the story of the jumper

Last Friday, Mousey, Mel and I went to the spa, followed by indulgent lunch at Sun With Moon, followed by obligatory shopping at Wheelock Place.

Mousey and I tried on a jumper at Bysi, which was priced at $99. We both loved it and, what was more, there was a 20% discount if we spent over $100 using a credit card from a certain bank.

However, we had gotten wind of a top secret sale at the studio of one of our favourite local designers, whose prices were usually prohibitive, but now supposedly as low as $10 (bluff one, we later realised).

Rationalising that we were going to splurge at the studio sale, Mousey convinced me to not buy the jumpers and to head to the sale at ulu Geylang instead.

A $11 cab ride later, we were in a grey flatted factory, flipping through four pathetic racks of clothes. Despite our best efforts, we could not find anything to buy. And believe me, we really tried.

"I think we have to go back to Bysi," Mousey whispered.

We figured the nearest one would be at Bugis -- thank god for its proliferation all over the island -- and headed there by train.

When we got there, we found that there were only three pieces left, and two were badly damaged, with snags and holes. It was a no go. We couldn't even buy just the good piece, as it was $1 below the required $100.

Dispirited, we trudged over to MOF -- Ministry of Food: kok name, extensive Japanese menu, not bad food -- for green tea and dessert.

After refueling, we decided to give those darn jumpers one last shot. (See, we really liked them and they were very extremely flattering and comfortable.) According to the Ah Lian at Bysi, there were two last pieces at Citylink Mall, and they would pass Mousey's eagle-eye test. (Me, I have sparrow eyes and can only spot glaring defects.)

Finally -- stay with me, there is a good ending to this long tale, I believe the cheem word to use is denouement -- at the last shop of the day, we found two not-that-badly-damaged jumpers. And they were at 40% off, just for that outlet and that day only. Clearly, those jumpers were meant to be.

(There is a moral to this story, but I'm not quite sure what it is.)