The Valentine Gift That Almost Wasn't

In 2018, a fabulous, Japanese mall called Aeon 2 opened up in our area. It has been life changing for those of us who live in the North. It is very modern and would put our hometown mall to shame. Best of all, it has air conditioning!

Last week, I noticed a men's fragrance which was on display at the end of an aisle of the department store. It was displayed on it's own, raised up and there were 17 boxes of the fragrance for sale. I took one whiff and knew I my Valentine was receiving this on February 14, if not for him, for me to smell on a daily basis. Of course, it wasn't priced. So, I took it to the sales worker to inquire about the price and she immediately panicked. She sought the help of not one but three other workers who were sitting around at the various cosmetic counters. Being proactive, she immediately started to phone someone to find out the price of this item. Please understand I did not pull this item from a back shelf. It was clearly on display for everyone who walked by to see clearly. After her phone call, she asked me to return in 30 minutes.

I have learned to just go with it. In this day of technology, why did she think it would take 30 minutes to find the cost of an item, clearly on display and for sale? I may never know the answer to that question. So, life is short, I went upstairs with my two friends for a coffee, wondering what would be next in the perusal of this cologne.

We returned to the cosmetics counter only for her to panic  again. I was being nice, honest! She then began to flip through a binder full of pages with bar codes in plastic sheets. There were four columns of them and there were brand names handwritten in no apparent order. So, my friend and I begin looking for the Bvlgari brand. We couldn't find it either. It is still a mystery why the barcode on the box could not be scanned. Again, I may never know. So, I suggested we would return after some grocery shopping. This was when I counted the 17 boxes for sale. 

How could it be this difficult to buy an item for sale? It's a store in a mall. I had cash in my hand. I wasn't asking for an unusual payment plan or even a bag; I just wanted to buy what they had for sale, with cash. Clearly, this was to be another wonder of the Kingdom I call home.

We bought some groceries, which to Aeon's credit, was an easy experience. I didn't even have someone cut the line and throw their items down in front of mine on the belt. Where's the fun in that?

Hoping the third time was the charm, and needing more excitement, we returned once more. She told me she found something that would work, but then began flipping through the binder filled with plastic sheets AGAIN. I cried out for patience. I just wanted to buy this cologne! She proceeded to tell me that she was going to use a barcode from another product, but it would be more expensive. Excuse me, what? I tried so hard not to become frustrated, but to just go with it. I told her I didn't really want to pay more than it was worth, but quite honestly, I would have paid it just for the story. She proceeded to tell me that she would discount the barcode for another product and it would end up four dollars cheaper than the original price. At this point, I was beyond confused, slightly irritated, but also welcomingly entertained.

Two hours after my initial inquiry into the item not clearly for sale, I had it in a bag ready to go! Due to the time, I couldn't get the Valentines free wrap service or get the free rose for spending over a certain amount. Some days it just goes that way. To her credit, she worked to find a way to have me purchase the item I wanted and it's not her fault the store has an inadequate system.

We got dressed up for a fancy Valentines dinner tonight, Greg smelling mighty fine in my his new Bvlgari Wood Neroli Cologne, only to discover traffic outside our building was at a stand still. We had to walk to the restaurant, sweat trickling down our backs and legs. He didn't smell so great after all of that! He's still my forever Valentine.