I spent last weekend with a bunch of girlfriends in Key Biscayne, Florida enjoying the comforts of The Ocean Club (which included 7 swimming pools, 5 hot tubs, a spa, and poolside drinks) courtesy of some friends with parents in high places (i.e. the 14th floor of Ocean Tower Two). The weather was hot, the sky was clear and the margaritas were plentiful. (Yes, I just came back from Mexico, but when a friend invites you to stay for free in a beach paradise you have to strike while the iron's hot.)
There isn't much shopping on Key Biscayne unless you want a leopard print pillow for your white leather couch or a set of serving tongs shaped like coral. But that didn't really stop us from trying. The closest shopping opportunity was the local CVS. We stopped in for things like sunscreen and magazines, but left with so much more.
At first I noticed a rack of beaded necklaces with shells in a variety of colors and lengths, and then suddenly I sensed a frenzy of activity by the front door. My cohorts were gathered around a wall filled with brightly colored sarongs and beach cover-ups. At first we were just pointing at ones we liked, and then my sister-in-law grabbed one and wrapped it around her waist. "I think this is cute!" She exclaimed. I felt inspired and a little bit jealous, so I reached for an orange one, but before I could touch it, my friend Kathy boxed me out and took it for herself saying, "Ooo, I love orange!" In an instant everyone was pulling at the rack like sharks at a whale carcass, things were falling on the floor and display started to rock a little. Then I saw it, the perfect color. It was a brilliant fuchsia sarong with little shimmery beads dangling from the hem. This time I would not be thwarted. I pretended to look a something else while I inched closer to my quarry. I saw my friend Anna out of the corner of my eye and panicked. I made my move, plunged my hand into the fray and felt the gauzy pink cloth with my fingers. Extracting myself from the melee, I stepped back and wrapped the cover-up around my hips, it was wonderful. It would be the perfect compliment to my turquoise bikini. I looked up to see the awed faces around me. "Oh, that looks great" chirped my sister-in-law. "&*$@!, I should've grabbed the pink one" mumbled Anna.
Buy the time we left CVS we had purchased 14 sarongs between the six of us. The young man behind the counter was speechless as he rang us up one by one. As we filed out of the store he nodded his head solemnly and exhaled heavily staring up at the ransacked display. A store circular fluttered and skipped in the breeze as the door hissed closed behind us.
We came, we saw, we shopped.
No comments:
Post a Comment