Making a Short Story Long Again

I don't award prizes. Really, I don't. But, I do have to recognize two outstanding responses to the "Your Caption Here" entry.

First--Chatty Kelly, for bringing back memories of my favorite Kurt Browning professional skating routine, with her version of the Commodores' "Brick House."

It's a BRICK HOUSE, it might be, might be, letting it all HANG OUT...
(Pause...how will we get the clothes that are HANGING OUT down?)
Shake it down, shake it down now. Shake it down, shake it down now.

And, second--CJ, for catching me at just the right time with one that almost made me fall off my chair.

T-Shirt 1: Hey! I just checked my tag, and it says that I'm from Walmart!
T-Shirt 2: Me too! We must be related!

Wahahahahahaha.....

For you both--

...The virtual T award

* * *

So, the long story behind the short story.

We had been staying at my sister's house and enjoying a great week with her and her family. During the week, I had the rare treat of being able to go out to lunch with my sister. (Her dear friend watched a lot of kids that day!)

Of course, we took a little time to venture out shopping. (She is a major-dajor saver!) We shopped Gymboree, and I'm thinking, "Oh, no way! Too expensive. Too nice. Wow...look at those adorable outfits!? Oh, no way!" Etc., etc.

My sister never gets side-tracked by this stuff. She makes the bee-line for the clearance roundabout and starts browsing. We're both admiring this wonderful embroidery on EVERYTHING! And since she's the one with the embroidery machine, I'm pushing her to take mental notes, and go home and whip out some things. She smiles, "Yeah...."

See, it's just not her game. Within a few minutes, she's scooping up yellow rash guards, thinking through the sizes of her girls and nieces. The price is outrageously low for a rash guard! The embroidered daisy on the front gives the suit a touch of girl, unlike the accompanying boy shorts, but they're fine. She's got three sizes that will probably work, but we're short a fourth.

"Well," I start, "that's OK, we--"

That's when she grabs the attention of the store clerk and asks ever so kindly if there are any more yellow suits in the back. The clerk and another associate seem relieved that the suits are going. (They had a lot in stock at one time, they said.) But, no, they don't have one.

"Another store?" My sister doesn't take 'no' easily (i.e., ever). But, a few calls to other stores lead nowhere.

"We'll go home and look on eBay," my sister says. (And we do!)

She confidently takes the suits--not to mention a side deal to get her "Gymbucks," with the purchase of an RJ2 birthday present, quite a bit early. Off to the next store. She's amazing to watch--says me, the non-shopper--watch and learn!

Upon our return to her house, suits are distributed for trying on. Some sizes work, and some could work better. My sister figures we can exchange one for one and can pick up the fourth one we need with the sizes still on the rack. (She calls the store to make sure they hold it for us. I'm tellin' ya--there's no way this deal is breakin' down now!) She gets it all right, alright.

RJ2 puts on her suit, and promptly runs outside and sits in their little backyard play pool. She LOVES it! Don't dare try to take it off her!!

It's hard to know the best part of the story--RJ2's glee or my sister's glee over Gymboree.

OH....but, the picture! (Sheesh...this is a long story!!)

It's our day to leave and I had some last-minute laundry to do, including RJ2's new suit. My sister pulled the suits from the washer, not wanting to see the new items hit the dryer. She opted for the quick-dry heat of her front yard rather than the long ride home with the sun baking the suits through our rear window. Great choice, and I'm sure it gave her neighbors something to ponder that morning.

Little did she know what she started.

(Now, don't forget to spend your Gymbucks!!)