Of course, the drought would have to end on the day of the big sale at Kohl’s. And it wouldn't end with a nice, pleasant summer shower. Of course not. That wouldn’t have been dramatic enough, now would it? No, and a little sprinkle wouldn’t have interfered that much with Karen’s day, would it? And after all, the world is out to get Karen, isn’t it? If you’re not sure, just read her blog – she has lots of proof that she gets dealt more than her fair share of lousy days.
Take today for example. She’d known about this big sale before most people, all thanks to her friend Ann. That’s lucky, you say? Well, sure, but of course, she couldn’t take the day off from work like she wanted because the Small Breed Showcase started the same day at the fairgrounds. Her boss at the grooming salon said it was going to be a “high-volume day” and “invaluable expertise with Pomeranians” would be needed to “fully satisfy the clients.”
See how Karen’s luck turned for the worse? Well, her boss wasn’t completely heartless. “How about an early lunch?” was the peace offering, and Karen gladly took it. Of course, her car wouldn’t start on that particular morning – seems she’d left the overhead light on, and the battery had lost all of its juice. An elderly neighbor offered a jumpstart, which she eagerly accepted, but his eyesight was bad, and he connected the cables wrong. After the paramedics left, Karen was able to get a ride from the tow truck guy, so she was only a half hour late to work. Her boss was completely understanding and said she could still take that early lunch and even promised to drive her. Of course, just as nine o’clock came around, a lady brought in not one, but two miniature puggles, and who was the only person in the salon with any real puggle experience? Karen’s boss, of course. She offered to let Karen borrow her Beamer, but Karen couldn’t drive a stick.
“Kohl’s isn’t that far,” Karen said hopefully and set off on foot, determined to make it to that sale before all of the good stuff was gone. Anyway, her friend had said that on certain items, like some designer shoes Karen wanted terribly, Kohl’s was even offering rainchecks.
Maybe that was what brought on the storm. And the flash flooding. And the tornado. Karen didn’t stop though, not even when downed power lines made her climb down an embankment and scale a chain link fence just to make it to a safer route. Or when that safer route turned out to be a flooded and closed to through traffic. It wasn’t closed to pedestrians, she decided, so she just took off her heels, rolled up her pants legs, and waded on. And you know what? She got there. She made it to Kohl’s just as the storm broke and its power came back on. And she actually managed to snag the last pair of shoes in the exact color she wanted, and they were her size! Her friend Ann had even tucked away some jeans and a top – in her size! The bad weather had scared away everyone else, it seemed, and Ann had lots of free time to show her more great deals.
Karen couldn’t have been happier or luckier, especially when the mechanic called her cell phone and said that the damage to her engine had been minimal, and all still under her warranty, so there was no charge. He was even going to drop off her car at Kohl’s for her, since his garage was empty and he was bored. Her boss called and checked on her, too, and told her to take the rest of the afternoon off. Turns out the Showcase had been postponed and the Pomeranians had all rescheduled. Her luck was turning finally, she thought.
Ecstatic, she took all of her great bargains up to the register, just as a wave of shoppers burst in from the wet but now drivable streets. They snatched up all the rain checks and eyed her cart jealously as the cashier rang her up.
And that’s when the world had its final laugh. You see, she’d never noticed but she’d ripped the side out of her purse on that chain link fence. Not the side with her cell phone – no, that was still intact. It was the side where she kept her wallet, and it had fallen out when she’d waded that last street and floated right down the sewer drain while she’d persevered on to Kohl’s. Ann was Karen’s only hope, but of course, her friend had left as soon as the news came that her apartment building had been hit by the tornado.
She had no alternative. The cashier was sorry, but “store policy doesn’t allow us hold items for customers on sale days.” The other shoppers were sympathetic, but they snatched up everything once it went back on the rack since “you have such wonderful taste and are just my size, too!” The store manager was quite apologetic, but the rush after the storm cleared “caught us totally by surprise and cleaned out every last raincheck, can you believe it?”
See how much the world hated Karen? How fate just had it in for her? Not convinced yet? Well, Karen trudged out of Kohl’s, downcast and dejected, when her cell rang again. Her boss. “The Poms called. Showcase starting first thing in the morning instead of next week. I need you after all!” Sighing, Karen said sure and looked up just in time to see the mechanic’s surprised face as he hydroplaned on the wet parking lot, lost control, and ran her down with her Honda Civic.
Take today for example. She’d known about this big sale before most people, all thanks to her friend Ann. That’s lucky, you say? Well, sure, but of course, she couldn’t take the day off from work like she wanted because the Small Breed Showcase started the same day at the fairgrounds. Her boss at the grooming salon said it was going to be a “high-volume day” and “invaluable expertise with Pomeranians” would be needed to “fully satisfy the clients.”
See how Karen’s luck turned for the worse? Well, her boss wasn’t completely heartless. “How about an early lunch?” was the peace offering, and Karen gladly took it. Of course, her car wouldn’t start on that particular morning – seems she’d left the overhead light on, and the battery had lost all of its juice. An elderly neighbor offered a jumpstart, which she eagerly accepted, but his eyesight was bad, and he connected the cables wrong. After the paramedics left, Karen was able to get a ride from the tow truck guy, so she was only a half hour late to work. Her boss was completely understanding and said she could still take that early lunch and even promised to drive her. Of course, just as nine o’clock came around, a lady brought in not one, but two miniature puggles, and who was the only person in the salon with any real puggle experience? Karen’s boss, of course. She offered to let Karen borrow her Beamer, but Karen couldn’t drive a stick.
“Kohl’s isn’t that far,” Karen said hopefully and set off on foot, determined to make it to that sale before all of the good stuff was gone. Anyway, her friend had said that on certain items, like some designer shoes Karen wanted terribly, Kohl’s was even offering rainchecks.
Maybe that was what brought on the storm. And the flash flooding. And the tornado. Karen didn’t stop though, not even when downed power lines made her climb down an embankment and scale a chain link fence just to make it to a safer route. Or when that safer route turned out to be a flooded and closed to through traffic. It wasn’t closed to pedestrians, she decided, so she just took off her heels, rolled up her pants legs, and waded on. And you know what? She got there. She made it to Kohl’s just as the storm broke and its power came back on. And she actually managed to snag the last pair of shoes in the exact color she wanted, and they were her size! Her friend Ann had even tucked away some jeans and a top – in her size! The bad weather had scared away everyone else, it seemed, and Ann had lots of free time to show her more great deals.
Karen couldn’t have been happier or luckier, especially when the mechanic called her cell phone and said that the damage to her engine had been minimal, and all still under her warranty, so there was no charge. He was even going to drop off her car at Kohl’s for her, since his garage was empty and he was bored. Her boss called and checked on her, too, and told her to take the rest of the afternoon off. Turns out the Showcase had been postponed and the Pomeranians had all rescheduled. Her luck was turning finally, she thought.
Ecstatic, she took all of her great bargains up to the register, just as a wave of shoppers burst in from the wet but now drivable streets. They snatched up all the rain checks and eyed her cart jealously as the cashier rang her up.
And that’s when the world had its final laugh. You see, she’d never noticed but she’d ripped the side out of her purse on that chain link fence. Not the side with her cell phone – no, that was still intact. It was the side where she kept her wallet, and it had fallen out when she’d waded that last street and floated right down the sewer drain while she’d persevered on to Kohl’s. Ann was Karen’s only hope, but of course, her friend had left as soon as the news came that her apartment building had been hit by the tornado.
She had no alternative. The cashier was sorry, but “store policy doesn’t allow us hold items for customers on sale days.” The other shoppers were sympathetic, but they snatched up everything once it went back on the rack since “you have such wonderful taste and are just my size, too!” The store manager was quite apologetic, but the rush after the storm cleared “caught us totally by surprise and cleaned out every last raincheck, can you believe it?”
See how much the world hated Karen? How fate just had it in for her? Not convinced yet? Well, Karen trudged out of Kohl’s, downcast and dejected, when her cell rang again. Her boss. “The Poms called. Showcase starting first thing in the morning instead of next week. I need you after all!” Sighing, Karen said sure and looked up just in time to see the mechanic’s surprised face as he hydroplaned on the wet parking lot, lost control, and ran her down with her Honda Civic.
1 comment:
Wasn't expecting that ending at all!! Loved it!
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