My lucky day

Fearful of the crowds and not a fan of shopping in general, I stayed home on Black Friday, just happy to be.

I was worried that the errands I had to run on Saturday would be marred by the same sale-crazed shoppers. Although I  am a morning person and would normally go out early, I waited until 9:30. The library didn’t open until 10 and a shop I needed to visit didn’t open until 11. It tested my patience, but I  was ready at 9:30 sharp with a well laid out plan of action.

My first was Pets on Broadway, for Lucy’s food. I found a good parking spot on the street and was greeted by a cheery person as I entered, who offered me an empty gift bag. She smiled and explained, “You can fill it at the counter.”

Fine,  I thought, I can manage that.  I picked up the familiar bag of Duck and Pear dry food – honestly, she eats better than I do – and made my way to the counter.

I expect to see some free samples set out to fill my gift bag, but there were none. I shrugged, assuming I was too late, and put the dog food and the gift bag on the counter.

“Would you like the sample bag for your gift bag?” the cashier asked.

“Yes, I thought I missed them, ” I replied, eyes popping as she reached behind and pulled out an almost-full grocery bag that contained a 5 lb. bag of good quality food, several kinds of treats and samples of a dehydrated dog food.

The cashier picked up her scanner, asked if I was part of the frequent buyer program (I am), typed in my name, then scanned my dog food.

“Well, it is your lucky day,” she said with a smile. “This is your twelfth bag, and it is free,”

All I could say was , “Seriously?”

After a joke about buying a lottery ticket, I left with my unpaid-for merchandise, on to take care of the other errands. There were no more freebies, but my plan of action came off without a hitch. I made five stops and was home by 11:30. It certainly was my lucky day.