Pray for rain

On our way back from a road trip to the Midwest recently, we noticed an antique mall along the interstate that, from all appearances, was full of items that we would have no room for in our house. We therefore stopped and went in.


Scarcely had we gotten inside when it started pouring outside, with great peals of thunder and bolts of lightning, although I am merely inferring the lightning part, as we were too busy looking at antiques that we don't have room for in our house.


The storms -- several came through -- gave us a good excuse to keep browsing. Occasionally there would be a lull in the noise outside and we'd think about wrapping up our visit. Then, fortunately, it would start again. "Guess we'll just have to keep shopping," we said. Sometimes life is like that.


The number of items we ended up buying was in direct proportion to the severity of the storms. We suspected that the thunder and rain was all part of a hoax perpetrated by the staff, a recording played to keep people in the store and handing over their money.


Soon after entering the store I spied an office chair from the 1930s or 40s, one that swivels and has slats and a cool cane seat and reminds you how much smaller people used to be, at least people who sat in office chairs. If you lean too far to the side while sitting in it, you may find yourself unceremoniously deposited on the floor.


This particular specimen was in excellent condition, even though the original cane seat had been replaced with an unfortunate green vinyl one. I spied it on a large dolly near the entrance and was instantly alert. I was not sure whether the dolly, and thus the chair, were coming or going, and rather than ask at the desk, which was only a few feet away, I chose to implement Plan A. 


Plan A involved careful observation, surreptitious following, and shrewd thinking to figure out where the chair was going. I needed my wits about me. Sooner than I anticipated, the dolly was gone from its place by the front desk. I glanced out an open door, where an empty dolly was standing beside a van. Was my search to end so soon? And in such disappointment?


Not really. But we're saving the rest of this story for another day. Tune in next time to see how the Princess and Hero race against time and enemy shoppers to buy way too many things!