I answered the phone at the consignment shop this morning.
“You’re my last resort,” the woman on the other end began. “I’ve tried everywhere but can’t find what I’m looking for.”
“Ohhh,” I commiserated. “Hopefully, we can help you here.”
“I’m looking for a purple top for a funeral.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear about your loss,” I said.
“What size are you looking for and what kind of style?” I asked as I began heading toward a rack of shirts.
She said, “Well, it needs to be really small…”
I turned on my heel and headed toward the petite rack.
“….because she was about 60 pounds when she died.”
I stopped and let it register.
“It needs to be long sleeves because her arms were covered in bruises.”
“Oh!” I exclaimed, “You are looking for an outfit for the woman who passed.”
“Yes,” she continued, “and do you have purple skinny jeans? Because the biker group she belonged to will all be wearing purple jeans to the funeral.”
I stopped again and then darted across the store to the jeans rack and flipped through the different sizes.
“Yes. Yes, in fact, we do have purple skinny jeans in small, medium, and large.”
“Okay, great, thanks. I’ll be in later.” She hung up.
I stared at the phone a moment.
She never came into the shop today.
Sending good vibes to both women….and the biker group.