I’m at Southpoint Mall to visit Basil Thai Kitchen, a local chain with a space in the food court. This will require me to navigate the particular madness of being at a mall two Saturdays before Christmas.
The holiday cheer is palpable as soon as I walk in and find myself standing in a spot where I can hear two different Christmas songs playing at once: “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” and Taylor Swift’s “Christmas Tree Farm.” A moment later, a child starts screaming. It’s like the opposite of a whispering gallery; instead of sounds traveling magically from one spot to another, everything crashes together in the middle.
As I make my way toward the food court, I pass some old favorites—Hot Topic is packed, thank goodness—and some spots that are new to me, like a Bath & Body Works offshoot called “White Barn” that feels spiritually connected to the Taylor Swift Christmas song,; a kiosk selling paintings of celebrities who died young; and a new fast-fashion outlet called “Q,” which I see a teenage girl point to while telling her friend, “I hate Forever 21.”…