My husband Ben can take off on his own. Yes, I can easily lose him in a crowded area like Costco. A trip to Costco is scheduled to check my hearing aids. I worry about his lack of awareness of danger. He has a naive and trusting nature.

I am blessed to have my companion Lizza who would be accompanying us and doing my huge Costco shopping while Ben and I wait for my audiology appointment. I worried that Ben might roam away from the hearing aid waiting area when I went into the examining room. He loves to inspect all the tables with men’s clothing. I was anxious about leaving him alone. Lizza is finished shopping and back on time to sit with Ben when I go into the examining room. My fear, anxiety and trepidation about Ben roaming is ameliorated. Lizza is with him. Whew!!

Lizza has filled our shopping cart with all my listed items. My hearing aid examination is complete. We are leaving Costco. We head out to the parking garage and then to the Pay Station to pay our parking ticket. As unpleasant as the crowded noisy store is, the parking garage is far worse. I always expect to leave with a dent or scratch on my car. Cars are backing up with their rear window view often obstructed by the accumulation of their 12 rolls of toilet tissue, 12 rolls of Bounty, 12 box of tissuesetc. The low ceiling and dim lights create a claustrophobic atmosphere. The rumbling sound of the metal shopping cartwheels grate on one’s nerves. The smell of petrol is obnoxious. The parking garage scene registers high anxiety for me. Ben is pushing our loaded shopping cart behind us and waits off to the side. The Pay Station situation takes a while, it rejects Visa; rejects Amex, until it accepts our $3 in cash. Our next stop in the parking garage is to load the car.

But NO! NO! NO! NO SHOPPING CART!! NO BEN! Yes, I can lose my husband! Yes, I can lose Ben! Yes, I have lost him. I cry out loudly, “BEN, WHERE AARE YOU? “I am shouting, yelling, screaming, and then, shrieking, “BEN, BEN, BEN.” Lizza is frantically shouting, yelling, screaming, “MR. HABER, MR. HABER, MR. HABER.” My fears and anxieties have now become a reality.

I race up and down one section of the garage as Lizza races up and down another. Our voices echo back but there is no appearance of Ben pushing a loaded Costco shopping cart. Our concern was that he went back into the store to examine the tables with men’s clothing. Before we test this possibility, Ben appears in the far distance calmly searching for our car to unload the cart. He is completely unaware of the fear and stress he has created. Yes, I can lose a husband. Yes, I thought I did lose Ben. Lost and found.