I spent the day with my daughter in New York City. It was her 30th birthday and she wanted to go for massages and then go shopping. Sounded like a perfect day, right?
At the Massage
We drove into the city from Long Island and there was no traffic. I was amazed. This was one of the first times there was no traffic since COVID-19.
My daughter and I went into this lovely spa on 15th Street and were ushered downstairs for our massage. We were a couple of minutes late so they wanted us to get our stuff in a locker and meet the therapists. We locked up our valuables and we were on our way.
The massages were wonderful. I even thought about going there again, it was that good. But, when we got back to our lockers, Zoey got an alert on her phone. “Mom, someone used my credit card in CVS and spent $250 dollars,” she said.
Next, she gets another alert from Cohen Fashion Optical. Now we were alarmed.
She went into her wallet and found that four credit cards were missing and her license was gone. When she searched the locker some more she noticed that her “Zoey” necklace that I bought her a couple of years back along with another gold necklace and hoop earrings were also missing.
As we were talking, the owner overheard what was going on and she called the police.
The Police Came
When the police finally came, Zoey and I were seated in a private area. The owner didn’t want to disturb the guests. She asked us if we wanted something to eat and brought us a seeded cookie. (I never saw anything like this before. It was a cookie made of seeds. I think the birds in my backyard would have loved them.)
The police asked us what happened. We told them and they had her fill out a report. After that, we were asked to go to the “house” to talk with a detective. Meanwhile, we were calling her credit card companies and canceling the cards.
Another alarm went off on her phone, this time the “perp” charged $500 to an online makeup company. We were both so upset. Our mother-daughter day felt like it was ruined.
The police officer said, “let me take you to the car so that you can go to the police station.” He then proceeded to escort us out of the spa and into the police vehicle. This was the first time either of us rode in the back of a police car.
Commotion at the Station
When we approached the station, I saw a man fully armored with a huge machine gun. I pulled up to him. “Excuse me, do you know where we can park around here?” He told me. My daughter jumped out of the car and walked into the station. At the same time, a man was getting thrown out of the station.
I parked the car around the corner from the precinct and walked in. There was a lot of commotion going on. There was one man in handcuffs getting arrested and a homeless man fighting with an officer. I looked at my daughter and kept my mouth shut.
Finally, the detective came over, interviewed Zoey, and sent us on our way.
Who could have taken her stuff?
Although we made up some time shopping and buying her what she needed and wanted for her birthday and then going out to dinner with the rest of the family, I still couldn’t get the whole thing out of my head.
Who could have taken her stuff? Was it an inside job? The management said there was no way that could have happened. Was it the big woman in a robe standing next to us in the locker room? Was someone watching as we set the combination?
All I kept thinking was I felt sorry for this woman. And, I said to Zoey that we should be grateful that she didn’t take her bag, her wallet, and her diamond wedding band that she wore during the services.
