I feel bad. If I had know that Costello has never been to an IKEA before I wouldn’t have taken him. I never wanted to be the person who ruins anyone’s world view… but apparently it was meant to be.
We were running late… waiting for the nonexistent IKEA shuttle had set-up us back considerably. And not only did we need to buy the rocking chair… we also needed to take it all the way back through the Underground to our flat in the city, get dinner, and then trek across town to make our ‘Jack the Ripper Walking Tour’ which was scheduled to start at 7pm. It was already 4:30pm… and it had taken us almost two hours to get there. We were on a mission… and we couldn’t be stopped.
As I led Costello through the winding aisle of IKEA, at close to a jogs pace, is when I realized Costello was an IKEA newbie. At my heels he kept asking, “Where are you going?” “Shouldn’t we ask someone?”
At first I just ignored him… focused solely on finding the chair I wanted on the showroom floor.
Costello: “Dude, we need to ask someone!”
Me: (Finally), “You have to trust me; I know what I’m doing.”
Costello became even more confused when I grabbed a pad of paper and a golf pencil off the wall without breaking my stride… and then finally came to a stop at the chair I wanted.
As I wrote down the item number, Costello tried to catch his breath… but then I darted off again. And this time Costello became increasingly confused. “Where are you going!?! You really need to ask someone!”
Me: (Calling behind me), “I know where I’m going, come on!”
Costello: “But the chair was back there!”
Me: “I know, but that was the display model, we need to get to the warehouse!”
Must like my first trip to IKEA, Costello just couldn’t seem to wrap his brain around the experience… especially at the pace we were plodding through. And his confusion and concern heightened every time we turned a corner and found more random displays and bins of stuff: Office furniture… kids bedding… house wares…
Costello: “We’re going the wrong way.”
Me: “No we’re not… you have to trust me. Come on!”
Honestly, it really felt like we were running for thirty minutes. And all the while… with every stride, Costello was the voice of descent… not trusting… not understanding… and I just kept going, unwaivered by his calls to ask for help. And in his disorientation… his only choice was to keep pace and follow.
And then… finally… we rounded a corner and BAM!
We were in the warehouse… Costello stopped for a split second, his jaw opened… and it only took him a second to find his words… “You have to be kidding me…”
Me: “Come on! We need aisle 21!!! Aisle 21!
1 comments:
I've become a pro at finding those shortcuts they have in the showroom so you can get to the warehouse faster!
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