A Fine Line

I have a dark chocolate colored envelope I need to write on and wanted an extra fine copper colored metalic pen to do so. Its New York City and we are drowning in art supplies so this should not be too difficult, right? sadly, sadly, insanely mistaken.

Went out in the morning to a small stationery store around my apt. Found a Sakura Jelly Roll pen that I thought would get the job done. Went home and it just was not enough contrast for the chocolate. Went home, called a few places, no one had what I wanted. Then someone did, we trecked to this art store to learn that the person on the phone, who gave me hope, was not aware of the difference between fine and extra fine lines. We need something elegant and extra fine, this pen they were calling fine should not even be called fine, it should be called “just okay”.

Then we went to Kates Paperie, from whence the envelopes came, and after checking pen after pen and writing Joe’s name out all over town. We found something nice, we had the envelopes with us and in the light of the paper store it looked like we had a winner. I wanted buy 3, Joe suggested 4, but I thought 3 was enough.

Cold cumbersume city day, people in poofy jackets hitting up against me and not feeling it, crowded subways, deep pools of slush at the corners putting my boots to the test.

And finally we were home and I sat down at the table to test out our new pens only to find out they were the exact same ones as I had purchased at 11:00 that day near the apt. They worked perfectly, maybe my standards had lowered throughout the day. Joe claims he knew and just wanted me to feel like I found something new so he let me buy them. And truthfully I was on the edge of sanity about a detail that no one will notice, it crept up on me like a demon and took over my otherwise reasonable nature. I heard myself whining and saw myself pleading with Joe with raised eyebrows and flailing hands about the importance of delicate copper lines, it wasnt pretty.

But the envelopes will be.