hold it in place.

"Thanks again. That was better than a banana," he told me.