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All Things Blue - page 5
She nodded. "Okay."
I went out to my car and got some contract forms which I had her complete. A couple of tears fell on the paper and caused the ink to blot but I pretended not to see it. Jean signed the papers, returned them to me with a check made out to me and gave me weak hug. Then she saw me out the door. As I walked down the walkway, a voice screeched at me. My head jerked back to see Sammy the parrot flapping his wings and talking.
"Take care!" he squawked. But as flustered as he was, he could have just have easily been saying, "Beware!"
* * *
I woke up at nine the next morning. Made a fresh pot of expresso. Drank it the way I like it - black, lots of sugar. The pundits on the news shows were talking about the sudden drop in the Dow, how the bulls were subduing the bears, options this, stocks that. I took a long sip of my brew and called Jean. Asked her for Jeremy's address on Cobb, his ex-girlfriend's name and number. I also requested a recent pic of the young man which she said she had plenty of.
I picked up the info from Jean and headed to Sunny Side Apartments, where he had maintained a place for a couple of years according to Jean. Jeremy's place was 564-A, upstairs and facing the highway. I jogged up the stairs and knocked.
The door swung open and I stood face to face with a big, sweaty red-faced man whose stomach protruded from underneath a tight black T-shirt. He was wearing some old tattered pants and carried a can of paint in one hand and a hammer in the other.
"Who the hell are you?" he barked.
"Where's Jay?" I feigned, in a shocked tone. "Whatchu doin' in my boy's house?"
"Jay? You must mean Mr. Banks here...Well, I'm kicking him him out. If you see that little motherfucker, you tell him that he owes me three months rent.." He kicked at some twine on the floor and cussed again.
"Well, damn! He never told me he had money problems. I just came by to get my stereo speakers that he borrowed. I'll just..."
Redface squirmed. I could see my presence was bothering him and the feeling was mutual. "Take whatever you want. I don't care. I'm renting this place out in two days to a young lady from California. So go ahead. Enjoy."
He turned and walked out, slamming the door behind him. The loud blast of a television next door startled me as I squatted and went through a bunch of papers that the man had thrown on the floor. There were several pencil sketches of nude women and a miniature painting of a woman breast-feeding a baby. I really didn't know what to look for; I just figured it would hit me when I came upon it. Taking a closer look at the sketches I could tell that most appeared to be of the same woman. Ex-girlfriend, I thought.
I folded a couple of the drawings and put them in a small bag that I brought with me. Then I went to a stack of even more paper, paintings and books on a wooden table that stood against the wall. A little blue book caught my attention.
It had silver trim around the edges and a strap kept it shut. I opened the book to find myself privy to Jeremy's thoughts.
go to page 6
She nodded. "Okay."
I went out to my car and got some contract forms which I had her complete. A couple of tears fell on the paper and caused the ink to blot but I pretended not to see it. Jean signed the papers, returned them to me with a check made out to me and gave me weak hug. Then she saw me out the door. As I walked down the walkway, a voice screeched at me. My head jerked back to see Sammy the parrot flapping his wings and talking.
"Take care!" he squawked. But as flustered as he was, he could have just have easily been saying, "Beware!"
* * *
I woke up at nine the next morning. Made a fresh pot of expresso. Drank it the way I like it - black, lots of sugar. The pundits on the news shows were talking about the sudden drop in the Dow, how the bulls were subduing the bears, options this, stocks that. I took a long sip of my brew and called Jean. Asked her for Jeremy's address on Cobb, his ex-girlfriend's name and number. I also requested a recent pic of the young man which she said she had plenty of.
I picked up the info from Jean and headed to Sunny Side Apartments, where he had maintained a place for a couple of years according to Jean. Jeremy's place was 564-A, upstairs and facing the highway. I jogged up the stairs and knocked.
The door swung open and I stood face to face with a big, sweaty red-faced man whose stomach protruded from underneath a tight black T-shirt. He was wearing some old tattered pants and carried a can of paint in one hand and a hammer in the other.
"Who the hell are you?" he barked.
"Where's Jay?" I feigned, in a shocked tone. "Whatchu doin' in my boy's house?"
"Jay? You must mean Mr. Banks here...Well, I'm kicking him him out. If you see that little motherfucker, you tell him that he owes me three months rent.." He kicked at some twine on the floor and cussed again.
"Well, damn! He never told me he had money problems. I just came by to get my stereo speakers that he borrowed. I'll just..."
Redface squirmed. I could see my presence was bothering him and the feeling was mutual. "Take whatever you want. I don't care. I'm renting this place out in two days to a young lady from California. So go ahead. Enjoy."
He turned and walked out, slamming the door behind him. The loud blast of a television next door startled me as I squatted and went through a bunch of papers that the man had thrown on the floor. There were several pencil sketches of nude women and a miniature painting of a woman breast-feeding a baby. I really didn't know what to look for; I just figured it would hit me when I came upon it. Taking a closer look at the sketches I could tell that most appeared to be of the same woman. Ex-girlfriend, I thought.
I folded a couple of the drawings and put them in a small bag that I brought with me. Then I went to a stack of even more paper, paintings and books on a wooden table that stood against the wall. A little blue book caught my attention.
It had silver trim around the edges and a strap kept it shut. I opened the book to find myself privy to Jeremy's thoughts.
go to page 6
