Bugger Off!

There is a supermarket which I love to visit, although I hardly do, as there is another nearer neighbourhood mart which gives the most competitive prices for its goods. Anyway, whenever I do get a chance to go to this one, I always take my time to walk all the neat aisles and browse through all the goods on its shelves (just for the heck of it).However, an incident happened last week which shall forever marr my experience at the store.

I was slinging my baby in the icecream section (drooling at the Magnum boxes) while my husband and daughter were at the checkout counter, when suddenly a very dark-skinned middle-aged Chinese lady spoke to me. She asked me in Mandarin, what I was doing about the rash on my son's face (which is eczema so needs steroid cream application once in a long while), and I told her I was applying "gao yao" (Mandarin for medical cream). She protested violently that I shouldn't do that, and asked me, ASKED me, mind you, whether I wanted to hear the "correct" remedy. I smiled politely and refused. Whereupon she began to rebuke me loudly, saying that with my stubbornness I was putting my baby in danger.

Now I've received quite a few strangers' comments and opinions on how to rid my baby's face of eczema, none of which works, because most middle-aged Chinese women here do not understand the difference between milk rash, eczema, and God knows whatever other dermatological problems which commonly appear on a baby's face. The only thing which does, is an appropriate steroid cream, administered sparingly and occasionally. After all, this is my second child, and I KNOW what to do when the same thing happens.

So I was getting pretty fired up by this time, and told her that this IS my second baby; I know what to do. She walked off, still repeating her mantra of "so stubborn, harm yr baby". Oh I just ignored her and stared longingly at the Magnum, thinking the encounter was over, when within a few seconds, she suddenly reappeared from around the corner and began all over again, "so young, so stubborn, harm yr baby". Argh! What, will she only let me off after I've listened to whatever "remedy" it was she wanted to "recommend"? More like force down my throat!

Thankfully, my husband called me over, so I left this crazy woman behind and left with my family. But that's not the end, oh no! I was given the task to return the supermarket trolley, and I had to turn the corner to do so. As I was doing it, I saw out of the corner of my eye, that this woman had come out of the supermarket too, and was heading towards me. Horrors! Is she gonna stalk me till I do what she says? After I returned the cart, I stayed where I was to wait for my husband and girl, because I really didn't want to confront her, but at the same time thinking furiously what to say to her if she should really come up to me again. And then along came my hubby, who was told that that woman had followed me out, and who tried to see who it was. Just then I saw that that woman was standing just around the corner with another lady and a buggy, so she must be with her. Of course that woman was talking and pointing at me. We left after that.

I am usually very confrontational. It must have been the weather, which was supremely hot that day. At any rate, I shiver slightly whenever I think of that incident and that supermarket, which is a pity.