This Story takes place in 1961, in a small New England town's A&P grocery store. Sammy, the narrator, is introduced as a grocery checker and an observer of the store's patrons. He finds himself fascinated by a particular group of girls. Just in from the beach and still in their bathing suits, they are a stark contrast, to the otherwise plain store interior. As they go about their errands, Sammy observes the reactions, of the …showed first 75 words of 712 total…

…showed last 75 words of 712 total…his parents, it is a representation of Sammy's coming-of-age. He is leaving his adolescence behind and this always has some effect on parents. It is hard for them to let their children go, into adulthood. This time is something that he says his family looks back on as sad, but he does not see it that way, at all. Sammy sees it as a time that he took a significant step towards becoming a man.