Yes, I Locked That Man's Children In, and Him Out

So, in between my CB2 and C&B links is the ubiquitous Craigslist link. I always felt sketchy looking on Craigslist (except for the 'missed connections' section - who doesn't love that?), but D. was getting obsessed and was showing me some great furniture (and some terrible furniture) available nearby, so ultimately I agreed to go look at some dining room chairs, as long as he did the e-mailing and driving.

A note on why we are constantly searching for chairs - we tend to have problems with them because D. is 6'5" and, as fit as he is, he is just too big for a lot of furniture. So while the table from our $99 Ikea table/chair set has held up well, D. has broken two of the four chairs. He also flopped onto our Ikea futon once and cracked the wooden frame. By the time we were moving out of our first apartment, he had broken four panels, so we pitched it. Edited to shout out Mommychicky and assume she remembers sitting on our futon pillow in lieu of a couch at Chestnut St.!

Anyway, D. makes an appointment to go see this guy in a neighboring town one evening at 7:30. I am convinced he is going to be an axe murderer, but when I call him on the drive over to confirm the time/place, he has a kind Irish accent and I hear kids in the background. I pronounce his Celtic name wrong and sound like a moron - he probably thinks I'm the crazy. We get to his rowhome, walk up the steep flight of stairs, see lots of Halloween decorations (it was in October), and he and his adorable children open the door for us. He brings us up to the attic and the little girl (think the little one in In America) follows, telling me all about her Halloween costume (she's going to be a princess). The dining room chairs aren't as good as they looked in the photos, but he has these two awesome Deco bar stools that we decided to buy on the cheap (actual ones are in my parents' garage with the rest of our stuff, similar ones here).

So he and D. carry them down the two flights of stairs, outside, and he offers to carry one down the hill to the car. I pay him, and start to walk out. The kids, so excited by this unusual weeknight event of random visitors, follow me and talk more about their Halloween costumes (the older one is going to be an astronaut). It's chilly, and they are in their bare feet, so I say goodbye and close the door to make sure they don't run out after us. And it locks. Automatically. And the dad is bringing my stool to my car. He comes back and I apologize profusely and ask if he has keys. He doesn't. He tries to get the older one to open it inside, but little astronaut just bolts the door further. We offer him our cell and he leaves a message for his wife (she's at yoga - the poor woman probably has one night a week of relaxation and then gets this message). I'm flipping out but he tells us to leave (really - glares and says, 'Just Go.'). I'm getting panicky, but he tells me he'll just break into a window if he has to. So D. drags me away b/c obviously the guy wants nothing more to do with me. We go and I am waiting to be told that the kids burned down the house or something, but the guy had D.'s cell and e-mail and was never in touch with a lawsuit, so I'm assuming it all worked out. So yes, I locked that man's children in, and him out (and have the bar stools to prove it).