Evening Gowns and Broken Vans…
Gearing up for Romance Writers of America's national conference in New York City! Funny story: I'd looked through all the shops in my hometown for a long evening gown for the RITA/Golden Heart awards ceremony and couldn't find one. So when I was up in Virginia this past weekend, I decided to go to Macy's. Feeling very impatient and panicked that I still had no dress, I pulled up to the store with two of my favorite shopping friends–and we couldn't shut the sliding passenger door on our van! We were withing fifty feet of Macy's and couldn't go in! We had too many valuables in the car. It was incredibly frustrating, LOL! I just knew my dress was in there.
Nevertheless, I ignored my shopping instincts , got back in the car, and drove it to the dealership with the door wide open (I said to my friends, "Let's just pretend it's a UPS truck.")
At the dealership, I told the friendly service manager, "I'm an out-of-towner and I have to go back to Macy's to find the perfect dress for a special event I'm attending in New York later this month. Could you please ask someone to drive us back to the mall while you work on the car?" I think I had a crazed look in my eye that every man there recognized as the look of a frustrated female shopper. Even the main dealership manager showed up, anxious to help.
The chivalrous dealership employees indeed returned us to the mall, and I found my dress (yay!). When my friends and I were done shopping, all we had to do was call the dealership and they came back to the mall to pick us up. My van was ready. At first, the technicians thought I'd have to stay in town an extra day while they waited for parts to make the repair, but somehow they managed to get the door shut so I could leave on time and get the van fixed back home.
We got to be so friendly that I'm sending a copy of CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MARRIAGE to the service manager's wife. I told him I'd never met such a thoughtful bunch of guys who really went out of their way to help me with my Dress Crisis.
Oh, and the car crisis, too!
:>)
Whew. That was a roundabout way to get a dress, but at least I did, and now I'm ready for New York!
Do you have a dress story? I'd love to hear it!!!
Kieran :>)
