On the way back to the office from court last week, I decided to do a quick stop at the grocery store. I needed two items for home and wanted to multitask by also picking up something for lunch. While the store was crowded, I thought I could just get on the Express Line with my three items and be out of the store within minutes. I was wrong.

At the Express Line there was a sign that clearly read, “Fifteen items only.” As I waited impatiently in the Express Line, I looked down the long line, and could see several people who had much more than fifteen items in their cart. One person must have noticed my gaze because she looked at me and said, “It doesn’t count if you have more than one of the same item in your cart.” I looked in her cart and saw five jars of gravy, six cans of sweet potatoes etc. So, while she may have had thirty individual jars/cans in her cart, by her count she only had five items.

I didn’t respond. I just continued standing quietly in line with my three items. But I couldn’t help but think that she was wrong, that fifteen means fifteen. Or does it? What is the rule in the Express Line?