The drunk girl who stole my jewelry

I really, really hate the moment that I realize someone has stolen a piece of my jewelry. It has happened to me a couple of times, most recently TODAY. Sigh. I was filling in at Hillary Flowers' boutique, where I haven't really sold anything lately. Also, this weekend has been long and awful--I have spent just about every waking minute doing nothing but working like a madwoman, organizing tax receipts and making more jewelry. It wasn't until the end of the day that I realized something was missing from my shelf--a silver and turquoise ring, just like the one you see in the picture. Of course, I don't really know who took the ring. It could have been anyone--a lot of people came into the store today. I have a hunch, though, that it was one of the two drunk girls who came in around 3:30.

Yes, it is kind of weird that two drunk girls were out shopping in the middle of the afternoon. But it is Sunday--weekend brunch is big in New York, and there's tons of places around the area that offer all sorts of all-you-can-drink brunch specials. When Nick's Mom and stepdad came into town, we ended up at some restaurant at about 1pm that was practically force-feeding us cocktails. The music was blasting so loudly that you could barely have a conversation, and the waitress kept bringing bloody mary refills before a few sips had even been taken from the previous drink. It was pretty disorienting--feeling like you're in the middle of a crazy dance club, except the sun is out and you're eating eggs.

But anyway! So these two girls came in today--one more visibly drunk than the other. The drunker one spent her time in the store staggering around, slurring her words, and asking me for a discount for her friend. The drunk one wasn't even shopping--when she wasn't annoying me, she was mostly on her phone with everyone she knew, trying to find a club where they could go see live music. Before 4pm. For all I know they ended up dancing on tables at a cafe down the street......

In conclusion, I would not be surprised if one of the drunk girls was responsible for my missing ring. If it was the really drunk one, she probably didn't even realize what she was doing. Which would be the best case scenario, really. I would much rather think that a drunk girl absentmindedly walked out with a ring than think that a completely sober girl took the ring on purpose. I just don't understand people who think it's ok to steal, especially not from poor artists. I mean, I'm not Macy's! Not that I think anyone should steal from Macy's either, of course. But I can guarantee that I need that $25 more than Macy's does.

Maybe it's good for this to happen today--as I'm gearing up to open my booth on Broadway next week, it's probably a good reminder that I need to be vigilant about theft and try to minimize it as much as possible. It is also mildly flattering that somebody liked my jewelry enough to want to steal it. But mostly, it's just annoying.