I can laugh about it now

Here's a funny story.

It was my parent's birthdays this week. They're both at a stage in their lives where they really don't need or want anything, so I decided to get them a gift voucher for their favourite fancy restaurant, Bannisters. I called Bannisters and ordered the gift voucher (of not inconsiderable value), and organised for it to be mailed out to my parents in plenty of time for their birthdays.

Last weekend (still a couple of days before their birthdays), I casually asked if they had received anything interesting in the mail. They said no. I got a little icky sensation in the pit of my stomach, realising that something could have gone horribly wrong. My credit card had been charged, but had I given the correct address for delivery? What if it had accidentally been delivered to someone else? (I mean, I'm always receiving mail for people who live at the same unit and street number, one street over from us) What if it was lost in the mail? What if some underpaid mail sorter had intercepted the envelope and taken the gift voucher? But since the birthdays hadn't happened yet, I decided to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, and wait a few more days.

This morning, three weeks after I had organised this gift voucher, I called the parental unit again, spoke to Dad, and asked if they had received anything birthday related in the mail. And again, he said no. OH NO!!!!

Immediately I called Bannisters and told them that something had gone awry, the gift voucher was MIA, and what were they going to do about it? The lady who I spoke with was very polite, but really couldn't grasp the concept that the voucher might not have reached its intended recipient. She kept telling me that it had been charged to my credit card on April 10th ("Yes, I know that") and it was mailed out the same day ("Mmmhhhhmmm, yes I believe you"). We confirmed the mailing address had been correct and the names on the voucher were correct. Then she helpfully went and checked the desk where they kept the out-tray to make sure it hadn't fallen behind. It hadn't. She really didn't have any helpful suggestions for me. I had to help her with that. I suggested that she reassure me that the voucher hadn't yet been cashed in. It hadn't. Then I asked if it was possible to cancel the voucher and make a new one. She thought about it for a while and decided it might be possible. Good, we were getting somewhere. Anyhoo we sorted it out and arranged for a new gift voucher for my parents to come and pick up.

So I rang my parents and this time spoke to my mother. I told her the story, that she should have received something for her birthday from Bannisters and that it had clearly got lost in the mail. At this point she screamed. Yes, she screamed. I thought that she might be being over-dramatic about how nice the birthday present would have been if they had got it and how great it was that I was so thoughtful. But I was wrong.

After a brief silence, my Mum started telling me, semi-hysterically, that there had been some mail from Bannisters last weekend and she had thought it was junk mail. So she threw it away.

Sometimes I can't believe I'm related to these people.