I'm not a big window treatment person. Gimme some wood blinds and I'm fine. At least I WAS - until I invested in that one set of drapes.
Five years ago, for about five minutes, I suddenly cared about what was on the windows in my bedroom. I wanted fabric, frilly and fabulous. You know, a grownup room - and block out the morning sun for The Husband while you're at it.
So I had some made - with matching pillows and bolster just like in Better Homes and Gardens. But when it came time to sell the house, the interested buyers had good taste. They wanted those drapes.
A deal breaker, it became. But not worth losing the sale. So we took our pillows and our bolster on down the road, where we enjoyed a bright, sunny existence in our curtain-less new bedroom.
Then I heard our old house was for sale. They were transferred and the place was left empty, except for a nice set of bedroom drapes, that is. I ran down the owner and asked if we could make a deal. How much would I pay, he wanted to know.
Now. It's one thing to splurge to buy yourself some curtains. It's another thing to buy them AGAIN. I asked him to just give them to me. But after conferencing with his Realtor, he said he needed all the help he could get to sell the house. No deal.
There was talk after the bank bought the house that the Realtor could call the new owner and work something out, but nothing ever happened.
I considered breaking in and just taking them down myself. But these things look so bad on your record and mug shots are posted online. And who wants to be known as the crazy lady who steals drapes? That's not the way to get invited to parties. Not the good ones, anyway.
Then I heard a nice couple moved in last year. And it was done. So imagine my surprise this past Halloween night when I'm introduced to the people who live in my old house. The hostess gives me that "You're not going to ask for their drapes" look. Which is a very distinct look, by the way.
I tail them to the bar. What do I have to lose? They don't know me, and I wasn't ever formally charged.
"We took them down last year after we repainted," she explains, "It's funny you should ask about them, I was going to take them to Goodwill today, but ran out of time. Why, do you want them?"
I never believed that saying about if you love something let it go, and if it comes back to you it's yours forever. I thought that was about love. But it's not. It's about drapes.
And it's true.
