Dearest Rachel –
This letter will have to wait for a couple of days; as I mentioned in the last one I wrote you, I had to do some shopping for my sister’s birthday present, so this needs to wait until I’ve actually given it to her, lest I run the risk of spoiling the surprise. It’s not likely that I will, to be sure, but even the slightest risk isn’t worth taking. Besides, it’s only for a few days; it will be out to you soon enough.
Most of the gift shopping between our family these days – at least for me, as I’m no great shakes when it comes to picking out a suitable gift for anyone (and most of us have pretty much all that we need – is in the form of gift cards, not unlike the ones that Jan and I found in the dozens through the process of cleaning up the house. Of course, this is particularly ideal when it comes to my sister, as it’s giving her the gift of shopping. So not only can she get exactly what she wants (something that I’d never be able to do – and even if I could, I’d probably screw up the size), she gets to indulge in an activity she actually enjoys on someone else’s dime. It’s a win-win for her, and – apart from the drive to get to some of the places she fancies – it makes it rather easy on me. Which is good, as I’ve been somewhat hobbled by giving up on shopping for you without you being there to guide me (and even more so, now that you’re no longer here to shop for at all), so I’m well out of practice at finding real gifts. But as long as Jenn’s happy with a card, so am I.
Still, that means I need to go to the shopping center in order to get it; I’ve looked for this particular card online, and even Amazon doesn’t carry it – and they carry everything. So this means taking an actual drive to the store, dealing with an actual clerk and paying actual money to them in order to get possession of this item which, as you’ll remember, is just like cash, only more restrictive.
But as you might also remember from the episode, there’s something extra included in the effort made to actually go to where you can get these sorts of things. And in that respect, it’s only fair; we can hardly count the number of times Jenn would go to the sushi place we love(d) so much, but is nearly as repellant to her as our black bean soup recipe.
So, Thursday morning (her actual birthday, I should point out, so it isn’t as if I score any points for planning ahead – it’s just that we celebrate birthdays as a family when we get together after church on Sundays), I let the folks know I wasn’t going to be at the ‘office’ right away, as I had this errand to take care of, and I drove out to the next county over in order to get to the specific shopping center where Jenn’s favorite stores are.
Upon getting there, it struck me why this place was so well-favored by her; between the two stores she specified (which were women’s apparel stores), there were at least five, and maybe seven other such stores – and essentially nothing else. Well… okay, there was one boutique for high-end cooking supplies, but that was it. Everything else between one and the other store was of women’s clothing geared toward one demographic or another. At least, I guess so; apart from the one shop displaying wedding dresses, and another selling clothing and merchandise for, let’s just say, after the wedding, I honestly couldn’t tell you the differences between most of the styles of clothing offered between stores. Thankfully, it’s not like I have to; as long as Jenn gets to shop where she wants to, she’ll be happy.
And I hardly have to tell you I was out of place there. Granted, as it was the middle of the morning on a weekday, none of the shops were all that crowded, but I can guarantee you that I was the only male in either place. I might actually have better luck trying to find a woman my age to date by hanging out in one of these places than online, to be honest. Certainly, I’d be dealing with a much better ratio.
But no, I probably wouldn’t know what to do with a woman who frequents a place like this. These stores and their wares would have been about as alien to you to shop as they were to me to visit. You weren’t the type to be concerned with what was in style; for the most part (shoes aside, since you would often ask my opinion, despite knowing I’d almost always instruct you to wear what was most comfortable), you tended to go with what you liked and what you felt good in, and if anyone had a problem with that, it was their problem, and not yours. And while I’ll readily admit to being biased, you looked good in whatever you wore, whether you were dressed to the nines, decked out in casual gear, or wearing nothing at all.
So with that being said, I found myself having trouble grasping the concept of all these stores, one right next to the other, catering to the fashion-conscious woman, because you were never that type. I wonder if I should dread the possibility of having to deal with such a creature in my pursuit of ‘Megumi.’ There’s so much being sold to women, and obviously they’re buying it, because these places aren’t staying open on charity.
It just seems like so much, and I can’t comprehend it. It’s an awful lot of packaging for just a gift card. But maybe that’s the thing about it, what Dad refers to as ‘selling the sizzle,’ that appeals to the female shopper in a way that – me being a male – can’t quite grasp.
But until I do, I’m probably not going to be able to relate to anyone the way I did with you. And I suppose I should write off finding Megumi until then, as well. Anyway, Jenn was pleased with the gift, regardless of the packaging, so all’s well that ends well.
So for now, honey, just remember to keep an eye on me, and wish me luck. I’m going to need it.
Letters to Rachel 