The encounter takes place on the very first day of Harold Fry's journey, shortly after he leaves his home in Kingsbridge. Having missed the midday post collection, Harold crosses towards a petrol station on the edge of town, where the houses stop and the fields take over. Inside, a young girl at the till yawns as he enters. She wears a red tabard over her T-shirt and trousers, with a badge that reads HAPPY TO HELP. Her hair hangs in oily strips either side of her head so that her ears poke through, and her skin is pockmarked and pale, as if she has been kept inside for a long time. When Harold asks for light refreshments, she does not understand him; she opens her mouth and it remains hanging ajar, so that he fears a change in the wind would leave her like that. 'A snack?' he says. 'Something to keep me going?' Her eyes flicker. 'Oh, you mean a burger.' She trudges to the fridge and shows him how to heat a BBQ Cheese Beast with fries in the microwave. Harold watches it revolve in its box behind the window and marvels, 'Good lord... I had no idea you could get a full meal from a garage.'