Aptly Named

To make the best of our rainy afternoon at the beach, we decided to run a few errands and check out an outlet mall. The hour we gave ourselves to browse the deals was plenty, maybe even a bit generous, and I was empty-handed when I bumped into Treat. "There's nothing I want here," I sighed, aware of my privilege, but disappointed nevertheless. "I really want to go to that thrift store you saw across the street!"

And that's what I suggested when we all assembled a few minutes later. Our group was game, so we piled back into the car and headed over to the run-down textured concrete strip mall that must have been marvelous back in the early 80s when it was built. "Just because it's called the Treasure Chest doesn't mean it's going to be good," Treat cautioned us as we approached the shabby store front.

"I think it's going to be great!" I said, throwing any notion of managing expectations aside. "We are all going to find a treasure!"

The entryway was decorated with an assortment of holiday items, both quirky and sad. After pausing there briefly, the five of us separated to hunt around on our own. The place was not enormous at all, especially in comparison to the second hand places near us, but in the narrow furniture room my brother and I found a few mid-century early-American side tables that were eerily similar to those our parents had when we were kids. "Wouldn't it be funny if these actually were Mom and Dad's transported here by some twist of fate?" Bill said as I opened the hinged lid on one of them.

Back in the main section of the store, I found Heidi who was trying on a packable down vest from LL Bean. "That's exactly like the one I have at home!" I said. It fit perfectly, and at 20 bucks it was an amazing deal.

Meanwhile, Treat found a cream colored silk jacket that was cut somewhere in between a Members Only and plain old jean jacket, and Bill and Emily scored some cute little cocktail glasses and a jigger. Everyone was in line to pay, and although I was empty-handed, I had no regrets. Even so, I went back over to the sporting goods and tool shelf to pass the time until we left. As my eye passed over the 40 year-old jigsaw and hand sander, a flash of red caught my attention. I leaned over and pulled out a brand new bow saw. "Look at this!" I showed Treat. "It's only five dollars!" 

It fit my hand like it was made for me, and so I took my treasure over to Heidi as she approached the register, so that she could buy it for me.