Space Invaders of the Vons Kind

A week or so ago, my roommate Lisa and I were on our way to a dinner party but we had to make a quick stop by the grocery store (Vons) first.
Like most people in a hurry, when we were waiting to check-out, we each stood in two different lines to see whose would go faster. Lisa stood in the self check out line that stretched far down the aisle but had 4 possible portals. I stood in a regular line that looked like it had the least number of people/food items. Lisa had the groceries with her, so I stood empty handed behind a man with a cart. My line was on the verge of blockage - it was so long that if I stood behind the man in front of me, I would be blocking all traffic flow, so I tried to move the line a bit sideways by standing next to the man. Don't worry. I drew a lovely diagram for you... Now that you get the picture, picture me, empty handed, walking up to a stranger in line and standing right next to him. Once I was there, I felt so awkward.
Lisa was so far down the aisle that she couldn't be seen, so I couldn't even motion to her to show him that I had a partner in crime that I was holding a spot for or anything. I just came off like a complete loon. He kept giving me odd looks, which I kept ignoring.
It seemed like a good five minutes passed without our line budging an inch, so I couldn't even get behind the guy like normal.
Finally Lisa appeared in her line and slowly moved up in ranks so that I was able to give up my post. All were relieved.