I have used Sex and the City and have followed suit with their episodes by having Carrie as the narrator.
Specs Appeal
This recession had cast a grey cloud over
New York; grey clothes, grey faces, grey futures, nothing had definition
anymore, it was all just one blur of different shades of grey – and not the 50
kind, but the dull kind, the grey kind.
As I peered closer in the mirror, I noticed
something else grey.
No, surely not.
I reached for Big’s shaving glasses he left
in the bathroom. He did this knowingly more for my purpose than his own, but
had the heart to leave this unspoken.
I put on his glasses and as I slowly pulled
my hair back I saw it. Staring back at me through Big’s Burberrys was my first
grey hair.
Ok, so not my first, first grey hair.
In the past there had been hints that the
troops were on their way, but there had been no bloodshed. A fresh set of
highlights quickly killed any signs of a regrowth revolution.
But this was different. This was a
full-length grey hair. How had I let this one slip through? And during the week
my hairdresser was in Paris!
I needed some colour to distract from this
renegade. And what further distraction from my head, than my feet?
As I walked through the doors of Manolo
Blahnik I felt the colour. I don’t know if it was the colour that made me feel
warm or the fact that it was below zero out, either way, there was no grey in
here.
It wasn’t long before I had found the
perfect pair. Actually, I found several perfect pairs, but these, with their deep
green satin and lush gold detailing, would serve their purpose perfectly.
“Well at least you know nobody else will be
wearing the same shoes as you” the assistant smiled at me.
“Oh knowing my luck, there will be” I
replied.
“But mam, these are one-of-a-kind limited
edition, they arrived this morning” she said.
“These really are the perfect pair” I thought
to myself as I watched her wrap them in labeled tissue.
“Are these for any special occasion?” she
asked.
“Yes, a lunch date with some very special
people” I answered.
I handed her my credit card, which has been
put on a budget of necessary expenses only lately, due to the lack of interest
in my new book. But this was a necessary expense, these shoes were necessary. Plus I knew a publisher
would come knocking soon.
“I’m sorry mam, but your card has declined”
she said.
“Oh I must have put the wrong pin number in,
let me try again” I said flustered. I knew I had $1500 left in my account until
next month.
Accepted
“Enjoy your lunch, mam” she said.
Just before I arrived at the restaurant, I
slipped on my new shoes. There was no way I was using them to walk the five
blocks from the store. No, the purpose of these shoes was not for walking, but
for admiring.
The girls all swooned over my new purchase,
as I beamed like a proud new mother. And lunch with the girls brought even more
colour into my life.
I once again handed over my credit card to
pay. This was the last time until payday I told myself.
“I’m sorry mam, but your card has declined”
the waiter said as he looked down his nose at me.
“Oh God, I’m sorry, this is the second time
today I have put in the wrong pin number. Here, let me do it again, it will
work” I said, confident that I had made the same silly mistake as before.
“I’m sorry but it has still declined. You
can always work in the kitchen to pay off your debt, although those shoes would
be useless” he scoffed.
“Oh honey, I’ll pay, you can get me next
time” Samantha charmed.
I smiled. Embarrassed. But still confused,
those shoes were only $495, and I clearly remembered checking my account before
I left, to avoid this exact situation.
As Samantha came out of the restaurant to
meet us girls she called out “Honey, how much were those shoes!”
“They were $495, I double checked, because
I knew I was on a budget”
“Still no publisher then huh?” Miranda
asked.
“No, but soon I hope. Look, here is the
receipt, $495 like I said. Here you check it” I passed to Miranda, being the
lawyer of the group I felt she would be best to defend my spend.
“Carrie, this says $1495, not $495” Miranda
said with her sensible lawyer tone.
“What?” I felt the embarrassment creep up
my body, the warm red blush swept over my face. All of a sudden, I longed for
the cold grey.
“Surely not, Samantha let me use your
glasses” I snapped. As I looked through them, I saw could see the problem
easily. “Oh” I whimpered.
As I went to hand back Samantha’s glasses
she said, “honey, you keep those”.
I ignored that comment and handed them
back.
“Carrie, why don’t you just get a pair of
glasses, you’re always borrowing someone else’s” Charlotte proposed.
“No, absolutely not, I don’t need glasses!”
I defied.
“Carrie, I think you do” Miranda said, her
sensible tone still going strong.
I was still adamant that I was not getting
glasses, although I was starting to realise that I actually needed them.
“Carrie, Big wears glasses and you’re fine
with that” Charlotte said.
“Yes” I replied, “but men get better as
they age, they suit it, it gives them more sex appeal. Women, as they age, just
get old”.
“Oh honey, that’s not true! You can have
some of that too” Samantha praised, “Come on Carrie, let’s go get you some of
that specs appeal!”
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