I was buying a pack of gum and a pint of ice cream at 10:30 p.m. The cashier looked at my items, scanned them, and said, “Rough night?”
I laughed awkwardly and said, “Just tired.”
He nodded and added, “Yeah, this screams ‘emotional support sugar.’”
There were three people behind me. Everyone heard.
I still bought the ice cream. I just did it with far more awareness of my public vulnerability than I wanted.