MAY I BE OF ASSISTANCE?
The thing about anniversaries is, they come every year. So why was it that every year, on the same exact day, Ted happened to forget it was his anniversary? He had been married to his beautiful wife for six years now, and they even had their second child growing in Karen's belly at that very moment. His family meant everything to him but, for some reason, remembering things like birthdays and anniversaries and other important days just didn't seem to register in his mind. That is how Ted found himself rushing to the mall at 4:30 pm on the night of his sixth wedding anniversary.
Not only had Ted forgotten the day, he had also forgotten to get Karen a gift. On top of that, during his weekly diner dash with the guys in the office, he had managed to stain a nice streak of mustardy ketchup down his shirt and tie. Lucky for him, there was still plenty of time to pick out something nice for Karen and get a new outfit before the dinner reservation he had made that afternoon.
He entered the mall near the Dillard's, as he remembered that being a nice, central location with the quickest access to the best stores. Cutting through the department store, he made his way into the main mall and immediately felt out of his element. Where am I? he thought. The mall was certainly not how he remembered it. Gone were the once flourishing overpriced clothing stores that catered to pre-teens; the bookstore now sat vacant, a sign advertising the going-out-of-business blowout still hanging in the window; and the shoe store up the way was offering fifty percent off storewide. In place of the businesses he once knew, there were now stands offering Korean massages and eyebrow threading, a Halloween pop-up shop that would be gone by November 1st, and around every corner there was a stand offering to fix your broken phone. Why they needed so many stands that served the same function, Ted had no idea.
Not knowing which path was best, he took off to the left. He vaguely remembered there being a Kay Jeweler's down that way. As he navigated the mall, he felt as if he was witnessing the death of his youth. When he had been younger, the cool thing to do on the weekends was hang out at the mall. Ted and his friends had spent countless nights doing nothing but sitting in the food court, looking at clothes they couldn't afford, and dicking around when the security guard wasn't looking. It was the quintessential thing for their generation to do for fun. But with the rise of online shopping, now all that was left were vacant stores and power walkers, making the most of the mall's shelter as the weather cooled a little too low for comfort.
Ted reached the end of the road, by the Macy's, where the Kay Jeweler's had been before. The glass doors were shut, and the sign plastered on them read: "Thanks for 20 great years." I guess that's that, he thought. Karen wasn't much of a jewelry person anyway, but what do you get someone for a sixth anniversary that you haven't already given them in the first six years of your marriage? He honestly didn't know the answer to that question. Without dwelling too much on it, he did the next thing he could think of, which was go into Macy's.
The first floor of the Macy's store was divided up into the women's perfume and make-up division, which took up way more of the floor than one would think was humanly possible; the other half was made up of the men's clothing. He perused the small stand of women's jewelry in the center of it all and wasn't impressed by what he saw. There was nice stuff, sure, but it was all either too cheap in quality or too expensive in price. He didn't really have the time to be picky, but he could think of a couple hundred reasons to keep looking a bit longer.
With Macy's and Kay's down, Ted took a step back and assessed his options. Up and down the strip, he saw no viable options for what he was looking for. Depressed and a bit ashamed at having waited this long to get his wife a gift, he made his way back through the mall until he reached Dillard's. Like Macy's, he checked out the jewelry and was again disappointed. He looked at his watch and noticed he was running out of time. Just as he was about to panic, a voice called from behind him.
"May I be of assistance?" the voice said.
Ted turned around and saw an older gentleman, the kind of retiree that had picked up extra shifts at the department store to make ends meet when social security and a pension didn't cut it. The man was a tad shorter than Ted at about five-foot-eight and had a bushy mop of silver hair. A round belly extended away from his waistline, contained only by the sleek black shirt that was tucked neatly in his equally black slacks.
"I . . ." Ted began but stopped. "No, I'm good," he said. He never accepted help from the store workers. It wasn't that he never needed help, he just had this weird way of not wanting to inconvenience them with his problem. Karen often pointed out to him that that was their job, but Ted was a man and preferred to be stubborn about such things.
"Very well," the salesclerk said. "Let me know if you change your mind." He flashed Ted a smile and then returned to straightening the t-shirts on the display.
Ted turned back to the jewelry and was reminded of his dire situation. He glanced at his watch again. 5:30. Dinner was set for 6:15. If he didn't hurry, he'd have to show up empty handed, and Karen would know he had forgotten for the fourth year in a row. He just wanted to look like he cared as much as he really did. It wasn't his fault he was forgetful. Karen knew that, and was super great about his memory lapses, but that didn't mean it didn't bother her. She was just too kind to say anything about it. Ted turned and saw the old man was still nearby. He swallowed his pride.
"Actually," Ted said, getting the man's attention, "I think I could use a little help after all."
The old man smiled and made his way over to the glass case. "You're not the first guy to change his mind. But, that's what I'm here for."
There were those words. It was as if Karen was right there beside him. He decided in that moment not to tell his wife about this experience. He'd never hear the end of it.
"What can I do for you?" the man said, peering over his glasses, which rested dangerously on the bridge of his nose.
"Well," Ted replied, glancing down at the man's nametag. "I'm looking for an anniversary present for my wife, Bert."
Bert nodded as if he had heard that hundreds of times before. "I see. Congratulations on another year. And what anniversary is this?"
"Six."
"Well, we don't sell anything sweet here, so you're left with something either made from iron or wood. Do you have any preference on either of those?"
"Iron or wood?" Ted asked.
"Those are the traditional symbols of sixth anniversaries," Bert said. "They symbolize the strength and durability of your bond."
Ted was way out of his element on this one. "Oh, I don't know. What would you recommend?"
Bert gave a slight chuckle. Ted was very much the typical oblivious husband. He knew his way around the female but didn't get how they worked.
"If you want my honest opinion," Bert said, making his way around the corner to another jewelry display, "I'd go with this." He reached into the case and pulled out a bracelet. "It's a stone and wood bead bracelet made by Caputo & Co." Those words obviously meant nothing to Ted, but the old man continued. "The stone and wood give the beads a natural beauty while representing the malleability of some of nature's toughest elements. It is both an affordable option, as well as one that can be worn every day, as opposed to some of the pricier options."
"May I?" Ted asked.
"Of course."
Bert handed the bracelet to Ted, who looked it over. He reminded himself that Karen didn't really care for jewelry, but without an idea of what she might like instead, he thought it best to take Bert's advice. Though he knew fairly quickly he would buy the bracelet, he wanted to act like he was putting some major thought into the decision. Bert knew the charade and let it continue. He watched Ted as he tried to look deep in thought. "Well?" Bert asked.
"This will be great. I'll take it."
Bert took the bracelet back from Ted. "Will there be anything else?"
"I don't think so. The bracelet is enough, right?"
