Count your Change!

There’s this cigarette waala who’s rigged up his little mobile cigarette and cold drink shop near my house. Consequently, I end up going to him pretty often for my cigarettes, and have been doing so since the past year or so. The man seems quite sweet and so does his wife. They have a couple of children who now recognize me and come running to say hello when they see my car.
Needless to say, when such a relationship is established between the vendor and consumer, a little thing like money does not seem of great importance. However, mistakes have been made, wherein I’ve ended up giving the chap more than I owed him, but then I figure, hey, he gives me credit…and what’s a few rupees here and there?
Yesterday, however, my illusion of this relationship was shattered, as when I went to buy my cigarettes, he charged me more than the retail price. I argued, he buckled, and tried to charge me a little less than his last quote, but still more than the retail price. Finally, I drove off in exasperation, with a bitter taste in my mouth. Obviously, he was a lot more pragmatic than me, and had been taking advantage of the fact that I seldom bother to count my change when I buy from him.
I don’t think I’ll be going back to him for my cigarettes anymore.