I love Bob

My dad's name is Bob and I love him. This is not about him, though.

This is a true and awesome story about a man named Bob whom I decided to love today.

I braved the beautiful 70 degree weather today to go get a Valentine's Day gift for John. I'll show you what I got him (and what he got me) later. It was something I called around to several stores to find, and so I was going to this specific Hallmark on purpose.

I had Ayla in the car seat, but hadn't brought in the stroller, though as I was walking in, I second guessed that decision since I didn't know how long I'd be in there. Right as I entered, an employee, I'll call him Bob (because that's what his name tag called him), from the Buy Buy Baby next door came in behind me pushing an empty stroller.

I jokingly said, "Oh, is that for me?"

In my lightening fast mind, I thought of a few reasons this man was pushing an empty stroller into a Hallmark. Such as, a customer had left it in his store and he had followed them out. Or his wife was in the Hallmark and had asked him to bring the stroller because she didn't want to carry their child around in a car seat while looking for the perfect card (like I was about to). Or maybe he was friends with the staff at the Hallmark and wanted to show them the latest model.

It never even crossed my mind that he might reply,

"Sure, you can have it."

I looked around for the cameras. Couldn't see them.

"Oh, I was just kidding."

"But you can have it."

Me, still not comprehending that he could just give me the stroller.

"Um, I have one already, I really was just kidding."

"But you can still have it. I'm the manager and I was just going to get rid of it."

"What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing. It's brand new. It's the floor model and we don't need it any more. I brought it in here to give away."

Right about then he and I realize that he meant to enter the next store down, a thrift store.

"Well, you should give it to them, the money goes to a good cause, and I'm sure you'd get a tax break for it."

"No, we don't get anything. You can have it if you want."

"I'm not sure this car seat would even fit it." (different brands)

"Yes it will." (Puts car seat in stroller. It fits.)

"Um, ok. If you're sure."

"Yes, take it. It's worth $250. It's a good stroller." (He then shows me how to collapse it.)

"Wow. Thank you. Happy Valentines Day!"

He goes back to work. I stand in the entrance to the Hallmark utterly amazed at what just happened. Still looking around for cameras or any witnesses that will judge me for taking a stroller that could've been sold for  charity. Nope.

Just me and my brand new Chicco stroller.

But wait. There's more. Actually, just the funny part.

When I got back to the car, I couldn't figure out how to collapse it. Bob had shown me, but I must have been in "Oh my gosh is this really happening" shock and didn't remember which thing he had pushed. So I pushed and pulled everything. And looked around for cameras. After what felt like 20 minutes of surely looking like an idiot and feeling Bob was going to come out and take it away from me since I couldn't collapse it, I put it in the trunk and drove it home (very carefully) just like this.

Happy Valentines Day to me!

(I did figure out how to collapse it once I got home and looked it up online!)