The Show Must Go On

I am no stranger to theft. When I first opened nitespa we had a cute white swing that hung from the lemon tree. Kids loved it. Every day when families would walk towards Abbot Kinney the children would beg to swing on our swing. We were delighted by all the happiness it brought.

Then, on Christmas morning, 5 years ago it was gone. Somebody stole our swing! We posted signs everywhere: Do the right thing--Return our Swing! To no avail, we didn't find it. It probably ended up under the tree for some child whose dead-beat daddy couldn't afford such luxuries like modern swings. Oh, well I got over it (sort of).

Yesterday morning, when Zach and I were on our way to Disneyland, I got a call from my receptionist. "Something really bad has happened," she sobbed. She proceeded to tell me that the door was unlocked when she got there and the cash register was gone. We had been burglarized!! "I'll be right there," I said.

Then I hung up the phone and started to cry. Zach told me to keep it together and offered to drive me to nitespa. Called Jody and called off our trip to The Happiest Place on Earth. When I arrived, the girls were in shock. I immediately started doing the opening procedures and getting ready for our client who was due to arrive any minute. Put the pillows and the sign out and make sure everything looks slightly presentable without disturbing the 'crime scene' too much.

There were pillows on the floor and a box of garbage bags had been moved from under the sink to the middle of the room. presumably they needed big bags to grab their loot.

We looked around and slowly started to put the pieces together. What was missing? Well, cash, of course and the drawer itself. All of my cute spa gift bags were gone. I had wrapped up several trifectas of beauty products in hopes that someone would purchase them for their Valentine. Perhaps the thieves thought they could sell them on the boardwalk (they did have $85 price tags, after all). Or some thugs wanted to impress their lady friends by giving them a fancy skin care regime.

They also grabbed Christina's entire manicure kit: tools, products, supplies, carrying case. I think that one was the biggest blow. I feel awful that one of my girls is a victim as well. What are the tweakers going to do with cuticle nippers and nail polish?

The police officer showed up and was very sweet about everything and even joked about us being a brothel. "Couldn't quite figure out what you ladies do when I first walked up," he smiled as he gestured to the paintings of nearly naked ladies. He wouldn't be the first one to get confused. I like to keep people guessing. I assured him we were on the up-and-up and that nothing illegal goes on here. I told him he should get a facial sometime. His response ? Too girly, he'd have to go undercover. With a smile. At least we could all keep our sense of humor during this vexing experience.

At this point, I'm still in shock. As soon as all the reports are done and everything is orderly as its gonna get, I call Jody to see if it's not too late to drive to Disneyland. She assures me that we can still make it to all the good rides and that a half day at the park is better than no day at the park. We make it to Anaheim in less than an hour. And for a few short hours I am transported back to my childhood playground and I turn one of the saddest days into the happiest of nights.