Short Story Fiction
The Constant Consumer
Scott A. Gese
A woman's buying addiction takes a turn for the worst when she spends what doesn't belong to her.
Freestocks.org/PexelsMadge Parnell was the product of a consumer society. Born and bred to be a taker with no conscious thought of ever giving back.
With Madge, buying was more than an occasional binge or bad habit. In fact most people who knew her would say she had a buying addiction.
If the addiction itself wasn't bad enough, Madge added to the problem with a penchant for expensive items. She bought her clothes according to the name on the label not the price on the tag. She had to have a new car every year to display in front of her new house in a posh neighborhood on the expensive side of town.
Her husband worked hard for the money he earned. He made a good living but barely managed to pay the bills which included his wife's six maxed out credit cards. He was a slave to her spending habits.
Aside from his wife's line of credit, come payday, Madge was always first in line for a 'cash advance'. Well ahead of the many creditors who needed to be paid off.
Amazon and the Shopping Channel were good friends when her favorite brick and mortar stores were closed. One click ordering and overnight delivery were a godsend. Packages arrived daily. It was like Christmas morning all year round.
One day Madge happened to be outside when her next door neighbor drove up in a brand new Lexus LX. She called for Madge to come over and take a closer look. The woman couldn't stop bragging about how her husband surprised her with it. “And it wasn't even my birthday.” She repeated it several times in order to be sure Madge got the point.
After the neighbors brag-fest, Madge went back to the house feeling depressed. She Googled the Lexus LX only to find the cost of a new one was around $100,000. That didn't matter. Madge had to have one. But how? Her husband would never agree to spend that much money on a car. Even with her trade-in, she would still need another $45,000 or so. She approached her husband with the idea just to feel him out. As she suspected, he was cold to the thought of buying such an expensive car.
“Maybe you could sell some of your jewelry,” he suggested.
“Maybe I could sell those old coins you have?” she quipped.
“Those coins are going to help fund my retirement. Do that and it will be the last thing you do,” he sternly replied.
Madge was upset at her husband for not wanting to help her buy a new Lexus. Selling her prized jewelry was out of the question. She schemed for days on how to come up with the money. It was all she could think about. Every time she saw her neighbor drive up in her new car she bristled.
One day while her husband was at work she found herself opening the safe. She pulled out his prized coin collection, just to take a look. “why does he collect these old coins anyhow. A quarter isn't worth much more than a quarter, right?” she thought.
She looked the coins over. Unimpressed and not understanding their value, she stuck them back into the safe where she found them. An hour later, she was back. She couldn't help herself.
She again opened the safe and stuffed the collection into her Gucci purse and took them to a coin dealer she found online. Selling them wasn't on her mind. She just wanted to know what they were worth.
After looking them over, the dealer offered her fifty thousand dollars for the full collection.
Madge couldn't believe a bunch of old coins could be worth so much. It was more than enough to buy that new car she wanted. The offer had been made and now Madge had to make a decision. Do I take the coins back home or do I get my new car? The answer was set before the thought even entered her mind. The coin dealers offer had eliminated any chance of a legitimate thought process. She agreed without blinking an eye.
She took the money and headed straight for the dealership and bought herself a brand new Lexus LX. It was parked in the driveway when her husband came home.
When he walked into the house, Madge was all smiles as she dangled her new set of keys in front of him. “I got a new Lexus and you got fifty thousand dollars for those old coins you collected.
“What! You sold my coin collection... for fifty thousand! Those 'old coins' were worth a hundred and fifty thousand. What the hell did you do?”
Madge could feel the heat from across the room. “I... I sold them, I had to. It was the only way I could afford my new Lexus.” She tried to cool her husband down. “I still have five thousand. You can have it if you want it?”
Her husband couldn't believe what he was hearing. He held his tongue and calmly replied, “I'm filing for a divorce... I have to.” He snatched the keys out of her hand and stormed off into the bedroom. He dumped out his wife's Gucci purse onto the bed and filled it with her credit cards and expensive jewelry. He threw his set of house keys onto the dining room table as he walked toward the front door.
He left it hang open. He wanted Madge to see him drive away in her brand new Lexus.
© Copyright 2024 by Scott A. Gese All Rights Reserved.
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