Feeling Fancy

“Daahling! Yes, it’s me! I have so much to tell you!”

Mika chattered away on the phone to her friend, Felicia. This was the fifth such phone call for her today.

“I’ve had such wonderful luck! I just did a bit of shopping in Paris and now I’m off to London for some dinner — Claridge’s. But I can’t speak to you now. Call you later! Smooches!”

She hoisted her shopping bags over her shoulder and hailed a taxi. As it pulled up, she opened the door and threw the bags on the back seat and jumped in.

“Charles de Gaulle airport, please. Eurostar station,” she informed the driver. She sat back and checked her messages on her mobile phone.

Today had been nothing short of a fairy tale. Mika had gotten up at 6:00 this morning like any other day and, as was her custom, she checked her email messages on her phone while having breakfast and getting ready for work.  A message from Barclays Bank caught her eye. She cursed and hoped she hadn’t bounced another payment again. She tried to be so careful with money, but occasionally, she would overspend and have to pay £20 in overdraft fees. Curiosity, tinged with a little self-loathing, prompted her to open the email.

The toast fell from her mouth as she stared agape at her mobile phone.

She had won the lottery!

“Notice was hereby given that a deposit of £500,000 was made” in Mika’s checking account. “The remainder of funds would be deposited at a future date after taxes have been assessed,” the message read.

Mika sat frozen with a half eaten piece of toast in one hand and the phone in the other.

“Impossible!” she reasoned with herself. This must be a scam. Where did this come from? But then she checked her bank account just to be sure.

And there it was. £500,023.19 was the balance in her checking account…

Three hours later, Mika was in a first class seat on the Eurostar speeding for Paris. This had always been her dream: to go on a shopping spree in the most fashionable city in the world! She didn’t even stop to think or call anyone.

She passed the entire day on a shopping spree on the Avenue des Champs-Elysées. She spent a scandalous amount of euros in Louis Vuitton, Cartier, and Hugo Boss stores. She rubbed shoulders with other rich and famous diners at Fouquet’s. And she still found time to visit the Tuileries Gardens, the Louvre, and the Arc de Triomphe.

By the time Mika was seated once again in the premier compartment of the Eurostar train, tired, but happy and sipping a glass of champagne, she had spent nearly €30,000 of her windfall on clothes, shoes, and jewelry. The personal assistant at the Cartier store would certainly enjoy her sales commission from Mika’s visit.

On the return leg, it occurred to Mika that she could finally buy anything in the world she wanted! She needed to get back home and make a list. And call her parents, of course. And tell Neriss, her best friend. Everyone would be so jealous! Actually, maybe she’d call a few friends and have them meet her at Claridge’s for dinner this evening. First, she’d call the restaurant to update the number of guests for her reservation. It would be nice to show off for a change.

Mika took out her mobile phone and started dialing.

Meanwhile, back in London, Barclays Bank was dispatching letters of apology by email and post to all clients affected by their computer glitch earlier that day. It seems a bug in the system recorded all deposits with zeros at the end of the number by adding two more zeros. But not to worry, they had fixed the problem and everyone’s bank account would have the correct balance by the following morning. They apologized for any inconvenience caused during the glitch.

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Inspired by the Daily Post Prompt: Feeling Fancy

You’re given unlimited funds to plan one day full of any and all luxuries you normally can’t afford. Tell us about your extravagant day with as much detail as possible.