NORDSTROM’S
LEOPARD PRINT WOMEN’S SHOE $157.68
The rush, the thrill of all these beautiful unnecessary things –
leather and cotton – with a swipe of plastic they are all hers
and she forgets.
WOMEN’S BLACK DRESS $87.50
She forgets that he is never around, and that for every tiny
dress she buys, he sees a tinier version on a woman he is
seeing. She forgets that she is getting older – buying makes
her feel young, especially now that her dresses are in single
digit numbers.
LINGERIE – UNDERWEAR $15.00
LINGERIE – LACE BRA $50.00
When she puts these on she will remember – what it was like
when her husband realized what ten years and two children
had done to her body. The disgust had been plain as he took
in her fleshy sides, veiny and stretch-marked. But today,
there are no fleshy hips and thighs – there is only smooth
skin – taut and toned like it had been ten years ago.
HANDBAG $180.00
JEWELRY – NECKLACE $300.00
JEWELRY – EARRINGS $189.75
PERFUME – WOMEN’S $95.00
LIPSTICK – RED $14.00
As each item is rung up she remembers how good she looks in
the dress, the shoes, the lingerie, the jewelry, the bold lipstick.
She remembers how good it feels to swipe such a small piece of
plastic.
SUBTOTAL $1,088.93
TAX – 7% $76.22
TOTAL $1,165.15
She imagines his face when he sees her at the lawyer’s office.
A rush stronger than that of retail therapy runs through her when
she thinks about his reaction to paying the bill. She can’t help but
laugh because he will always be paying for this.
AMEX TEND $1,165.15
APPROVED
Mmk. I'm not fabulous at formatting, but this is obviously a receipt. I just really enjoy shopping and I actually write stuff down on receipts all the time... why not a story? I wish I'd had more space though.
ReplyDeleteLike the idea a lot, and the idea of writing a story on a receipt. One thing to consider, though is how much the form already tells us about the situation. We don't need to be told she's shopping or at the register. In fact, she doesn't even need to be at the register. A narrative can be inserted between the items, maybe using them like chapter headings. The more compelling tale, is what she intends to do once she's bought all this, or what she's responding to, or even the suffering she's endured to fit into these clothes. So maybe allow that stuff to become the story rather than the more static, even redundant elements of what's here.
ReplyDelete