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She looked so cute. I just couldn’t help myself.

I’m not sure exactly what I was thinking. I didn’t really have a plan.
I acted on impulse when I wrapped my arms around my wife, Michele, and kissed her.

We were standing in aisle five, in front of the salad dressings, in our local grocery store.

Please know that making out in public isn’t something my wife and I do on a regular basis. I won’t go so far as to say Michele and I are prudes, but once we leave the privacy of our home, we really aren’t a very demonstrative couple.

In fact, it’s a rare occurrence for us to even leave the house together without one, two or even all three of the kids along.

School, church, sports practices, games, our lives are so filled with our children, we rarely take the time — or have the energy — to go out just the two of us.

So this may sound a bit pathetic, but a rare trip like this to the grocery — sans kiddos — felt a bit like a date to me.

We were chatting about this and that and having a pretty good time picking out groceries. I was enjoying myself, and I think Michele was, too. And did I mention how cute she looked?

It was an impulse. I hadn’t really thought this whole grocery store kissing thing through. Mainly, I hadn’t considered what would happen if we got caught?

As we stood there smooching next to the salad dressing, an older woman pushed her cart around the corner, stopped and stared right at us.

At that instant, I imagined how we must have looked to our spectator: Two 40-somethings, who are presumably old enough to know better, necking in a retail establishment.

My wife was the first to realize we had been seen. Had I been nude, I don’t think Michele could have been more embarrassed.

Horrified, Michele broke off the kiss, turned to look at the approaching woman, reddened, then gave me a look that seemed to say: “Honestly, Mac. Did you have to do that right here in the grocery store?”

Not wanting our onlooker to get the wrong idea, I blurted out, “We’re married.” Then, I realized with horror, that what I had just said could make the situation seem worse, much worse, so for clarity I added, “to each other.”

The older lady laughed, smiled and said, “I think it’s nice that you two are in love.”

And the truth is: I couldn’t agree with her more.

Contact Mac Lane at maclane@northstate.net