Watching me taking books off shelves and putting them into boxes has been unsettling for Bao, but the garage sale was the last straw. People walking away with our stuff -- yikes!
There is no way I can fit the papa-san chair into our new place, end of story. But Bao wouldn't let me sell it, either. He hunkered down in it and when someone came close, his lower lip quivered -- just like a little kid, about to cry. So of course, everyone felt sorry for him and said things like, I just wouldn't have the heart to buy his chair!
It's amazing, the way people behave at garage sales. I had some large, painted, ceramic pots that I was selling for $7 each -- they cost six times that much, new. And this woman really, really wanted one of them. But she wanted to buy it for $5 and it was still early, so I said no. She haggled for nearly ten minutes (over $2) and then left -- with many a backward look -- climbing into her brand new Mercedes and driving away. Someone else bought the pot -- for $7 -- half an hour later.
But nobody bought the papa-san chair. Nobody dared. So Bao thinks he's won, but he hasn't. It'a going to the consignment store, next week.