Delayed gratification by Ruth Neuwald Falcon

I found a comfy chair at Macy’s. “You do look comfortable,” said the saleswoman with a smile. As soon as I sat down, I could feel myself relax. My body said, Whew, as it let itself go. I put my feet up on the ottoman, leaned back, and closed my eyes. “There’s only one problem,” the saleswoman went on. My eyes opened. “It’s on backorder,” she said. She looked down at the tablet in her hand. “And it won’t be available until May.”

The toaster oven I ordered on October 15th had an estimated delivery between the 21st and the 25th. I could wait that long for toast. But the 25th came and went and no sign of a toaster oven. I clicked the “Track this delivery” link. Delivery by October 28th. Okay. I checked on the 29th. The delivery window had moved to November 28 to December 1.

I called the Minneapolis moving company this afternoon. “Your things were just delivered here,” the same friendly woman I talked with last week told me. Another, Whew. “But the schedule for the week is already filled in.” I moaned quietly. “There is a chance we could fit it in tomorrow afternoon,” she said. “We’ve got one small job in the morning and I’ll talk with the dispatcher to see if we could deliver your stuff after that. I’ll call you late morning.”

I don’t think I’ll deflate the air mattress until I’ve heard from her. Keep your fingers crossed.