Shopping

I use to live for shopping.   I'd shop every day when I could.   I worked in town and there were three major department stores within walking distance of my office.   The shoe stores were unbelievible.   One right across my office was the $13.88 store.  Every pair of shoes.   And they were cute ones too.   Even if you only needed a special pair for one or two times, who cared at that price?  Now days, I'm trying to get rid of the itemages in my house, so I don't shop so much.  Except for yarn, but that doesn't count. 

Last Wednesday I stopped at a mattress store on my way home from work.   I just needed a twin size mattress for my son's room.    He was going to be home Saturday and nothing like putting these things off until the last minute huh?   But I knew if I waited until Friday night they wouldn't have what I wanted in stock and then I'd have to explain to him why he was sleeping on the floor or the couch for a few nights.   I'm a mean mom sometimes, but not that mean.

It was cloudy, I was in a hurry and when I walked into the door the kid leaped out of his chair, started across the store introducing himself and saying the whole spiel.   I stopped him right after he told me his name - which I didn't pay attention to.  (Note:  first shot into my own foot)    I said, I needed a twin size mattress for a guest room.  So he took me to a very nice one, said I could have it for the wonderful price of $600 and when did I want it delivered?   I said I didn't.  And I really didn't want to spend that much money, what else did he have.  On sale?  So he showed me another one for $199.  That was better, did they have any other choices, yes, but what he showed me, I wouldn't even try, they looked so crappy.  So I said fine, I'll take this one.  Is it in stock?   Why yes, it is.   Great.   Here's my check, it's starting to rain, I'll be back in the next evening or two to pick it up, whenever it isn't raining.  He said great, he'd put a sold ticket on it with my name. 

Of course it rained for the next two days.   Saturday afternoon on our way home from the airport, I 'splained to my son that we needed to stop and pick up his mattress.    But it was already paid for, and they would load it into the truck, all he had to do was help me get it into the house.   And yes, I understand he'd been awake for almost 40 hours, but I promised it was on the way home and it would be painless.   (I just keep shooting myself in the foot don't I? )  So we got to the store, he opened the back of the truck up while I went in confidently with my ticket.  They looked and looked and looked.   Golly, it looks like we've sold it.

Huh?  

But hold on, let me check.    10 minutes later, yep, we don't have it anymore, and gee, I'm sorry I don't know what happened, but you can go to our other store just 3 miles down the road they have several in stock and they'll give you one.    I should have made them give me something better from that store.   But instead I just said in my bestest mom voice, you'd best call and tell them I'll be there in less than 30 minutes and to have it ready.   Oh yes ma'am, of course, and we're terribly sorry.   Lier.

So I took poor boy home first since he was beat, then fought my way back through traffic to the other store.   Right next to a Home Depot.   With tons of "flower" shoppers, who were rude and tired and walking in the middle of the parking lot with their baskets full of flowers and dirt.   argggg.    I parked directly behind the mattress store, their back door was open since it was such a beautiul day, so I walked in with my receipt, and said to the first guy who saw me, "I'm here to pick up a mattress, the other store said you would have one available".   They looked at me like I was from outer space.  So I explained how I had paid for a mattress three days ago, had just gone to pick it up since it finally wasn't raining and they apparently sold it to someone else, but they assured me that THIS store had several and would give me one.    They asked which store I had gone to and I told them.   They then didn't seemed shocked to see me or hear my story, so I guess that store has done this before.    I tried to be nice to them, it wasn't their fault, but I was tired, cranky and now out over $200 and had a kid with no bed.   So, they loaded up what I needed, then were talking about the paperwork,  I guess my eyes crossed because one of them said, oh, don't worry about it, just give me your paperwork and we'll take care of it.  So away I went, driving back roads so as to not loose the mattress on the road, got it  home and we got it into his room, made his bed all nice and cozy.   That night when we came back from dinner, I was wondering through the house.   Stanley had warmed up the bed for my boy.   I told him he'd now have to fight the cat for prime sleeping space, since stanley was curled up at the head of the bed and was using the pillow. 

Good thing he likes the cat.