Four Friends In An Upscale Shop

How much is this duvet? Elise asked. I found a tag that said two hundred and seventeen dollars and ninety-five cents. Not bad, she said. Is she nuts? Another tag was attached to that tag. It said $895.95. What is that for? She asked me. “The rest of the duvet?” This is a really upscale store. Not sure why we working girls are in it. Maybe because three of us “girls” are retired? I began to point out the crappiest stuff. Saying nice things like “I wouldn’t pay nineteen cents for that in a thrift store.” Guess how much this ugly thing is? Elise asked me. We were howling now. Sales help was following us around “offering to help us.” Ha! The chair I liked the best was seventeen hundred on sale from twenty-four hundred. Is that dollars or cents? I asked the sales lady. She tried to smile but couldn’t. Rita was rubbing a chair’s material. There was a price tag on it and another on the seat. What do you think the $200 price tag is for? She asked. “That’s what it costs to rub the material,” I told her. “Cough up.” Our friend Susan was keeping out of our way, pretending she did not know us.