I was at the paint counter of my local hardware store where the wizard of paints was preparing to mix a gallon bucket of paint to match a sample. The wizard is a short older man, crotchety in personality, with a back and shoulder that lean to one side.
The old man and I had discussed in detail his approach to altering the color to match the sample. The first mix was a little off. He was going to add a hint of green, and a little bit of white to soften the color. That, in his mind, would do the trick.
A woman pulled up to the counter next me. She needed to buy paint. She saw the color swatches the old man had made, and leaned in to look at them. "You need to add red to that if you want it to match. I do this for a living. I'm really good with color." she said.
I was nice to her and humored her knowing full well it was the opposite of what the wizard had said.
The old man came back with another swatch after he had mixed the paint and placed it on the counter. It looked almost exactly like the sample. "That's great! I said.
The woman leaned in, "I told you it needed green, the woman said to me. I was right," she bolstered.
I couldn't let it go. I should have just smiled and said yes you were right, but no, not me. I turned to the woman with a scrunched up face, and a hint of anger, "YOU SAID RED!"
