Friends in Fancy Places

...also known as "The Adventures of Mikie and the Jewelry Store, Part II".

If you haven't met my son, he has an ability to befriend anyone in seconds.  I love telling the story about the cable guy.  When we lived in our last house, we were having issues with our cable.  Mike was at home with the Comcast guy when Mikie and I arrived home from work/daycare.  He couldn't have been more than four, because Super Nibbles didn't exist yet.  I went upstairs to change out of my work clothes, leaving the men folk downstairs.  When I came downstairs, I found Mikie in the office, chatting with the Comcast guy, telling him his life story and inviting him to his birthday party (which, was months away).  Mike said, "I've been here with the guy for 45 minutes; couldn't tell you his name.  Mikie walks in and, not only does he find out the guys name, he knows how long he's been working for Comcast, if he's married and has kids."  As for the birthday party invite, that's the sign you know he likes you.  He makes friends with perfect strangers at a rest stop in NJ; when we leave, he asks if he can invite them to his birthday party.

But, I digress.  The Jewelry Store.  Last week, Mike picked Mikie up after school on Friday, and took him into town to get his haircut.  Our town has municipal parking lots that require paying to park (which, is far less annoying than the cash-only meters we've seen in other towns).  Being "thrifty" and having already paid to park, Mike suggested they walk to CVS afterwards.  A walk which led right by the jewelry store.

Obviously, Mikie suggested they, "go in and say, 'hi'."  Mike was less enthusiastic and gave the "maybe after CVS" response.  So, you can imagine what happened "after CVS". . . they went to the jewelry store.

This time, I had the pleasure of Mike recounting the story.  Evidently, they walked in to the store to find a female sales associate helping an older lady.  Mike described her as "someone who was easily going to spend a couple thousand dollars."  But, upon seeing Mikie, she asked the woman to "excuse her for a moment" so she could greet Mikie and regale Mike with her side of the story.  According to Mike, my guess was pretty accurate.  The woman describes Mikie arriving in the store and the MANAGER asking all of the associates for ideas on how they could help him spend $25.  At this point, Mikie interrupted to point out it was actually $34 he had to spend, that extra $9 making all the difference.

The story ends with her telling Mike what a wonderful son we have and what a wonderful husband they all thought he'd make some day.

No word yet on if the staff are invited to his birthday party.  I guess we'll find out in September.

Love,
The Trahans