Chastisement

There were a couple books on our aquisition list, and I felt like I needed a little "retail therapy" anyways.





I didn't spend much. I bought books and a double espresso with a squirt of sugar-free caramel syrup.

I really liked this Judith Weber teapot set but that's not something I would buy on a whim.



Very nice. Pricey, but I'd use it.

I was by the fountain sipping my coffee as other shoppers walked by. It's not so hot now. The breeze threatened to flip the pages of my open book.

A man and his school-age daughter were eating ice cream and they also came to sit by the fountain. She had a bookstore shopping bag, indicating they'd just been there and had made purchases. The girl reached in and pulled out her book; it was an Erin Hunter Warriors hardcover.

You just have to admire a dad who springs out the cash for a hardcover.

They chatted. Little sparrows stalked them and the girl plucked bits of waffle from her ice cream cone and flicked them to the birds. The father said something to his daughter about how pretty she was; I couldn't make out exactly what he said. But I distinctly heard the girl's reply:

"Dad," she said in a sing-song plaint, "Don't call me pretty. It's what's on the inside that counts."

She tossed another bit of waffle-cone onto the grass and several birds swooped in to get it. One bird was lucky. Though it was too big a bit for the bird to eat, it grabbed it in its beak and flew off instantly, leaving behind its fellows.