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It's a few weeks before Christmas and Joe Bergstein is planted on a bench outside Macy's. His wife is inside shopping. He has a copy of James Webb's "Something to Die For." One year into 40 years of marriage, Bergstein had figured out when it came to accompanying his wife at the mall, "If I don't have a book, it's eternal."

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It's a few weeks before Christmas and Joe Bergstein is planted on a bench outside Macy's. His wife is inside shopping. He has a copy of James Webb's "Something to Die For."

One year into 40 years of marriage, Bergstein had figured out when it came to accompanying his wife at the mall, "If I don't have a book, it's eternal."

They've reached a solid agreement in those 40 years: "She lets me drive. I let her shop."

"If I really need something, I go into the store and get the hell out," he says. "I don't shop for Christmas. I tell her, `Take money . . .Buy.' "

Louis Pedroza doesn't encourage his wife's shopping bug, yet finds himself parked outside J.C. Penney's on another merciful bench alongside his brother-in-law, Frank Ortiz.

"The more you look, the more you buy," Ortiz says.

"See, I bought my stuff in three minutes," Pedroza says.

The companions bide their bench time with a prolonged session of people watching.

"There's a gal all dressed up," one notes.

"There used to be a tavern near here, and they used to not shop for so long," Pedroza says. "The longer they went, the worse shape we were in."

An hour later, I pass by Macy's on my way out of the mall. Joe Bergstein - who told me earlier that he expected this shopping session to last 15 to 20 minutes - is still there on the bench, book in hand, waiting.