Comfortable Things

I had the best experience today in a gift shop in town. The proprietor, Kaye, was a sweet middle aged woman whose dress was still in the 80's but still fit in with her surroundings. The gift shop was full of wonderful knick-knacks, notes, food, seasonal decorations, candy and lovely aromas. I was there getting some chocolates for my friend Liz and was also looking to find a gift for my Aunt Louise. I wandered around the shop examining cute notepads, fancy boxes of cookies and candles while Kaye waited on a couple getting a gift for his mother. Kaye got a phone call from her sister which from my side of the conversation smacked of "mothering". She got off the phone saying "my sister still bosses me around" with a warm smile on her face. Evidently, there was a storm brewing and she wanted Kaye to make sure her new car wasn't going to be damaged. She asked me if she could help me and I told her I needed a box to buy 50 Bedre chocolates. She said she would box them up for me and that they were sold by the pound. When she brought them to the counter she counted them again and she had exactly 50. She still put one in for good measure. She started to ring up my sale and asked me if I had a punch card to earn $10 on future purchases. I couldn't find it if I did have one and I told her I had been in her shop last year buying chocolates and gifts for a conference. She insisted on giving me $50 in punches for my last visit insisting that she had probably forgotten to give me a card with my previous purchase. Her demeanor was so sweet and so genuine. I tried to imagine what it might be like to have a shop and have people come in everyday to buy things they enjoyed. It seemed like the perfect job. Although I love my job hers seemed less stressful. We visited a little more, me telling her about my uncle dying and the trip I was making to Kansas to say goodbye and her telling me who she knew who was graduation from my school in December. A nice conversation on a nice afternoon. Such an enjoyable experience that I hope to partake of again.