My Concealed Carry

     Yesterday afternoon Tom and I drove to Cincinnati to visit my daughter and her wife, Callie,

...and their kitty Dory,

...for the occasion of Callie's 30th birthday, already celebrated earlier in the day with flowers and chocolates from Theresa.

      Theresa had to work, Callie had the day off, so the plan was that that Callie and I would go shopping, Tom would go visit some friends in the city, and we'd meet up with Theresa for dinner.

     Callie's shopping venue of choice was the nearby Eastgate Mall,

     

...where we decided to start at Kohl's.

     Though I immediately found a pin-striped shirt which I thought might be the perfect mix of casual and ( a little) serious,

...for an online webcast interview I have next week,

...Callie was having only medium luck in Women's,

...she being more of a tall, lanky gal.

    Callie found a sales associate passing by of whom she asked which department might be her best bet to find some longer-cut tops.
     From out of nowhere (well, not exactly from out of nowhere, I suppose), I felt a slight flutter of anxiety - perhaps a rising-up of the genetically innate protective mother-hen instinct - which quickly dispersed when the lady explained with a smile that she was in jewelry but told us not to go away while she called someone from Women's. My slight anxiety flutter returned while we waited for the Women's salesperson and I thought, I hope it's a woman and she's nice. 
     But what will I do if he or she is not nice?  I'm not sure I even verbalized the question to myself, however I - again, instinctively - reached into my purse, 

...and put my hand on my concealed carry, deciding to shoot - and then blog about - anybody who dropped any offense on my chick.

     But my anxiety was again for naught. We were approached by a friendly young saleslady who, in answer to Callie's inquiry, looked her over and said, "You're probably a 0X."
      0X?  I wondered.
     Turns out 0X is for someone who's somewhere on the plus-spectrum, but neither exactly an XL nor a 1X.
       Anyway, the discovery of Kohl's 0X turned out to be a "Eureka" for Callie,   

...who found several nice-fitting pieces.

     I meanwhile, waited outside Callie's changing room, hand on my concealed carry, should some  potentially unenlightened dressing room attendant feel the need to mix it up.
      Which none did. Once again, the scenario I'd imagined in my mind stayed in my mind, even a little later while Callie chatted with the friendly young Kohl's check-out lady,

...and when she went to the pretzel stand at the food court to buy us  a snack.

    So it was all good, as it continued to be when we met up with Tom and Theresa for dinner at a great restaurant called Firebirds,

...where friendly  servers serve up  delicious, done-to-perfection wood-fire-grilled fare,

...as was the salmon with Parmesan mashed potatoes that Tom and Theresa ordered,

...and the sirloin that Callie and I ordered,

...Callie's with the Parmesan potatoes and a side of grilled shrimp,

....mine with steak fries.

     After dinner we returned to Theresa and Callie's for cake and ice cream.

     Callie made a wish and blew out a candle.

    And I made a wish for her, too.

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