My Birthday Promise (Editing)

Shopaholic girls and me

The shoe was designed by some renowned designer and Rutt immediately bought it. I have begun to consider her as a compulsive shopper. She had more than 30 pair of shoes already, but she still went for the bargain when she saw the discount on the shoes. I agree she had a knack for finding great bargains and making smart purchasing decisions. Still it doesn't explain her more than 30 pairs of shoes. It would not be wrong to say Rutt would scramble to grab her shoes first if her apartment were on fire. Such was her love for shoes. It was not only her, I had often wondered why the women in general, who are often touted as strong, independent, and intelligent, put up with shoes designed mostly by men that were dangerous to their health, and were extremely uncomfortable for most of them, often hideous-looking, and most often pointy-toed.

"I love shoes. I lust after them. I feel my heart race when I look at shoes I am considering buying and I feel a jolt of joy when I wear them the first time. I know that I need to have shoes like I know that I need to eat and breathe," Rutt justified buying new pair of shoes.

We were at the shopping mall and I would have snapped at least 20 shots of them with my i-phone. 20 more photos to like and comment on Facebook. I sighed. I was beginning to doubt my power of judgment when I realized the idea of driving girls to shopping could never be a good idea. They promised me it will not take more than two hours, but there I was tagging along with them from shop to shop for more than 4 hours now. I desperately wanted to end my misery and go back to my apartment.

It was nice to have done Rutt a favour by driving them to shopping mall because I could ask her for a favour in return when we get back to her apartment, you know what I mean, but this charade was beginning to be extremely uncomfortable for me. I was tired of following them from one shop to another. And what to say of the countless bags I was holding! I was a man who couldn't give a monkey about shopping. It was not like I was against their shopping. They were young women about 25 years old, unmarried, with good jobs and disposable income, who like to make themselves look really nice. Shopping might give them a thrill, a frisson, possibly a sexual one. But to me it was a chore and far from a pleasure. I would prefer sex any day over shopping, as that was a pleasure, and free (if you don't mind few hours in a shopping mall holding handful of bags.) Maybe I have had too much testosterone to be a real man but that was the way I rolled.

Just when I thought they were done, Malvika shouted at the top of her voice in awe, "OH-MY-GOD!!" My first guess was that she must have seen a cockroach. But then she pointed to the 50% discount sign on the window and rushed into the store. I stood there watching them as Rutt and Alisha following her with same excitement. They were like in their own world of shopping, completely oblivious of me, the guy who drove them into their little world. 

They came out few minutes later 50% poorer, but thinking 50% richer.

Why do women enjoy shopping? The question had bugged me for quite a long time. I knew I had to ask them today. "I am not being stereotypical at all; I am just saying what I am seeing. Why do women enjoy shopping so much?" I asked them.

Surprised looking faces of Malvika turned towards me. "I will tell you what I used to tell my previous boyfriend."

"You mean, Aman?" Alisha said, raising her brow.

"No. No. The one before him!" Malvika cleared the dust. "Basically it's a habit developed when we humans were evolving millions of years ago. When men used to do hunting for living and women used to find and collect fruits, plants and herbs to bring home. The modern equivalent of this is shopping, which allows you to bring stuff home after you pay for it. I don't know if there's any actual proof behind this theory but it's my excuse for shopping anyway." She said, smiling.

Rutt had different view on this. She said, empathetically. "I believe there is a scientific explanation, yes, as shopping stimulates the release of the neurotransmitter called dopamine, and hence shopping feels good and lifts one's moods. Therefore, shopping is fun!"