Velvet, sown into slippery delicate satin, soft to the touch. Millennial pink. Sublime. She pulled the deadstock off a top shelf and into her shopping cart. It would keep her new lampshade company, and soon they would be joined as one.
She had a whole shelf of them now, some conical, many cylindrical, a few accordion, arranged harmoniously to tie up the part of her brain full of loose ends. She'd added tassels, fringe, satin, chiffon, crepe, and steel. Old shades bore new life, moving light downcast in much louder dress.
She parked the cart at the counter to unload the barcodes to the cashier with dyed black hair. The woman's headband held back thick bangs and hid peeking bald spots. Inspecting the time on the wall clock with the aim not to engage, she shoved the credit card chip in the reader face up. Before she had a chance...
