Stop the train!

I could see it coming.  I could hear the low roar.  I did everything I could to stop it, but nothing worked.  Another darned birthday chugged into town.

Mr. Gadget was ever-so-thoughtful.  In addition to buying me dinner, and a slice of lemon meringue pie, he offered to chauffeur me here--one of my favorite haunts.

I selected some fabric.  See the red one with the horses?  I put it down for a couple of minutes and some mean lady, I mean another shopper, started fingering it.  She seemed quite enamored. So I gave her my best New York elbow and grabbed it back quickly.  I think I've got what it takes to ride the NYC subways during rush hour. Big City Girl would be proud.

So I was checking out, and there were two women working behind the counter.  One was wearing a birthday tiara.  "Is it your birthday?" I asked.....duh... 

"Yes," she said, "and it's hers too," she added, nodding to the woman working beside her. 

"Well, guess what!" I exclaimed.  "It's mine too!"  And they both started cackling....well, we all started cackling....at this funny little coincidence.  The one wearing the tiara was also wearing Mardi Gras beads, and she came around the counter and put one of her necklaces around my neck.  I asked if there might be some cake, and they said there was...in their break room in the back.  But an invitation was not forthcoming, and that was really ok because I had already been well birthdayed-up with the lemon pie and some chocolate-by-mail.

"How old are you?" one of the birthday women asked me...in a whisper with her hand hiding her mouth from the others.  When I told her.... also in a whisper and also hiding my mouth....she expressed surprise. 

"You don't look it!" she said.  I thanked her for the compliment and told her it was the best birthday present I had gotten all day. Well, except for the pie.