Gems

These stones are beautiful.  They're all extremely rare and valuable (according to the salesman).  The best part about them? They're all mine...for the next five days.  That's right, I rented rocks.  I know that seems like a dumb idea to some of you, but this wasn't about the rocks.  This was about keeping local businesses alive during the pandemic.  I was informed earlier today that The Everett Store was going to go out of business if things didn't pick up by the end of next week.  Always wanting to help a fella in need, I followed him to his bedroom to check out the store's merchandise.  Admittedly, this felt more like buying a fake purse on Canal Street than going to a purveyor of precious items (he also sells original artwork).  Once in the store, he showed me his collection of wares and offered me not only purchase options, but rental options as well.  Given the steep price on some of the merchandise - he had a geode he offered me for $600,000 - I opted to go the rental route.  Thanks to a special he was running, which I was told ended at midnight, I was able to get 3 gems for 5 days for the price of snuggling him and scratching his back at bedtime.  Coincidentally, Meggan only got 1 gem for 1 day for the same price.  I think it's safe to say I'm the negotiator of the family.  The last bit of fine print before we sealed the deal was him making us agree to pay him $10 per stone if they get lost or damaged.  That seemed fair to us, so we closed the transaction....saving a local business.  I'm not sure if I want Ev to be a "businessman" when he gets older, but if he decides to take that path, I think he's going to do a mighty fine job.