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This occurred on a weekend morning, and I was grumpy enough, topping off my mother's vehicle. It was one of those petrol stations that doubles as a convenience store, meaning there's a chance of waiting behind shoppers with carts of slightly overpriced groceries. It's an awful situation to occur when the sole aim is to complete a simple refueling. Terrible.

Fourth in line I stood in the queue. There was only cashier operating, a young woman. Something stood out to her presence. Once the slowpoke at the first position had at last settled for a cleaning product, his pastry, and some breakfast items, I could have sworn that I heard the cashier tell him to have a great day. Strange. Maybe it was a mistake, or maybe she did say it and was being sarcastic. I pondered if she could even be a comrade in my battle with dithering, sharing my contempt for people who hold up people just getting gas like me.

Taking a step forward, now third in line. The person ahead of our line completed her gasoline purchase with commendable speed. Once more it happened: “Wishing you a marvelous day.” No, actually, it was “have a wonderful day”. A stateside native? In Stourbridge? She had the accent, and hardly anyone here tells people such a cheerful phrase, or merely a pleasant day. Very rare. It's uncommon to find many Americans frequenting this area, and definitely not employed at gas stations or elsewhere.

Second in line at last. Following a senior shopper dealing with a lengthy struggle with her shopping cart, her purchases, her purse and her rewards card. The process dragged on. When she was done, she too received the wish to have a fantastic day. Yes, American for sure. Confirming it was possible by cracking a joke in her direction, to check for that reaction as they gaze at you, stoically, and reply with genuine earnest: “That’s really funny.” But I couldn’t think of anything hilarious to utter.

I just had to settle for the absolute sincerity – or a performance of it, which amounts to no different – as she gazed me right in the eye, piercingly, and bid me an awesome day. It improved my mood. A positive experience.