Almost Umbelieveable

So I took the kiddos to Target today to get my son some socks, to buy dish detergent and rice cereal and some batteries. I sat down in the cafe area of the store to let my 2 year old work on some popcorn as I nursed my little son. My sweet daughter was feeding me popcorn and I started to cough from the salt. A nice older woman came over and asked me if I wanted a cup of water. I said yes since I was stuck at the seat nursing and still coughing a little bit. She brought it over and then offered some to my daughter sitting next to me. My girl took two sips and the lady sat down to chat. She was dressed in a light pink Mary-Kay smock with black tights and shoes. She reminded me of the Clinque ladies at Meyer and Franks a few years ago. She told me she was a retired Mary Kay saleslady and then she told me all about a product I should use for my infant son. Mind you, the little guy is dressed in a light purple butterfly covered sleeper since we are out of clean clothes round these parts. Then she launched into a mile a minute diatribe about just about everything under the sun. We covered everything from dish soap to cat traps to window cleaner and two stories about assault and battery by some thug who worked security at a local grocery store. As we sat there her stories became more and more elaborate and I started to wonder if she was a consummate liar, or if she was actually just this way through and through. She seemed too fantastic, too dramatic and too "crazy Grandma"-ish to believe. I soon realized my toddler would launch a full out assault if I didn't get us shopped and out of Target soon. So I tried to take leave of her as carefully as possible. That's when the really good story came out that she was going to court for kidnapping of a cat and animal cruelty for trying to take an errant cat to the animal control center. So I sympathized with her as we've had our issues too. I put my girl in the basket of the cart and I stepped behind the cart to get my son in his car seat. That's when the Mary-Kay lady requested a hug from my daughter. I froze. I could not reach my girl from where I was and I couldn't let go of my son since he was not buckled in. Mary Kay lady had my girl in a hug in nanoseconds, and my girl obliged. But it raises the question: How do you handle things like that? Last week I started coaching my daughter on who she can kiss, and who she cannot. But I failed to make a statement about hugs. After thinking about it I realize I should have just said, "Oh, we don't hug people outside our family. Thank you for understanding."

What do you think?