Alligator Issues

The alligator handbag wasn’t just expensive, it was also terribly ugly. Why anyone would want a handbag that looked like an alligator’s bottom was a ridiculous thought to the woman who carried it around. Yet still she held it over her shoulder with a stuck-up chin and a confident gait, just like she had been taught. She had been given the present many years ago when she had gotten married, who had gotten it for her she couldn’t remember anymore, but it had remained in a cupboard gathering dust for many years.

The only reason she wore it now was because her husband had demanded, she needed to look more high and mighty he had told her, so the other mother’s didn’t judge their family on this dreaded day. The day was in fact the most feared day of the year, when their daughter participated in the figure-skating competition, a sport she was absolutely positively horribly hopeless at. So now the woman traipsed along trying to look impressive so even if the mother’s did look on her daughter with a judgemental gaze, at least they’d look at her and be envious of their family’s wealth.

“Andrea.”

The woman paused as she was walked in front of the seats and turned to where another mother, a friend though of course not a real friend, sat.

“How are you Catherine?”

“Good. We had a bit of trouble with Georgia’s costume but it’s alright now.”

Andrea pulled the handbag up further on her shoulder, showing off her bag, as her husband had told her. The matter of their family image seemed to be of a much greater concern to him than it was to her, and he somehow knew a lot, or had ideas, about the exact ways to maintain it.

“Are you sitting anywhere, sit down.”

She sat down next to Catherine and places the bag on her lap.

“That’s a nice bag.”

“Oh this.” She wasn’t sure if that was what she was meant to say but she felt like that’s what people always said in movies. She was tempted to add ‘oh this old thing’ but stopped herself before she appeared far too much like a snob.

“Is it real?”

“Yes, it’s alligator.”

“Must have been expensive.”

She had been told to lie about the origins of the bag.

“Oh it was.” She didn’t feel comfortable talking in this manner, it was lies, and she wasn’t that person. With the bag having done its purpose for now she tucked it on the floor beside her feet.

“How’s Lydia feeling, Georgia was all nerves?”

Catherine was a very lovely lady, out of the ice-skating mothers definitely the nicest, and the one that Andrea could imagine as a friend. She was very down to earth, not seeming to care much about trivial things.

“She seemed a little jittery, but excited. Mrs Rita says she’s improved a lot this year.”

If her husband had gotten his way their daughter would not have continued figure-skating after last year’s performance. But she had wanted to do it, and how do you tell a child they can’t do something because they’re bad.

The first round of figure-skating finished and a round of applause came from people nearby.

“Did you get a program?” Andrea asked.

“I found one on a chair, it’s so hard to grab one isn’t it. Our children are up next.”

Andrea felt nerves go through her. It wasn’t that she wanted Lydia to do well, but she didn’t want her to embarrass herself. She could imagine the other children laughing, teasing her at the next practice, causing her to never again feel like she could do anything.

The announcement comes over the room declaring the next section.

“Catherine, Andrea.”

Another couple of mother’s were standing in front of them. These were the mother’s that she was trying to impress.

She reached under her chair to pull out the bag. Her hand only touched air, so she bent further, the looked up trying not to seem worried.

“Is something wrong Andrea?” Catherine asked.

“No no.” In desperation she got up and went onto her knees, peering under the chair.

“The bags gone.”

“Oh.” Three women gasp simultaneously.

“I hope it wasn’t an expensive one.” One of the mothers said.

“It was alligator,” whispered Catherine.

Andrea stands and looks around, no one is paying them any attention and no one is just sitting there with her alligator handbag.

“I need to go talk to someone.”

A bell dings over the PA system, the section is about to begin. Lydia was number seven.

“I’ll call you if it turns up,” Catherine said trying to appear reassuring.

“Thanks.” She walked off, no longer high and mighty, but worried and deflated.

She hated the bag, it was ugly and couldn’t fit more than a wallet and tube of lipstick. Not entirely sure of where someone would go about a stolen bag, she found the information desk.

“What can I help you with?”

“My handbags been stolen.”

The woman on the other side of the desk didn’t look too concerned.

“Did you look all around?”

“Yes. It was under my chair and now it’s not.”

“Okay. What did it look like?”

Andrea described the ugly pattern and shape.

“Is it real alligator?”

“Yes.”

A small tsk came from the woman. Andrea couldn’t tell if it was a tsk of worry or a tsk of disgust. Which right-minded person would bring an alligator handbag to a children’s figure-skating competition? Only someone stuck up who cared more about their appearance than child would.

Andrea tried to stop the feelings of guilt going through her mind. She deserved this really, she had tried to be something she wasn’t to hide something her child was.

“What’s your mobile number?”

She told the woman.

“We’ll keep a lookout for it and give you a call. Otherwise you’ll have to take it to the police if you want it found.”

Andrea only felt more guilt inside of her. If it wasn’t such an expensive bag she could’ve left it. She would’ve happily cancelled all her cards and ordered new ones and the lipstick was half-melted from the heat the other day. But such an expensive bag couldn’t just be forgotten.

Not knowing what to do, and anxious that she’d miss her daughter, she returned to the side of the ring.

“Anything?” Catherine asked.

“They said they’ll call me if they find it. What number are they up to?” For now she’d have to put it out of her mind

“Five.”

“Has Georgia been?”

“Yes she was number two.”

“I’m sorry I missed her.” She knew how mothers wanted another to be there to tell them their daughter was wonderful.

“How’d she go?”

“Well she didn’t seem nervous, her turns were a bit loose but it was good.”

Andrea smiled in the way that mothers were meant to when another woman praised their own child. It was one that was meant to say I’m sure you’re proud of her. There were a lot of unsaid gestures between mothers.

Number five finished and number six came on.

“I hope your bag turns up, it was lovely.”

Andrea sighed, she didn’t want to play the farce anymore.

“It was ugly, even if it is found I never want to use it again.”

Catherine looked at her with a confused gaze.

“Then why were you using it now?”

“I’m not too sure. I don’t even know if it was expensive, it was a wedding present that’s never been used.”

“Oh.” And Catherine began to laugh.

“What?” Andrea knew that most times when someone laughed it was because there was a joke and she was meant to laugh to, but this time she was entirely confused.

“You know I remember the first time I took Georgia to preschool. Harold said we couldn’t walk even though it was just around the corner, I had to take the new car. Hopefully then no one would think anything bad about Georgia, they’d all be too concerned with how fancy I was.”

Andrea listened intently, this was just like what she was going through with the bag.

“Well I told him I’d rather be healthy then fancy, and on the first of preschool we walked.” Catherine smiled. “It’s really not worth it.

Andrew knew she was right. It wasn’t worth impressing people so they wouldn’t judge her daughter, they had no right to judge her anyway.

“Look she’s coming on.”

Andrea turned her head back to the ring. Her daughter entered, dressed in her favourite pink costume and she skated to the middle confidently. Whether she was good or bad, Andrea knew now she would be proud of her.

The music started and she watched as her daughter begun. She started well, and though she stumbled a few times, by the end Andrea had stopped caring entirely. The music finished and she clapped loudly as she watched the big smile on her child’s face. This was why it did, she thought.

“She was good,” Catherine said.

“Brilliant.” She smiled.

She leant back in her seat and sighed. Her daughter was perfect, but she enjoyed it. Her phone rung in her pocket and she pulled it out, wondering about the unknown number.

“Mrs Pontine, we think we’ve your bag. It’s at the information desk.”

“Thank you, I’ll be there in a minute.” She hung up. She didn’t really want to get the bag back but she knew she had to.

“I’ll be back before they announce the prizes.”

As she reached the information desk she spied the bag under the desk. The woman smiled at her.

“Is this it?”

“Yes thank you so much.” She took the bag back up into her arms and found everything still in it.

“It was found in one of the bathrooms.”

Andrea wanted to say that maybe someone took it and found it too ugly to keep but didn’t.

“Thank you for your help.”

When she returned to her seat the last girl had finished and the judging was about to start.

“They found it in a bathroom, I wonder how it got there.”

The group of girls skated on and she watched her daughter. She highly doubted she’d win something, and she was right, but by the end her daughter’s face was still lit up with joy.

“Congratulations,” she said to Catherine, whose daughter had gotten third place.

“She’ll be pleased with that. Lydia should be pleased to, she really improved.”

“She’s always please that girl.”

As they made they were out to leave they passed the two woman from before.

“You found your bag Andrea.”

“Yes, it was left somewhere.” This time she didn’t fling it higher on her shoulder, or lift her chin up.

“It’s just gorgeous.”

“Yes. I don’t really fancy it though, it was a wedding present, probably from the in-laws.”

Beside her she could hear Catherine chuckle slightly.

“We’ll see you at practice on Wednesday.”

They walked past.

“What are you going to do with the bag?” Catherine asked.

Andrea looked at it, she certainly was never taking it out again.

“Put it into another corner to gather dust. Or maybe feed it back to the alligators, it would look the same either way.”

They both laugh and find the way to collect their children.

Andrea knew the bag that looked like an alligator’s bottom was even more ridiculous than before. Tonight she would be telling her husband that if he wanted to impress anyone with it, it he could carry, and that she knew would be a sight.