The clerk took a large piece of haddock and cut off a piece. It weighed .44lb. I was going to take it but she asked if she should cut a little more. I said, "Okay, just a little bit." She cut another piece, and when she added it to the scale, the total was .68lb. (the same as the trout which had been too heavy). BTW .68lb. is just a tiny bit over 11 ounces, and .44 is a bit over 7.
Well, I figured in a way it was my mistake to agree to have a bit more added to the haddock, and I'd compensate by only getting 1/2 pound (8oz.) of mussels. So I asked for that and she verified the amount I wanted. Then she started testing mussels by knocking their shells together. Some were bad, and she put those aside. The good ones she put into a plastic bag. when she was through, she weighed them: .70lb. She made no move to take some back and before I could tell her to do so she had gone to a side room, where she scooped a lot of ice into the bag with the mussels.
My total price was $12.00*, which is not bad for two meals. The mussels were particularly inexpensive, possibly because they wouldn't be salable much longer. But if I had been given what I had asked for, the haddock would have been $8.00 and the mussels $2.50. There is a 10% senior discount on Wednesdays, which would have lowered the price to $9.45.
* When I calculate the prices for the quantities I got, I find the haddock basic price would be $10.87 and the mussels $3.50, for a total of $14.37. The discount would be $1.44 and the net (no pun intended) $12.93. Maybe she cut me an extra break because she knew she had sold me more than I had asked for.
So, as I say, it was annoying to be sold so much more than I had asked for. Since the mussels seem to be on their last legs, I think I'd better cook them tonight, and setting aside the shells, I may be able to eat them all. But 11oz. of haddock will be too much for one meal. There will be leftovers.
