Turning 50 -- STILL MORE!

This settee is a birthday present from my siblings, daughters and my best friend Nelson.
In Staunton yesterday, AM said she had to run an errand and asked if I would watch the girls for a few minutes. I got busy making some lunch and was just ready to eat when she returned, and asked if I'd take a look at something with her. At my urgings (not knowing what she was up to), we ate and then went to see what she wanted to show us. The girls were anxious to go swimming, but agreed to wait after their mama whispered a "secret" in their ears. She showed me a couple secretary type desks that she just wasn't quite sure about. One was old and neat looking, with a fold over top and pull out desk top, but a bit shaky. The other was brand new, a reproduction of an antique looking piece of furniture.
Let me backtrack a bit. Several weeks ago I saw a secretary in a store and we talked about how something like that might fit in my apartment. That particular one, however, was extremely expensive. And the reality is that I just really am not much of a traditional desk user; and after we had discussed it I wondered how much I would really use one. Nonetheless something the right size might be practical and cool looking in my extremely old apartment in historic Staunton, I thought.
Then Anna Maria explained that my other daughter, my friend Nelson, and my siblings had all pitched in to find something special, something that would last, for my apartment. And she said I could look at things, but not at the price tags. I had to trust her on that. Now that I realized this was a serious shopping trip, not just a visual treat I got more serious. The two desks she had found would have been great, but not perfect. We also saw a chaise, which I considered. It would be more durable than a futon but provide seating area and a place for the girls when they stayed overnight. But it was lumpy and really needed reupholstered, though the fabric was fine. I just wasn't sure whether I needed guest seating or a work space more.
I asked AM if she'd mind wandering through one more store with me, a market where different dealers rent space. She had already been there, but agreed to wander through with me. We were wandering, perusing, talking, thinking when we rounded a corner and saw this settee -- mission style, love seat size (meaning we would actually be able to get it up the 34-inch-wide stairway to my apartment).
As soon as I saw it, I said to AM, "Look at this! What do you think of this?" (Later she said my eyes just lit up when I saw it, and she knew it would be perfect. Mission style is my favorite, she remembered). She checked the price and said, "On my budget I could get this AND some pillows for it."
Curbing my enthusiasm, I checked it out. Solid, not a wiggle or wobble when seated on it or handling it. The cushion has a two small discolored areas; some day that could be reupholstered easily. In the meantime no one using it needs to fear of making the first spill. And with the right colored pillows and a throw tossed over the back...well you get the idea.
AM went to pay for it; Eliza stayed behind to guard it. The dealers at the desk offered to deliver it later, but I said, "We can carry it home. It's only a couple blocks."
They looked at us -- AM weighs about 100 pounds and is almost 5'2" tall. One lady said, "Well, I suppose if you get tired, I guess you can always set it down, sit on it and rest a while!"
Exactly, I thought as I remembered making three trips a few weeks back to carry the dining chairs and washboard home from that same store.
The dealers opened up the double doors. AM and I hoisted the treasure and headed out, attracting onlookers seated near windows in restaurants. Passers by made room for us to pass, the little girls in front. As soon as we got the settee up the stairs and in my space, I burst into tears. It is perfect! It complements the diptych that I love, that AM made, and it complements the table and chairs I bought earlier.