everything had happened so fast during the space of that encounter - seeing not a soul , well , seeing handfuls , but speaking to none , as she and roger wished only to be left alone as they mentally sorted out the murky present and far from guaranteed future , she had been seated at the cash register , idly daydreaming , perhaps even fantasizing a little bit that things were normal and she was entertaining an actual paying customer , when james literally appeared out of nowhere , crashing onto the scene like he owned the place .