11 July 2026, Freewriters Community Daily Writing Prompt Day 3161: find it in the catalogue
“Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute – we gotta call this whole thing off not because it started raining, but that let me notice that we need to touch up your fashion for basketball, Papa – that outfit you are wearing is just not it and I know what to do – we need to get it from our English cousins because anybody can get anything from a catalog, but when you find it in the catalogue, you get fashion points just for the Frenchiness of it.”
“Well, to the extent that Norman French has a big effect on British English, yes, Edwina, that's kind of right.”
A pop-up thunderstorm ended all activity outdoors that evening, so the one-on-one basketball game between grandfather basketball stars Capt. R.E. Ludlow and neighbor Thomas Stepforth Sr. had to be postponed, which allowed eight-year-old Edwina to notice there was an English clothing company called Ludlow and Ghent and for Mrs. Thalia Ludlow to explain that yes, the English Ludlows were their cousins.
“Also, Papa, I just don't want you to get just anything out of this catalogue from our cousins,” Edwina said as she continued to drag him toward where she had it spread out on the table. “I know the trend is quiet luxury but we are loud American Ludlows so, don't get carried away because beige and gray make you look sick and you can't just show up for a one-on-one basketball game looking like that!”
“Well, I am thinking along the lines of my old West Point uniform, Edwina, and that's blue, more like my eyes.”
“Yeah, and that's not bad for someone who let the United States Army do their fashion for like 40 years or something, but I'm here now, Papa. I thank God every day that you adopted me, so I can't just let you go out there looking like Army fashion sense in the wrong situation. And that's another thing: how fast can we get Nike to do you a Ludlow One tennis shoe, because, see, I like Mr. Stepforth, but, he already has a Stepforth brand and so we gotta even that up.”
“Oh, so, the idea is, he needs to know through my fashion that I've won before I even handle the basketball.”
“Exactly, Papa. First, you stunt on him. Then, you dunk on him. Game over.”
“I'm quite certain that's not how any of this works,” eleven-year-old Eleanor Ludlow said to ten-year-old Glendella Ludlow as they were looking from the kitchen.
“Yeah, but remember,” ten-year-old Andrew Ludlow said, “our siblings who are not in double-digit ages don't have to know all this stuff we have to know yet. You gotta play one-on-one to at least ten, so, even if he stunts and even if he dunks, Papa is still going to need eight more points.”
“And you can only stunt once,” Eleanor said, “so he still has to win it fair and square.”
“And if you can't get the ten points, do you even want to be stunting and not back it up?” Glendella said.
Eleanor and Andrew looked at each other.
“Right,” Eleanor said. “Stunt afterward when you win – dunk, and then stunt.”
“And of course, Papa, being an Army man, already knows that,” Andrew said. “I wonder if Ludlow and Ghent ships overnight, though, so Papa can have his victory stunt clothes for the weekend?”