The backstory: JT was at the mall with me, a trip he made voluntarily because he had something he wanted to buy himself at the Apple Store. After the errand at Apple, he found himself at Talbots with me. I had stopped in to purchase a scarf that was on sale. I treated the mission as a strategic strike and was in the store less than a minute before I located the scarf and stepped up to the counter to make the purchase. Talbots has a shopper’s reward card that offers occasional discounts. This fact matters to the conversation that ensued.
Clerk: It’s your birthday month. Would you like to use the 10% off on this purchase?
Me: (knowing that the 10% off can’t be combined with the 25% off I was already using): No thanks.
Clerk: Are you sure?
Me (wanting to get out of the store as soon as possible): Yes, I’m sure. I’ll come back later this month.
JT: You’ll come back WITHOUT ME, right?
Apparently, when I return, it will be without the boy. The clerk was distinctly unamused by our mother-son communication, a fact the boy noted when we left the store, as if it's a character flaw to not get (or enjoy) sarcasm.
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