This Was a First

A woman came to the counter with about seven large hardcover bargain books. She had short, stylish, dark hair, was wearing jeans and a black sweater. One of the books was THE ATLAS OF WORLD HISTORY, Another was TIME'S GREAT DISCOVERIES, another was NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC'S EXPLORATION EXPERIENCE. Several of the books had pictures of antique maps on them. One had a lovely scenic picture on it.

         

"I need to know your return policy," the woman said. "These are for my bookshelves and if they don't look right on the shelves, then I'd like to bring them back." As she was speaking, she gestured with her hands as if she were putting the books on a shelf facing outwards. "You know, if the colors aren't right for my living room, or if the books aren't just the right size for the shelves."

"Um, sure," I said. I told her that she could return the books with a receipt within two weeks.

"Oh, good," she said. "I just need something that looks nice on the shelves. I think these will work, but I won't really know until I get them home. And I got books that maybe even my kids might use someday."

"Right. Well, I hope they work out for you, but if not, you can bring them back," I said.

She bought all of the books.

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