Joe and I went to get our haircuts and, as is my way, I went shopping while Joe got his curly tresses shorn. He takes MUCH longer to get a hair cut than I do. He gets styled, I get mowed. So I wandered through the mall and stopped short in front of a men's jewelry counter. There in front of me was this beautiful watch. I have a perfectly good watch. I like my watch. But I LOVED the one on display.
The fellow working the counter looked over at me, appraising me in the same way as I was appraising the watch. I know what he saw. Someone, big, someone in a wheelchair, someone wearing a kind of worn out, but well loved, sweater. Someone who couldn't afford an expensive watch. He called someone else to serve me. She came around the corner, saw me and then looked over at him and said, "This guy here?" There was incredulity in her voice.
Now I know I should have thought to myself, "Frag this and frag their attitude." The fact that I stayed is a testament to how much I loved that watch. I had her get it out of the counter and hand it to me to try on. It fit with room to spare. It looked great on my wrist. I wanted it.
I asked how much it cost.
YIKES!!!
It was way more than I expected. And I expected expensive. I felt her watching my face when the figure came out. I had this incredible urge to buy the watch just to show her that I could afford it. But it was expensive. I took a breath. I didn't want to buy it to prove to a total stranger who I will never see again something about myself. I didn't want that kind of petty motivation to have me digging in my wallet. I wanted to buy the watch, if I bought it, because I really liked it.
I had to think through several things:
Joe will pee himself when he hears how much I spent on a watch just before leaving on a trip.
She thinks I can't afford it.
I really like the watch.
It's really expensive and we've got a long trip ahead of us, it's not a good use of our financial resources.
The other guy thinks I can't afford it either.
I really like the watch.
I felt like I was in a game show that existed only in my head. I pushed away Joe's shock - he knows I don't splurge on myself often. I pushed away these two strangers and their preconceptions about the size of my wallet. I pushed all that aside and realised.
I really like the watch.
"I'm going to buy this," I said. Making the decision. She looked surprised. He looked shocked. I rolled over to the till and got my debit card out. I could almost hear them holding their breath as I put in the PIN number to pay both for the watch and the 2 year warranty on it.
The word 'approved' appeared on the screen.
I have a new watch.
I bought it because I loved it.
I think.
14 comments:
I am not usually a watch person but it is truly beautiful. I hope you get many years of enjoyment from it. What brand is it?
L
Dave It' a great multipurpose watch. Two hands to tell time and a very impressive middle finger!
Is the photo the actual watch Dave? You know what the first thing I thought about it - before reading the whole account and the decision...was that the stem, the part you pull out to set/change time was on the left of the watch. Are they not usually on the right? Is it a watch for left handed people? I know that sounds odd - but when you get into high end you can get anything!!! Enjoy the new watch - may it remind you that all our time has value!!!
L., it's a MSTR watch. The picture doesn't make it clear but the clockface is huge.
Anon 3, I never noticed that myself. I think it's because the watch is so big that if the stem was on the right side and you wore it on your left hand the stem would dig into you every time you moved your hand. I'd certainly not be able to push my chair if the stem was on the right. Anyways, good call.
I'd like to hear the conversation after you left the store. Hope you enjoy it for many years ...
I just really want to know if Joe peed himself! Really!!!
It's interesting what motivates us to buy. Enjoy the watch, wear it well.
After hearing your explaination of the stem - you gotta know it was meant to be! Wheelchair friendly watch - gotta have it!! Enjoy.
I can relate to this. My family and I, none of us fashion plates, if you catch my drift, got absolutely shoddy service when we visited Bloomingdales in New York and my sister decided that she wanted a watch. They'd decided we were street people, I think, and they were awfully surprised when my sister indicated that we wanted to buy something.
And I think the Chanel store in Toronto had security following my father and I the entire time we were in there looking for perfume for my mom...
Enjoy your watch. :)
Oh my I can really relate to this.I have "good taste" (read "expensive"), and more than once have bought expensive items. But I always noticed during the years that I was seriously overweight , that the clerks looked rather ascanse at me. Now that I weigh considerably less, I can see the difference in attitude.
However, I have noticed that this discrimination is not only towards the overweight, but to anyone obviously not "high class". Yesterday I went into some fancy stores, carrying a definitely non-fancy bag (I had a strong bag I had used yesterday to take mosaic stones to Ricki's grave to celebrate her birthday). I also got a few bad vibes, although not half as bad as the "fat lady" ones....
I've always felt folks looked at me as if my money had a disease. Hey - I WAS going to buy something - but I'll spend my money somewhere else. Just because I'm not skinny doesn't mean I can't buy a gift for someone. Sigh...glad you persevered.
Anonymous #2 made me laugh out loud.
Enjoy the watch, Dave!
Enjoy the watch! :)
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