At the all-night deli I’m behind a young man in line. He’s speaking on the phone, but he pauses long enough to place his order: a veggie burger deluxe. I’m next, and I order a plain veggie burger. It’s a long wait, and, bored, my attention is drawn to the young man and his telephone conversation (things that happened at the office, complaints about co-workers). A few orders come ready but they’re other peoples’ sandwiches. Finally I hear the deli worker call out, “Veggie burger!” Not sure if it’s my order or the young man’s, I hang back for a second (he seems oblivious meanwhile, immersed in his phone call). Finally I approach the counter: I can see that the order is mine, since it’s just a plain veggie burger. As I take the container and head for the cashier I can sense the young man suddenly becoming aware that a veggie burger transaction has taken place. He takes the phone away from his ear and turns to me: ‘Excuse me, I think that’s my order,’ he says. Not sure exactly how to respond (do I state this veggie burger is not ‘deluxe,’ thereby betraying that I eavesdropped on his order? act surprised and ask the deli worker to clarify?) I hold up the container to show him what it contains. ‘Oh, sorry,’ he says, and turns back to his phone call.