the seller of the table lives in long island. 

 

she does not do delivery. 

 

so i told her that i would leave for long island from penn station and take the LIRR to lindenhurst – where she lives – to pick up the table. it would be an hour and a half train ride to get there. 

 

she felt rather professional and kind through texts. i tried making a price offer that was twenty dollars less than the listed price. she told me to let her think about it. and ten minutes later, she texted back – 

 

“do you have any perfume that you dont wear anymore that could make up the difference?”

 

yes! 

 

i showed her a ‘discovery set’ of four fragrances that i have. and we made a deal. 

 

she told me she loved collecting perfumes. and i happened to have recently gotten into the realm of old perfumes such as very old guerlain ones from fifty years ago, old lanvin, old nina ricci, estee lauder or less known fragrances such as jean desprez or jean patou, gres cabochard. 

 

since she brought up her collection, i asked if she happened to know any antique shop in the area that she was in. and her kindness had greatly exceeded my expectations. she sent over several long and professional responses that included a number of spots. she even provided the hours of each store as well as her own insights in regards to the route logistics. in the end, she offered to show me around lindenhurst after the table pickup. 

 

prior to our meetup, she also shared with me that she makes a living out of sourcing from local garage sales and then reselling the sourced items on facebook marketplace. she said the business had been tough. 

 

these all happened before we met or spoke on the phone. 

 

we met at the lindenhurst station underneath the gigantic bridge that holds up the railroad. that day was cold and windy. 

 

she drives a blue toyota celica. as petite as she is herself. 

 

she said she found this table that i purchased at a local garage sale, and she emphasised several times that – compared to the antique shops that she was about to show me – garage sales were the places where you could actually find a good deal or something very special at a reasonable price. her exact words were – ‘garage sales are where you can find a true ‘find’. 

 

she is single and doesnt have children. its difficult and pointless to try to guess her age. sometimes there are people who are so kind and sweet to the point where you would find yourself guilty for even having a fleeting thought wondering if they ever feel lonely. 

 

she told me she was trying her best to pay her rent and electric bills on time, even though it had been difficult. 

 

before we parted, she promised to take me to garage sales in the upcoming spring. 

 

on my way back to the city, my phone buzzed. she sent a few pictures of her favourite fragrances out of her collection. and a very long and genuine text just to say thank you. and i did the same. 

 

then i recalled, at one point while she and i were in the car together earlier, i told her that i was fascinated with fungi. 

 

later in the evening i received another text from her. it reads, ‘now every time i see a mushroom, im going to end up thinking of you lol’.