It's In Atlanta But It's Gone

I walked into HH Gregg, the appliance store, not sure if our refrigerator was actually broken. About 2 hours earlier, Dave had noticed that the freezer was not functioning.  He "tried to fix it by pushing some buttons." 

I was not optimistic.   Only time would tell. 

I told the HH Gregg sales lady (let's call her "Gladys") that I'd found a KitchenAid refrigerator that I liked on their web site, and I wanted to meet it in person.  Gladys told me that they did not stock that model.

Then Gladys got on a computer, found the fridge and said, "Oh look! There's one in Atlanta! They can get it to your house tomorrow!"

I said, "But we don't even know if our fridge is broken."

Gladys closed her eyes for several seconds, as if trying to suppress tears.  

Then she said with a great sigh, "Oh well,....they have one in Atlanta, but it's gone."

 "What do you mean it's gone? It's there now, right?"  I was starting to get confused.

"Yes, but it's probably gone now. "

"But it was there 30 seconds ago, wasn't it?" I responded, beginning to panic. "Can you call and see if it's in Atlanta now?"

"Sure!" Gladys perked up. "And if you order it now, it will get delivered to your home tomorrow!!!"

"But we don't even know if our fridge is broken," I said, snapping out of Gladys' sales spell even more confused.

"Well, there's one in Atlanta, but it's gone."

Gladys was beginning to sound like a broken record.

I decided I needed to look more closely at the fridge that was in such demand it may or may not have been gone from Atlanta. I mean, I had been looking at things like price, and would it fit in my kitchen. I wondered if it had an ice maker, and what the shelves were like.

We walked to the counter and Gladys asked another employee (let's call him "Stanley") to pull up the fridge on his computer and show it to me. She said to Stanley, "She doesn't want to order this until tomorrow. They have one in Atlanta but it's gone." 

Stanley looked at me, shaking his head in disbelief. Then he turned his monitor in my direction so I could see exactly what I was missing: what was in Atlanta but now gone.  

His computer screen may as well have been in Atlanta for all I could see of it.  

 I was beginning to get irritated. "I'm sorry, but I didn't bring my binoculars," I snapped, as I squinted, trying to envision the screen 15 feet away.

For crying out loud! Maybe I had unrealistic expectations, but I had hoped Gladys could look at the stinkin' fridge I'd found online and show me a comparable one! And maybe even tell me the benefits of the one I found vs. the 25 others they did have in stock.

Instead, all she could say was, "They have one in Atlanta but it's gone."

I had had just about enough.

With every ounce of drama I could muster, I started for the door. "Really... they have one in Atlanta but it's gone? Oh no! A KitchenAid Crime! Let's call the stinking refrigerator police! They'll find it! Maybe they can call in a freakin' flatfoot fridge special agent." I left the store feeling fulfilled.

I showed them! They couldn't pull one over on me.

Then I realized that I'd left my keys on the counter where Gladys and Stanley were undoubtedly discussing the crazy red-head who just doesn't understand the simple laws of supply and demand.

If I'd left something less integral to my get-away (say a pair of sunglasses or a Diet Coke), I would have continued on my way, sacrificing the asset.

But I could not get home without my car keys.

I nonchalantly slithered back into the store. Remaining in stealth mode, I grab the keys, not unlike a famished frog snapping up an unsuspecting fly.

Guess what.

My fridge is working today. So, it's a good thing I didn't order that KitchenAid fridge from Gladys.

But then again, I never could have done that.

You see, it was in Atlanta but was gone.