patteren: 111609;1051
series: magnificat;209

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At that moment, Mrs. Roland had four hundred dollars in cash on her; that was her budget for today.  She had no desire to haggle with this woman.  Strangely, she wanted to give the woman something.  “This cradle is unique.  You shouldn’t sell it for anything less than what you have already decided.  I would even charge more.”  “Actually, I originally thought eight hundred,” she confessed, “but my mother and my husband said that I was being too greedy.”  “If I were you, I’d keep such an item.  Put it in storage, and save it as a family heirloom.  In fact, I’ll refinish it for you; it’s my hobby.”  Oddly, this offer of generosity from one stranger to another was more intimate than what normally accompanies gifts between friends, family or even lovers where expectations dampen the giver’s radiance.