Welp... Now What?

A Thousand Dollar Spud

"Honey," Daniel called out. "You won't believe the deal I was able to land today."

Rachel came halfway down the stairs. "You were able to find work?" she asked. "That's an amazing babe, I'm so proud of you."

"Even better than work," Daniel said with his hands behind his back. "We'll never be hungry again."

Rachel came down the stairs both confused and excited. "Well, what did you get?"

Daniel pulled his hands out from behind his back revealing a bag of Russet potatoes. "Can you believe I was able to haggle the price all the way down to 1,000 dollars. The guy at the market was insane to take paper money like that."

She just stood there, her mouth trembling. "Really funny Danny. What's the surprise deal you were able to land?"

Daniel walked past her and placed the potatoes on the dining room table. "This is it babe." He said, opening the bag. "Don't you see. We can plant these to get more potatoes. They are the heartiest vegetables. Just one can fill an empty stomach."

Rachel opened her mouth, but the words did not come out. She did not know what to possibly say. Finally, she said the only thing that came to her mind. "You... you spent a thousand dollars on a bag of fucking potatoes?" She began to laugh hysterically. "You spend a thousand fucking dollars on potatoes. A thousand dollars... on potatoes. A thousand-dollar spud." The hysterical laughter quickly became tears.

Daniel walked over to Rachel and wrapped his arm around her. "Babe, I know a thousand dollars sounds like a lot, but you have to understand paper money isn't worth anything compared to what it used to be worth before Salvadore collapsed the economy." He held the potato in his hand at her eye level. "This potato on the other hand, this is a building block we can use to sustain ourselves. Who knows. If we get good at growing them, we can even start to trade them for other necessities with the rest of the town."

"Get that fucking potato out of my face Danny," she screamed. "I hate potatoes. How can you possibly justify buying a bag of potatoes for a grand. What the fuck is wrong with you."

"That grand is worth about fourteen cents of what it was worth before the world ended" he pointed out. He sat her down on the couch. "Inflation is at 21000%. At this rate a dollar is almost less valuable than the paper it's printed on. I'm telling you this is an amazing deal."

Rachel grabbed the potato and threw it at the wall. "No, it's not. It's not a great deal. I don't give a shit about your stupid inflation. It's a Goddamn potato."

Daniel ran after the potato and picked it up. "What are you crazy?" he asked. "Look, you were complaining about how hungry you were yesterday, this is sustainable food. Potatoes are an easy crop. In just a few weeks we will have more then we will know what to do with."

Rachel folded her arms across her chest. "There are already more potatoes than I know what to do with." She took a deep breath. "Ok, I'm sorry for overreacting, but I'm just sick of this. I miss the way things used to be, before everyone thought the stupid world was going to end. I wish we could go back."

"Me too," Daniel said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Look, things will get better. We just have to be realistic. The dollar is too far gone. No currency has ever survived rapid inflation to this degree. I'm sure the government will eventually step in and make a new currency and then slowly everything will return to normal. For now, we just have to focus on surviving."

Rachel nodded, kissing Daniel on the forehead. "Okay, you're right. I love you."

After a few minutes Daniel chuckled to himself. "I'm just lucky I had a thousand bucks lying around."

Rachel looked over at him. "Why did you have all that money anyway?"

"I was saving it to give you an engagement ring before the asteroid hit. Isn't that funny?"

Rachel's jaw dropped open. "So, you traded my engagement ring for a bag of potatoes?"

Daniel raised his hands in defense. "Babe, wait. I-"

"Get the fuck out," she screamed out. "I need a few minutes to myself. Take your stupid fucking potatoes with you," she said tossing the bag of potatoes at the man who would have been her fiancé if he'd spent that money differently.