“Ten seventeen,” says the lady. She’s real old, maybe too old to be working.
“The sign said the hats were ten bucks.”
“That’s right, and with tax it’s ten seventeen.”
“Ten is all I have,” I say, looking at the pile of torn singles and dirty change on the counter. “Plus, I’m already wearing the hat.”
She smiles without using her eyes. “I see that. But it’s still ten seventeen with tax.”
That look. Like I’m trash. That makes me lose it.
Next thing I know, she’s down bleeding and I’m pulling bills from the register, running out the door.
A festive treat. I was sure it was going to be cute, all the way to the end
Yipes! Some people don’t know when to let the Christmas spirit take hold. In the end she lost a lot of cash pushing to get 17 measly cents. This is the cost of being such a miser.
You never know who is about to rob you, I guess.
All for want of seventeen cents.
All for… ah dang… Just saw James’ words were exactly what I was going to write…
Hard to feel sympathy for any of the characters here… all for 17 cent.
Dear Josh,
This guy could use some anger management. Never know what’s going to set someone off. The writing sizzles.
Shalom,
Rochelle
She’s real old, maybe too old to be working This line makes me feel like I know why she’s pushing for that 17 cents.
As annoying as shops that don’t include tax in their pricing are, I wouldn’t resort to these measures. Surprise twist.
I could not press the like button, but you told the story so well.
I hear you.
Oh my God! That sure rolled in the festive cheer with a bang :-)
That twisted nicely at the end. I thought it was going to be a sugary one.
He was finally pushed too far. Though I guess I’d be pretty confused if I went in a shop which tried to add tax on at the checkout.
Sales tax is always added at the register here in PA. I feel sorry for the shopkeeper, except she shouldn’t treat anyone with disdain. Sometimes a little compassion goes a long way.
Mental health is one of the biggest issues in the developed world. The narrator here was plainly ill, and should have been receiving appropriate treatment. Like Russell, I really couldn’t bring myself to ‘like’ the story, even though it’s very well written.