Page 19 - Demo

Kendallville Mental School13not. We said, once again, that we didn%u2019t need any. He pushed forward. There was a basic package whose cost was simply out-of-thisworld when compared to any offer the competition could come up with. Together, we chimed that we weren%u2019t interested. I noticed that each time he mentioned another free option, of which there were several, he wrote down a handling charge. And each time, I mentioned that, if something had a service charge, then it wasn%u2019t free. He frowned, but went on. All in all, the unbeatable deal involved hundreds of photographic reprints in a plethora of sizes from postage-stamp size to extra large. We said, one more time, that we really didn%u2019t need any. When he mentioned another free bonus (with a handling charge), and I said (again) that if it had a handling charge, it wasn%u2019t really free, he jumped up and snorted, %u201cYou keep trying to find dirt in this deal. There%u2019s no dirt in it. It%u2019s a good deal.%u201d We politely agreed that, indeed, there probably wasn%u2019t any dirt, that it did sound like a good deal %u2014 but it was not for us. Finally, his persistence having failed him, he crammed everything into his briefcase and stormed out the front door. While we were sorry his mood had turned sour, he seemed a little too thin-skinned to be a door-to-door salesman. In truth, we couldn%u2019t have afforded anything extra just then %u2014 no matter how persistent the salesman, or how good the offer.At that time, our newly opened Kendallville National Bank checking accounts usually had a paltry combined balance in the two-figure range. Because money was tight, we charged our gold wedding bands at the jewelry department in L.S. Ayres on a credit card Lynn had just obtained. Together, they cost just $118.32. I hadn%u2019t even considered an engagement ring, because we didn%u2019t really have a formal engagement. But Lynn bought herself one to officially commemorate the upcoming wedding. She%u2019s never been fond of diamonds, so she selected a simple ring with a single elegant pearl. We considered eloping, getting married before a Justice of the Peace, with two witnesses we%u2019d never met. Lynn said it would suit her very well, but I thought my family would be disappointed if they weren%u2019t present. So, because I%u2019d been raised with a sense of obligation, we agreed to have a small, traditional ceremony.