Do I need therapy or what

I asked my dry cleaner if he hated me. Why would he hate me and who cares if he does, but for some reason, that was my question when I called to yell at him.

My dry cleaner, Joe and I moved into the neighborhood around the same time. He was just opening his first store when I first moved to this house and was looking for a dry cleaners. I watched his store grow and his number of employees grow. Over the years we've had hundreds of small, pleasant conversations. He's now opened a second store and for a time had branched out into a different business (but I can't remember what it is now). He's married, a USC fan and I have the impression that he has teenagers. His wife tells him to take time away from work, but he says if he stays home, he just thinks about all the things he could be doing at work. Just like me, I thought at the time.

When you lose 50 pounds and then gain back 30 over a three year period, you need a lot of alterations in your clothes. Of course, Joe gets all my business. I wouldn't even know of anywhere else to go.

Last year, Joe ruined a christmas blouse I had. It was cheap and it had velvet designs all over it, but I liked it and sort of miss it. Now I just wrote that Joe ruined it. Even as I sit here knowing that Joe didn't personally fail to read the label and put it in the wrong machine, I still inexplicably think in terms of Joe ruining it. Joe apoligized and offered to pay for me to purchase a new blouse, but I'd never find that deal again and I couldn't make him pay more than I'd paid in the first place, so I let it drop. Joe never brought it up again. I carried around the receipt for the dry cleaning until the writing faded away, but I never brought it up again either.

Two years ago, I had a lot of elastic put into my suits when I was losing weight. This year, I'm gaining in my hips, not my waist (go figure), so I am once again getting a lot of elastic put into my slacks. About two months ago, I brought in three pairs of slacks at once to be altered. One was missing a button which I brought in to be sewed. I never got that button back. (Who cares, I am saying in my head, but for some reason I will just not forget that the dry cleaners did not sew on the button and did not return it).

Last month, I finallybroke down and purchased an expensive suit in a larger size. I mean I hate to buy clothes in the larger size when my goal is to get back down a few sizes, but a lawyer can only go around wearing clothes that are obviously too small on her for so long. The one bad thing was that there were no belt loops. So I brought them in to have elastic put in.

I dropped off three other pairs of slacks for dry cleaning at the same time, but I saw the kid who was ringing me up put a note on the pair to be altered. (I had the impression that the kid was Joe's son and not too happy to have to work there, but I digress). When I got my suits back from the cleaners, I noticed that the waist felt funny in another pair--as though there was elastic in them the same size as the waist band. This was a pair of slacks that had belt loops, so I had never asked for elastic to be put into them. Then I found that there was no elastic in the pair that I had paid to have altered. So I went in and I explained this all to the girl that works there (Joe was out). The funny thing was, she never apoligized. She said that can't be--we write down all the alterations. So I told her about the other pair that I hadn't asked to be altered that seemed to now have elastic in them. She'll check it out she said very seriously. I got the impression that the gal working in alterations was going to be called to task and I tried to explain--I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding. I left the pants to be altered and I left three other pair for dry cleaning. The girl had the slacks to be altered in her hands the entire time I was there.

Joe called me that night at home and left a message that it was very important that I call him back right away. So when I got home, I called. He told me that I made a mistake and told them the wrong slacks to alter. No apology. I was absolutely dumbfounded that Joe was calling me stupid. I explained that the elastic went into a pair of slacks that had belt loops--why would I get elastic in a pair of slacks that had belt loops. He basically said--we don't make mistakes, so it must be your fault. I don't think I said anything horrible--I think I was too surprised.

A few days later I picked up my dry cleaning. Joe and I were very formal with each other--I paid and I left. A few days after that I went to wear one of the other slacks that I had had dry cleaned--a smaller size pair with no beltloops. There was elastic all around the waist!!! They are already too small. I had nothing else to wear (I needed to save my good suit for a court appearance in a few days). They were ruined and I went a little crazy. I called 411 for the number and I damned the cost and allowed the operator to put the call through (because of course I didn't have a pen out to write down the number and I was just too upset to actually remember the number). Joe answered and I explained that I was very upset and I explained that my other slacks were ruined and he sounded exasperated at my stupidity. I yelled "do you hate me?" and he responded that he's treated me with nothing but respect the entire time he's known me. I know I'm crazy and all, but it sounded as thought he were saying even though I didn't deserve to be treated with respect. What???

And of course, why do I even care is the real question. I wanted to write him a letter and apoligize (because let's face it those pants were too small before there was any elastic, but I just didn't want to see it). Luckily that feeling has passed. Now comes the really hard part--finding a new dry cleaners. They are so expensive. It almost seems easier to quit my job and work some place that doesn't require a wardrobe that needs to be dry cleaned. Almost.