I wasn’t needy. She was. But if she had been a Camp-trained negotiator, she’d have asked me (setting aside the language problem), “Who are these for?” When I answered she would have whistled and said, “Why would you want to spend so much money on them? A lot of money for grandparents.” She would have shown no need while building my need. She’d have laid a guilt trip on me—Money’s not a factor when it comes to my grandparents!—and I’d have paid 1,000 piastres, or darned close to it, because I really loved my grandparents.
