Taking dad to the cleaners
Today was my late day, so I spent a good part of my morning in my room reading the paper. At one point I heard the garage door open and figured dad was doing something, but didn't think anymore of it.
A little while later, I went downstairs to have lunch. The TV was on but dad wasn't on the couch. He wasn't in the yard, he wasn't in the basement, he wasn't in the garage. I'd forgotten that I'd heard the garage door open until the phone rang and it was him. I answered.
Dad: There's no cleaners here.
Me, thinking he's at Menards looking for Lysol or Clorox: What are you talking about?
Dad: I went to take my suit to the cleaners, but they're not here.
He would later say he'd driven up and down the strip mall by the Jewel, in case they'd moved to another location in there. This is the dry cleaners we've used since we moved to town. I think they've always been there.
Dad: I checked the website and it said they were open!
Me: What website--their own or Google? Google's not necessarily right these days.
(I know this from personal experience. People have checked my business' hours online via Google, only to find our hours have changed during the pandemic. Our actual site that we personally update is correct. Think, people.)
Dad: ...Whatever.
I start brainstorming other cleaners in the area.
Me: There should be another Deluxe Cleaners on Route 31...there's Marberry Cleaners in Geneva...Google them, then call and make sure they're still open!
By this time, mom has started asking questions and is pulling out her phone to look stuff up; I'm reminding her that dad also has his phone and can look stuff up himself. He hangs up.
A short time later, he walks in the door, his black suit sort of balled up in his arms. Good news, he found Deluxe; they'd moved one shopping center north, by Target. Bad news, they couldn't get his suit done until Monday, when he needed it, so he didn't leave it. He does have a dark blue suit and will wear that instead.
I had wondered this earlier, and mom then brought it up: Why didn't you just take it in on Tuesday? Seriously. It's not like he just found out he needed a suit; the obituary came out on Monday. He had a week to get it done and he just sat on the couch for three days. Sheesh. Like, *everything* is different right now. Normal timeframes do not exist. Staffing levels have changed and people are getting sick and/or having to quarantine. Mom was also upset when dad said his suit was a little dusty, and mom wondered why it wasn't in the previous dry cleaner bag. Oh, I threw it away when I opened it, he said. Mom was like, you can put it back in the bag! That's what keeps it from getting dusty! You can tell you've already worn it at least once because you've opened the bag! We also made him try on the blue suit. He was all insistent that it was the same size as the black one and would fit fine, but mom and I, in perfect stereo (I was impressed), went, TRY IT ON ANYWAY. He did; it's fine. Yeah, don't leave it until the last minute when you can't do anything about it! Did you learn nothing from your friend's suit situation in Iowa? In that case, the cleaners accidentally swapped his friend's suit with someone much smaller, so that he had to scrounge for something else to wear at the last minute. Not good. Like, all you have to do is try it on now and confirm it's fine. It's not that hard. Plan ahead.
...And maybe take your black suit to the cleaners NOW, so that it's ready to go the next time you need to wear it. Why make things harder than they need to be?
A little while later, I went downstairs to have lunch. The TV was on but dad wasn't on the couch. He wasn't in the yard, he wasn't in the basement, he wasn't in the garage. I'd forgotten that I'd heard the garage door open until the phone rang and it was him. I answered.
Dad: There's no cleaners here.
Me, thinking he's at Menards looking for Lysol or Clorox: What are you talking about?
Dad: I went to take my suit to the cleaners, but they're not here.
He would later say he'd driven up and down the strip mall by the Jewel, in case they'd moved to another location in there. This is the dry cleaners we've used since we moved to town. I think they've always been there.
Dad: I checked the website and it said they were open!
Me: What website--their own or Google? Google's not necessarily right these days.
(I know this from personal experience. People have checked my business' hours online via Google, only to find our hours have changed during the pandemic. Our actual site that we personally update is correct. Think, people.)
Dad: ...Whatever.
I start brainstorming other cleaners in the area.
Me: There should be another Deluxe Cleaners on Route 31...there's Marberry Cleaners in Geneva...Google them, then call and make sure they're still open!
By this time, mom has started asking questions and is pulling out her phone to look stuff up; I'm reminding her that dad also has his phone and can look stuff up himself. He hangs up.
A short time later, he walks in the door, his black suit sort of balled up in his arms. Good news, he found Deluxe; they'd moved one shopping center north, by Target. Bad news, they couldn't get his suit done until Monday, when he needed it, so he didn't leave it. He does have a dark blue suit and will wear that instead.
I had wondered this earlier, and mom then brought it up: Why didn't you just take it in on Tuesday? Seriously. It's not like he just found out he needed a suit; the obituary came out on Monday. He had a week to get it done and he just sat on the couch for three days. Sheesh. Like, *everything* is different right now. Normal timeframes do not exist. Staffing levels have changed and people are getting sick and/or having to quarantine. Mom was also upset when dad said his suit was a little dusty, and mom wondered why it wasn't in the previous dry cleaner bag. Oh, I threw it away when I opened it, he said. Mom was like, you can put it back in the bag! That's what keeps it from getting dusty! You can tell you've already worn it at least once because you've opened the bag! We also made him try on the blue suit. He was all insistent that it was the same size as the black one and would fit fine, but mom and I, in perfect stereo (I was impressed), went, TRY IT ON ANYWAY. He did; it's fine. Yeah, don't leave it until the last minute when you can't do anything about it! Did you learn nothing from your friend's suit situation in Iowa? In that case, the cleaners accidentally swapped his friend's suit with someone much smaller, so that he had to scrounge for something else to wear at the last minute. Not good. Like, all you have to do is try it on now and confirm it's fine. It's not that hard. Plan ahead.
...And maybe take your black suit to the cleaners NOW, so that it's ready to go the next time you need to wear it. Why make things harder than they need to be?