Spreading Goodwill

Adam and I shared our New Year's kiss on I-64 in central West Virginia. We decided to take one of our famous "shortcuts" on Hwy 250 diagonally through the state, which was really more like a local road that tacked an additional 2-3 hours to our trip. So, while we could have been warm, relaxed and sloshing sparkling cider in the hotel room at the stroke of midnight, instead we were still travelling down the dark highway, Adam's head turned slightly to receive my kiss, his eyes still on the road in front of him. I thought it was funny; he was pissed. He kept apologizing for deciding to take the "long cut." I figured, whatever time we got in was fine with me, as long as we were having time together.

Yesterday (New Year's Day) we decided to head out and see what stores were open. I had only packed one pair of pants--the maternity pants I've borrowed from a coworker, and the only pair I have for the cold season. So, I asked Ads to take me to the Goodwill here in Charlottesville so I could find another few pairs. I can hardly believe how much better I feel now that I've accepted my belly fate and relented into maternity wear. So I was ready for more; bring it on! I went straight to the limited maternity section of the store and found two pairs of slacks and a dress (priced at $3.50 each) that I figured I could use for any dressier occasions I might need to prepare for. I was pretty pleased with myself for a) finally growing up about it all and breaking down to buy the pants, and b) finding such great thrift--nice pants and a dress for really cheap. Adam and I went to the register to pay, but when I looked at the receipt, I noticed that the cashier had charged me $4.00 for the dress. When I pointed out her error, she called in another employee, who confirmed that all dresses in the store are marked at $4.00. Well, I wasn't about to let anybody screw with me. After all, I'm in my thirties now. So I pointed out to both ladies that the sign specifically indicated that maternity wear is $3.50; there was no indication that maternity dresses are marked differently. The more senior woman tried to argue that a) the dresses, while $4.00, are put in the maternity section for shopper convenience b) all frequent customers at Goodwill know that all dresses there are sold at $4.00, and c) if she charged me $3.50, she'd have to do it for everyone else. I came back with a) I am not a frequent Goodwill shopper, and so I should be able to rely on adequate signage to know how much I'm going to be charged at check-out, b) charging more than what the sign says is akin to false advertising, which is illegal, and c) they could give me my 50 cents and then change their sign so that the real prices are indicated. I should mention that during this entire exchange, which at this point has lasted more than 5 minutes, a HUGE line of customers has assembled behind me. I offered to step aside while the matter was resolved so the other customers could be helped, but the first cashier refused to move on to another transaction until mine was rectified. So the line grew even longer. At this point, the senior employee said that she would refund my money, but when she saw that I'd paid with a credit card, she said she'd have to go talk to the manager. So she left for a back room, leaving Adam, me, a third associate who couldn't believe that they wouldn't refund me the 50 cents or open up a second register, and a line of disgruntled customers. I know it seems silly for me to be fighting over 50 cents, but it was the principle of the matter. What if I'd found 10 dresses that day and had been charged $5.00 more than I was expecting? I thought they needed to change their business practices for the benefit of everyone (and, I must admit, the benefit of me in that particular situation). Adam stood next to me the entire time, stoic and not saying a word. I tried to read his mind--was he pissed that I was wasting so much time over 50 cents or was he proud that I was fighting my own battles? Eventually the senior employee came back, saying that she had called her manager and that the manager was not going to refund my 50 cents. At this point I knew I had lost. Had there not been a line of people behind me I probably would have pressed on, but I decided that enough was enough. Adam and I left, and I said to him, while getting into the car, "Well, Ads, I fought the good fight!" He just looked at me without saying a word.

I realized later that he was trying to decide how he felt about what had happened, and he was finally able to articulate it about 10 minutes after we left the store. He turned to me and said, "You know, I wouldn't have fought over the 50 cents, but what you did back there...well, that was kinda cool..." I was so proud that my litigator husband was proud of my ability to stand up for myself. But of course, I can never just accept a compliment; I had to ruin it by saying, "Yeah, but ya know, the Goodwill is a charitable organization. I really shouldn't have given them such a hard time when they are trying to help the community." His smile of pride fell away into a look of disappointment as he registered what I said. Damn! Why couldn't I have just said "thank you, honey!"???? Later that night, he hugged me to him and said, "You know, Lauren, there are some battles worth fighting in life; fighting with the Goodwill isn't one of them." *Sigh* I had it coming.

In other news, I've decided that I want to start wearing adult pee pads, the ones I put in Kika's dog diaper when I leave her at home for several hours. This whole needing-the-toilet-every-20-minutes just isn't working for me, especially when there is a perfectly good pile of pee pads in Adam's hotel room. When I asked him about it, a look of shock came over his face, and he said in his admonishing monotone, "Go use the bathroom, Lady...". After I finished and came out, he looked at me suspiciously and asked, "Did you use the bathroom or did you put one of those pads on?" I started laughing and assured him that I had indeed used the bathroom, but the idea of pee pad was still really appealing. I have a bunch at home that I could use; after all, he'll be away until April...

So, folks, here is my attempt to spread some goodwill since I totally slammed the Goodwill...Happy New Year!!!