The Sale That Cost Saturday

Tomas loved finding a bargain. When a furniture store announced a weekend sale, he planned to buy shelves for his small flat. The lower price seemed excellent until he read the collection details. He would need to travel to a warehouse outside town.

His friend could lend him a van, but only on Saturday morning. Tomas had promised that morning to his niece, who wanted help building a model train station. He considered changing their plan. Shelves were useful, he told himself, while a cardboard station could wait.

Then he wrote down everything the purchase involved: collecting the van, buying fuel, driving to the warehouse and carrying the shelves upstairs. The advertised price described the furniture, not his whole Saturday. He checked a local shop and found plain shelves that could be delivered during the week. They cost more on the label, but the difference no longer looked so simple.

He chose the local shelves. On Saturday, his niece insisted that their model station needed a tiny shop. Tomas cut a sign from yellow card and asked what it should sell. 'Time,' she said, without looking up. He laughed and painted a clock above the door. The real shelves arrived on Wednesday, exactly when his room was ready.