ONE NORMAL LIFE / TWO EXTRAORDINARY LIVES
folder
BtVS AU/AR › Het - Male/Female › Buffy/Spike(William)
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
210
Views:
11,880
Reviews:
182
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
BtVS AU/AR › Het - Male/Female › Buffy/Spike(William)
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
210
Views:
11,880
Reviews:
182
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS), nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
BLACK LEATHER DUSTER
CHAPTER 161 - BLACK LEATHER DUSTER
OCTOBER 11, 2009
SATURDAY
4:00PM
"Oh bloody hell!" William cursed for the second time that day, just as shocked seeing himself in the mirror with white hair, as he'd been earlier. One reason, being that he'd just gotten up again, having gone back to bed to sleep off his hangover after his earlier discovery. Quite happily, he'd forgotten all about his new look, until this moment.
"Oh God!" he muttered, as he stared unbelieving into the mirror, shaking his head.
"How could you? You idiot, you...you stupid git!" he sputtered.
William paced around the apartment cursing all the more, and stopping every so often to pop back into the bathroom and look in the mirror, hg evg every time he would find he'd been mistaken.
"Maybe I'm still asleep...yeah that's all, a dream, I'm still..."
He walked back into the bedroom, lay down and closed his eyes. A few minutes later he got up, and went into the bathroom, slowly lifting his head to dare another look into the mirror.
"Oh, bugger!"
Shuffling into the living room, he flopped down on the couch, defeated.
“Bugger!” he said again, suddenly having remembered about the cat. He’d forgotten all about feeding him this morning.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4:30PM
“I’m coming Charley,” William said to the cat that was meowing piteously from the other side of the door. As he let himself in, the cat took one look at him, and hissed, its fur standing straight up.
“What’s the matter boy?” William said, bending down to stroke him.
“Ouch!” he said, pulling his hand back, when the cat clawed at him.
Finally it dawned on him, “Yeah, right. I do look a fright, don’t I?”
Sitting down in the middle of the floor, he extended his hand to Charley, talking softly to the animal, “It’s okay kitty, still me, just looking like a git...”
After a while, curiosity overcame the cat’s initial fear. He came nearer, sniffing William’s hand, and responding to his soft voice.
“So, we okay now, are we?”
Charley purred in response.
After he fed the cat, and made sure he took his pill, he stuck around for a while to make it up to him. Sitting in a recliner in the living room, the cat jumped up on his lap, and let him assuage some of his guilt through petting. Eventually, the cat got bored of the attention, and went off to do his own thing, leaving William free to leave.
“Be back tomorrow morning, Charley. I promise.”
The cat gave his silent consent.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8:30PM
Tapping his foot with nervous energy, William tossed the book aside he’d been trying to read for the past two hours. Wondering what he was going to do with himself for the rest of the evening, he glanced surreptitiously at the laptop, then once again ignored it. He didn’t dare take a chance on seeing Dawn online again, or more importantly, Elizabeth.
After feeding Charley, he’d come back to the apartment, and tried to write her a letter, but hadn’t gotten much farther than the salutation. Afraid once he started, he’d pour his heart out, making her feel sorry for him. She didn’t need that and neither did he; better it come from Dawn that he was alright and leave it at that.
“She’s better off,” he told himself like a mantra.
“And what about you?” his inner voice asked, as he got up and paced the apartment. “Is this better for you? Being without the woman you love?” In answer to his question, he took down the bottle of Jack Daniels from the cabinet, poured some over ice, and took a drink.
He walked into the bathroom, glass in hand, and stared at his reflection in the mirror again and shuddered. Suddenly it occurred to him that he could undo it! He put the glass down, grabbed his car keys, and headed out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
William entered the drugstore, head down, as if that would prevent anyone from noticing the bright beacon of platinum hair that now crowned his head.
Although, in this day and age, so different form his own, anybody could look anyway they pleased with nary a glance, this still wasn't Los Angeles or San Francisco. This being the case, indeed, he did draw a few curious stares.
Glancing upwards only when he found the right aisle, he stopped in front of the shelf of hair dyes again. Studying the different shades of hair color for men, he found one that seemed near what his color had been, and took it down.
"Aw, you don't want to do that, do you?" a female voice asked, just as he was about to take the box up to the front of the store to pay for it.
William looked up, "Do what?"
"Dye your hair brown, I think you should leave it the color you have now," she said, smiling at him. She had short, raven black hair, which she wore in a sort of glam-punk style. It contrasted with her baby blue eyes, and just the hint of dimples. There was something vaguely familiar about her, but he couldn't place her.
"I don't think so," he said, shaking his head, eyes downcast.
"It's your hair, I'm just saying it looks good...sexy," she said the last part in a low voice.
He looked up at her in surprise. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it.
"How long have you worn it like this?" she asked, when he didn't answer her.
"Um...just did this yesterday; it was a mistake."
"Some people might buy corn flakes instead of oat flakes by mistake, but I've never heard of anyone buying hair bleach by mistake. Were you drunk or something?"
William's cheeks flushed, and he nodded; "Actually, yes. Not when I bought it, but when I decided to do it. Woke up this morning and..." he gestured with his hand towards his hair.
The girl laughed, but not unkindly, and he gave her a lopsided grin.
"Well, my advice would be to wait a bit before dying it back; you could really mess up your hair, if you put too many chemicals on it so close together."
"Really? Why? What could happen?"
"I don't know, your hair might fall out, break off, turn green...,” she said, her eyes laughing. "Look, I'm sort of teasing about all that, but in all honesty, it probably isn't a good idea to do a bleaching job on your hair, then dye it back the next day."
"Oh," William said, reluctantly putting the box back.
"Look, it's really not that bad. Makes you look...I don't know, I was going to say British, but you already are British, right? I know, you sort of look like that one punk rocker guy from around twenty, thirty years ago."
"Great," William said, rolling his eyes.
"Hey, he was kinda cool!"
"I’ll bet. Well, thanks for your advice; guess I'll wait a while. How long do you think I need to wait?"
"I don't know, I’d say at least a few weeks, to be on the safe side."
William groaned, "Great. Well, thanks again,” he said, and started walking away.
"Wait!" she called after him.
William stopped and turned.
"Um...look...what's your name?" she asked, as she took bright, neon yellow piece of paper from her purse.
"William," he said, hesitating a moment.
"William, if you want me to help you with your hair when you get ready to dye it, give me a call. Here's my work number; stop in sometime and have a drink, okay?” she said looking him in the eyes, as she scribbled something on the flyer, folded it, and put it into his hand, letting her fingertips rest there just a bit longer than necessary.
"Oh...I...uh...thanks," he mumbled, taken aback.
"Bye now," she said, as she walked off, hips swaying, sure that he was looking after her.
William stared at her until she turned the corner, then looked down at the paper, and unfolded it, to read:
Ipso Facto Lounge
Music
*
Eats
*
Pool
*
Darts
*
Poetry Slam Now through Halloween !
Open Daily 4pm - 4am
It included an address and phone number in San Diego, and she’d written her name, Miranda, on the bottom of the paper.
He stared at it for a moment, then put it into the pocket of his jeans. On the way out of the store, he stopped at the pet section, and picked out a toy mouse for Charley.
“...Oh, I’m definitely going as soon as I leave here. By tomorrow, the best buys will all be gone!” said a woman in front of him at the checkout.
“So the Volunteer Fireman do this rummage sale every year?” asked the cashier.
“Yeah, every second weekend in October. It helps raise money for the Halloween party they put on every year for the kids, as well as goes to buying Christmas gifts for needy kids, and helps pay for new equipment for the firemen.”
“Cool,” said the cashier. “What do they have?”
“Oh my...they have everything, sports stuff, clothes, furniture, books, TV’s, computers, you name it!”
“Darn, I could use a few new things. Well, newer in any case.”
“It starts tonight, and they’ll be open until midnight, if you get off work before it closes.”
“Yeah, I just might go. Is it at the station?”
“Well, it’s behind the station, in a big garage they have. Just turn left on Henderson; then follow the signs. You’ll probably see a bunch of cars going there, just follow them.”
“Thanks, maybe I will,” she said, finishing the transaction, before turning to William’s purchase.
“Is this it for you?” she asked, ringing up the mouse.
William nodded.
The cashier grinned, “So, are you going to the rummage sale, too?”
“I don’t know, wasn’t planning on it.”
“Wish I could, I hear they have some really good stuff,” she said wistfully. “Here you go, hope your kitty enjoys the toy.”
“Thanks,” he said, taking the sack.
As he walked to his car, William looked across the street at the big neon Bank of America clock. It was only a few minutes after nine, and he wasn’t exactly in a hurry to go home to his lonely apartment. Remembering about the rummage sale, and hoping he might find something he could bring home to occupy his time with, he headed over to Henderson Street.
William soon found himself in a queue of cars, obviously heading to the same place as he was. Three volunteer firemen were of the firehouse garage, to help with the parking. He was directed past the firehouse, up an unpaved street, where he finally found a spot two blocks away, when someone pulled out. He walked back to the firehouse, and took his place in line.
About five minutes later he was let in to the large, cavernous garage, given a half dozen, paper shopping bags, and a map. It was broken down into sections such as electronics, sports, clothing, books, housewares, and the like.
The place was packed with wall-to-wall people, all pushing and shoving as they tried to get to their destination. His self-consciousness over his hair was quickly forgotten, as nobody was paying any attention to anything but their own quest for bargains. Swallowing down the claustrophobic feelings that made him want to bolt, William forged ahead after first glancing around, and making sure he knew where the exits were.
The least populated area of the garage was the book section, which he headed for first. After about thirty minutes, and a bag and a half of books, he maneuvered his way over to the electronics section. The multitude of old computers, TV’s, printers, faxes, telephones, and everything else under the sun was almost as large as the Radio Shack he’d been to with Elizabeth before. He saw someone typing on a keyboard attached to a laptop, and stopped to ask about it.
The man assured him that lots of people used a regular keyboard and mouse at home with their laptops.
“As long as there are ports in the back?”
“Yep, that’s the main thing.”
“How much?”
“Five dollars each.”
“I’ll take ‘em.”
Next, he looked at the televisions. There was mini black and white 5” TV’s, all the way up to the huge 3’ screens; priced from $5.00 to $300.00. For his purposes, he chose a small 9” color TV that was only $7.00.
He paid for those items in the electronics department, and they told him if he was still looking, they would hold his items behind the counter with his name on them until he was ready to leave.
“Can I leave these here a while, too?” William asked, pointing to the books.
“We’re not supposed to...ah, what the heck, go ahead leave ‘em.”
“Thanks,” William answered, handing over the bags. Feeling much lighter, he went off to do some more browsing.
He stopped for a moment at the jewelry display, staring at the jumble of necklaces, earrings, rings, and bracelets. His thoughts unconsciously looking to match up certain pieces to Elizabeth and Dawn, and wondering how they’d like them.
“Looking to buy something for that special someone?” the woman behind the counter asked, just as William was reaching out to pick up a green and gold tennis bracelet that caught his eye; it’s color a perfect match for the top Elizabeth had worn at Christmas.
“Um...no, thanks anyway,” he said, jerking his hand back, brought out of his daydream. He beat a hasty retreat from the jewelry counter. It was yet another painful reminder of his current reality, one that didn’t include buying jewelry for the woman you love, but left, and her sister.
Looking ahead, he could see the masses huddled at least a half-dozen deep, in each clothing aisle. Deciding the best thing would be to collect his purchases from electronics, then pay for his books, he started to look for a way to circumvent the crowds. He looked behind him, but the way he’d just come from, had filled up with a larger mass of people than was facing him if he forged forward, and so he did. He skirted around the rows of women and children’s, luckily finding the men’s clothing aisle almost empty.
He slowed down, as he read the sign:
All Men’s Button Down & T-shirts: $ 0.50
Men’s Pants: 1.00
Jeans 2.00
Sweaters 1.00
Jackets 3.00
Coats 5.00
The prices were even better than they had been at the thrift store; “Well, won’t hurt to look as long as I’m here,” he told himself.
Fifteen minutes, and three bags full later, William had enough clothes to last him without having to do laundry every other day. He didn’t bother trying them on, figuring most would fit adequately enough. As he gathered his bags, and started towards the end of the aisle, something long, black, and hanging down almost to the floor caught his eye. Putting his bags down, he wrestled with the hanger that was tightly wedged between other hangers. Finally, he managed to wrench it free and pull it out.
The long, black, leather duster was in near perfect condition, with no tears, rips, or blemishes inside or out, that he could see. Cocking his head in puzzlement, he looked around wondering if it wasn’t there by some mistake. Looking up again to see if somehow he’d missed a separate sign for leather coats. No, all coats were listed under one price. There was no label inside to tell him, but it looked to be his size. Taking off the jacket he was wearing, and laying it on top of his bags, he took the black duster off the hanger, and shrugged into it.
The coat slipped on him like a second skin, and William was immediately struck with a not quite unpleasant sense of deja vu. The weight of the coat, the feel of the leather covering him made him feel the warmest he had in weeks; and the most right.
Finding no mirror, he reluctantly took it off, and put it back onto the hanger, buttoning it so it wouldn’t fall off. He had no intention of shoving his find into a bag to be wrinkled.
After retrieving his purchases and books from electronics, he awkwardly made his way up to the front of the store by pushing the bags of books with his feet, while holding onto the with other bags, and the duster. His stomach clenched a bit, when he handed the cashier the coat, sure she was going to eye him suspiciously at the very least, or claim there had been some mistake, but she rang it through with everything else.
“That’ll be $31.00 even,” she said.
“Okay,” William said, pulling the amount from his wallet.
He made his way outside, where luckily there were people stationed to watch over purchases, while the owners brought round their cars. William left all the bags at the curb, only taking the duster with him to retrieve his car. Pulling up, a man helped him load the bags into the trunk.
“Thanks for coming by, I hope you found some good bargains,” the man said.
“Quite good. Thank you,” William replied, smiling.
As soon as he returned home, and had brought his purchases upstairs, he went back to the main house to check up on Charley. The cat seemed pleased to see him this time, with no further hissing or hair standing straight up
“Just a little something to make up for earlier, hope you like it,” William said, giving him the toy mouse he’d bought. He played with the cat and the toy for a while, before returning to his apartment to put away his purchases.
Plugging in the small television, he was pleased to see that most of the channels came in decently enough, even without the benefit of an outside antenna or cable. Next, all the books, except for the one he planned on reading that night, were put into the small bookshelf he’d bought yesterday at the thrift store. He placed the extra keyboard and mouse, near the laptop, for whenever he decided to use it again. The bags of clothing were left downstairs in the laundry room, off of the garage.
Making himself a sandwich, he settled down in front of the little television, and started watching a history of jazz program on the local public television station. He tried to pay attention, but instead, found his mind wandering to the times him and Elizabeth would sit snuggled up on the couch watching some history or nature show. Patiently, she would fill-in-the-blanks of the common knowledge his memory didn’t contain, for him. Of course now, he understood why everything he had remembered had been from 1880 and before. However, when there was a show on something he was well versed in, he‘d do the same for her.
Sighing, he flipped the channel, watching the news for a while, then a talk show before turning it off. He tried to turn his attention to one of the books he’d bought, and once again found his attention diverted by his own thoughts.
The duster had been laid carefully over a chair when he’d come home. Picking it up, he unbuttoned it and removed it from the hanger, then put it on again. For the second time that night, he felt a sense of something niggling at him just under the surface of his consciousness. Again, there was an almost ‘guilty pleasure’ to the sensation. Pushing the question of why aside, he grabbed his keys and headed out.
END CHAPTER 161
OCTOBER 11, 2009
SATURDAY
4:00PM
"Oh bloody hell!" William cursed for the second time that day, just as shocked seeing himself in the mirror with white hair, as he'd been earlier. One reason, being that he'd just gotten up again, having gone back to bed to sleep off his hangover after his earlier discovery. Quite happily, he'd forgotten all about his new look, until this moment.
"Oh God!" he muttered, as he stared unbelieving into the mirror, shaking his head.
"How could you? You idiot, you...you stupid git!" he sputtered.
William paced around the apartment cursing all the more, and stopping every so often to pop back into the bathroom and look in the mirror, hg evg every time he would find he'd been mistaken.
"Maybe I'm still asleep...yeah that's all, a dream, I'm still..."
He walked back into the bedroom, lay down and closed his eyes. A few minutes later he got up, and went into the bathroom, slowly lifting his head to dare another look into the mirror.
"Oh, bugger!"
Shuffling into the living room, he flopped down on the couch, defeated.
“Bugger!” he said again, suddenly having remembered about the cat. He’d forgotten all about feeding him this morning.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4:30PM
“I’m coming Charley,” William said to the cat that was meowing piteously from the other side of the door. As he let himself in, the cat took one look at him, and hissed, its fur standing straight up.
“What’s the matter boy?” William said, bending down to stroke him.
“Ouch!” he said, pulling his hand back, when the cat clawed at him.
Finally it dawned on him, “Yeah, right. I do look a fright, don’t I?”
Sitting down in the middle of the floor, he extended his hand to Charley, talking softly to the animal, “It’s okay kitty, still me, just looking like a git...”
After a while, curiosity overcame the cat’s initial fear. He came nearer, sniffing William’s hand, and responding to his soft voice.
“So, we okay now, are we?”
Charley purred in response.
After he fed the cat, and made sure he took his pill, he stuck around for a while to make it up to him. Sitting in a recliner in the living room, the cat jumped up on his lap, and let him assuage some of his guilt through petting. Eventually, the cat got bored of the attention, and went off to do his own thing, leaving William free to leave.
“Be back tomorrow morning, Charley. I promise.”
The cat gave his silent consent.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8:30PM
Tapping his foot with nervous energy, William tossed the book aside he’d been trying to read for the past two hours. Wondering what he was going to do with himself for the rest of the evening, he glanced surreptitiously at the laptop, then once again ignored it. He didn’t dare take a chance on seeing Dawn online again, or more importantly, Elizabeth.
After feeding Charley, he’d come back to the apartment, and tried to write her a letter, but hadn’t gotten much farther than the salutation. Afraid once he started, he’d pour his heart out, making her feel sorry for him. She didn’t need that and neither did he; better it come from Dawn that he was alright and leave it at that.
“She’s better off,” he told himself like a mantra.
“And what about you?” his inner voice asked, as he got up and paced the apartment. “Is this better for you? Being without the woman you love?” In answer to his question, he took down the bottle of Jack Daniels from the cabinet, poured some over ice, and took a drink.
He walked into the bathroom, glass in hand, and stared at his reflection in the mirror again and shuddered. Suddenly it occurred to him that he could undo it! He put the glass down, grabbed his car keys, and headed out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
William entered the drugstore, head down, as if that would prevent anyone from noticing the bright beacon of platinum hair that now crowned his head.
Although, in this day and age, so different form his own, anybody could look anyway they pleased with nary a glance, this still wasn't Los Angeles or San Francisco. This being the case, indeed, he did draw a few curious stares.
Glancing upwards only when he found the right aisle, he stopped in front of the shelf of hair dyes again. Studying the different shades of hair color for men, he found one that seemed near what his color had been, and took it down.
"Aw, you don't want to do that, do you?" a female voice asked, just as he was about to take the box up to the front of the store to pay for it.
William looked up, "Do what?"
"Dye your hair brown, I think you should leave it the color you have now," she said, smiling at him. She had short, raven black hair, which she wore in a sort of glam-punk style. It contrasted with her baby blue eyes, and just the hint of dimples. There was something vaguely familiar about her, but he couldn't place her.
"I don't think so," he said, shaking his head, eyes downcast.
"It's your hair, I'm just saying it looks good...sexy," she said the last part in a low voice.
He looked up at her in surprise. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it.
"How long have you worn it like this?" she asked, when he didn't answer her.
"Um...just did this yesterday; it was a mistake."
"Some people might buy corn flakes instead of oat flakes by mistake, but I've never heard of anyone buying hair bleach by mistake. Were you drunk or something?"
William's cheeks flushed, and he nodded; "Actually, yes. Not when I bought it, but when I decided to do it. Woke up this morning and..." he gestured with his hand towards his hair.
The girl laughed, but not unkindly, and he gave her a lopsided grin.
"Well, my advice would be to wait a bit before dying it back; you could really mess up your hair, if you put too many chemicals on it so close together."
"Really? Why? What could happen?"
"I don't know, your hair might fall out, break off, turn green...,” she said, her eyes laughing. "Look, I'm sort of teasing about all that, but in all honesty, it probably isn't a good idea to do a bleaching job on your hair, then dye it back the next day."
"Oh," William said, reluctantly putting the box back.
"Look, it's really not that bad. Makes you look...I don't know, I was going to say British, but you already are British, right? I know, you sort of look like that one punk rocker guy from around twenty, thirty years ago."
"Great," William said, rolling his eyes.
"Hey, he was kinda cool!"
"I’ll bet. Well, thanks for your advice; guess I'll wait a while. How long do you think I need to wait?"
"I don't know, I’d say at least a few weeks, to be on the safe side."
William groaned, "Great. Well, thanks again,” he said, and started walking away.
"Wait!" she called after him.
William stopped and turned.
"Um...look...what's your name?" she asked, as she took bright, neon yellow piece of paper from her purse.
"William," he said, hesitating a moment.
"William, if you want me to help you with your hair when you get ready to dye it, give me a call. Here's my work number; stop in sometime and have a drink, okay?” she said looking him in the eyes, as she scribbled something on the flyer, folded it, and put it into his hand, letting her fingertips rest there just a bit longer than necessary.
"Oh...I...uh...thanks," he mumbled, taken aback.
"Bye now," she said, as she walked off, hips swaying, sure that he was looking after her.
William stared at her until she turned the corner, then looked down at the paper, and unfolded it, to read:
Ipso Facto Lounge
Music
*
Eats
*
Pool
*
Darts
*
Poetry Slam Now through Halloween !
Open Daily 4pm - 4am
It included an address and phone number in San Diego, and she’d written her name, Miranda, on the bottom of the paper.
He stared at it for a moment, then put it into the pocket of his jeans. On the way out of the store, he stopped at the pet section, and picked out a toy mouse for Charley.
“...Oh, I’m definitely going as soon as I leave here. By tomorrow, the best buys will all be gone!” said a woman in front of him at the checkout.
“So the Volunteer Fireman do this rummage sale every year?” asked the cashier.
“Yeah, every second weekend in October. It helps raise money for the Halloween party they put on every year for the kids, as well as goes to buying Christmas gifts for needy kids, and helps pay for new equipment for the firemen.”
“Cool,” said the cashier. “What do they have?”
“Oh my...they have everything, sports stuff, clothes, furniture, books, TV’s, computers, you name it!”
“Darn, I could use a few new things. Well, newer in any case.”
“It starts tonight, and they’ll be open until midnight, if you get off work before it closes.”
“Yeah, I just might go. Is it at the station?”
“Well, it’s behind the station, in a big garage they have. Just turn left on Henderson; then follow the signs. You’ll probably see a bunch of cars going there, just follow them.”
“Thanks, maybe I will,” she said, finishing the transaction, before turning to William’s purchase.
“Is this it for you?” she asked, ringing up the mouse.
William nodded.
The cashier grinned, “So, are you going to the rummage sale, too?”
“I don’t know, wasn’t planning on it.”
“Wish I could, I hear they have some really good stuff,” she said wistfully. “Here you go, hope your kitty enjoys the toy.”
“Thanks,” he said, taking the sack.
As he walked to his car, William looked across the street at the big neon Bank of America clock. It was only a few minutes after nine, and he wasn’t exactly in a hurry to go home to his lonely apartment. Remembering about the rummage sale, and hoping he might find something he could bring home to occupy his time with, he headed over to Henderson Street.
William soon found himself in a queue of cars, obviously heading to the same place as he was. Three volunteer firemen were of the firehouse garage, to help with the parking. He was directed past the firehouse, up an unpaved street, where he finally found a spot two blocks away, when someone pulled out. He walked back to the firehouse, and took his place in line.
About five minutes later he was let in to the large, cavernous garage, given a half dozen, paper shopping bags, and a map. It was broken down into sections such as electronics, sports, clothing, books, housewares, and the like.
The place was packed with wall-to-wall people, all pushing and shoving as they tried to get to their destination. His self-consciousness over his hair was quickly forgotten, as nobody was paying any attention to anything but their own quest for bargains. Swallowing down the claustrophobic feelings that made him want to bolt, William forged ahead after first glancing around, and making sure he knew where the exits were.
The least populated area of the garage was the book section, which he headed for first. After about thirty minutes, and a bag and a half of books, he maneuvered his way over to the electronics section. The multitude of old computers, TV’s, printers, faxes, telephones, and everything else under the sun was almost as large as the Radio Shack he’d been to with Elizabeth before. He saw someone typing on a keyboard attached to a laptop, and stopped to ask about it.
The man assured him that lots of people used a regular keyboard and mouse at home with their laptops.
“As long as there are ports in the back?”
“Yep, that’s the main thing.”
“How much?”
“Five dollars each.”
“I’ll take ‘em.”
Next, he looked at the televisions. There was mini black and white 5” TV’s, all the way up to the huge 3’ screens; priced from $5.00 to $300.00. For his purposes, he chose a small 9” color TV that was only $7.00.
He paid for those items in the electronics department, and they told him if he was still looking, they would hold his items behind the counter with his name on them until he was ready to leave.
“Can I leave these here a while, too?” William asked, pointing to the books.
“We’re not supposed to...ah, what the heck, go ahead leave ‘em.”
“Thanks,” William answered, handing over the bags. Feeling much lighter, he went off to do some more browsing.
He stopped for a moment at the jewelry display, staring at the jumble of necklaces, earrings, rings, and bracelets. His thoughts unconsciously looking to match up certain pieces to Elizabeth and Dawn, and wondering how they’d like them.
“Looking to buy something for that special someone?” the woman behind the counter asked, just as William was reaching out to pick up a green and gold tennis bracelet that caught his eye; it’s color a perfect match for the top Elizabeth had worn at Christmas.
“Um...no, thanks anyway,” he said, jerking his hand back, brought out of his daydream. He beat a hasty retreat from the jewelry counter. It was yet another painful reminder of his current reality, one that didn’t include buying jewelry for the woman you love, but left, and her sister.
Looking ahead, he could see the masses huddled at least a half-dozen deep, in each clothing aisle. Deciding the best thing would be to collect his purchases from electronics, then pay for his books, he started to look for a way to circumvent the crowds. He looked behind him, but the way he’d just come from, had filled up with a larger mass of people than was facing him if he forged forward, and so he did. He skirted around the rows of women and children’s, luckily finding the men’s clothing aisle almost empty.
He slowed down, as he read the sign:
All Men’s Button Down & T-shirts: $ 0.50
Men’s Pants: 1.00
Jeans 2.00
Sweaters 1.00
Jackets 3.00
Coats 5.00
The prices were even better than they had been at the thrift store; “Well, won’t hurt to look as long as I’m here,” he told himself.
Fifteen minutes, and three bags full later, William had enough clothes to last him without having to do laundry every other day. He didn’t bother trying them on, figuring most would fit adequately enough. As he gathered his bags, and started towards the end of the aisle, something long, black, and hanging down almost to the floor caught his eye. Putting his bags down, he wrestled with the hanger that was tightly wedged between other hangers. Finally, he managed to wrench it free and pull it out.
The long, black, leather duster was in near perfect condition, with no tears, rips, or blemishes inside or out, that he could see. Cocking his head in puzzlement, he looked around wondering if it wasn’t there by some mistake. Looking up again to see if somehow he’d missed a separate sign for leather coats. No, all coats were listed under one price. There was no label inside to tell him, but it looked to be his size. Taking off the jacket he was wearing, and laying it on top of his bags, he took the black duster off the hanger, and shrugged into it.
The coat slipped on him like a second skin, and William was immediately struck with a not quite unpleasant sense of deja vu. The weight of the coat, the feel of the leather covering him made him feel the warmest he had in weeks; and the most right.
Finding no mirror, he reluctantly took it off, and put it back onto the hanger, buttoning it so it wouldn’t fall off. He had no intention of shoving his find into a bag to be wrinkled.
After retrieving his purchases and books from electronics, he awkwardly made his way up to the front of the store by pushing the bags of books with his feet, while holding onto the with other bags, and the duster. His stomach clenched a bit, when he handed the cashier the coat, sure she was going to eye him suspiciously at the very least, or claim there had been some mistake, but she rang it through with everything else.
“That’ll be $31.00 even,” she said.
“Okay,” William said, pulling the amount from his wallet.
He made his way outside, where luckily there were people stationed to watch over purchases, while the owners brought round their cars. William left all the bags at the curb, only taking the duster with him to retrieve his car. Pulling up, a man helped him load the bags into the trunk.
“Thanks for coming by, I hope you found some good bargains,” the man said.
“Quite good. Thank you,” William replied, smiling.
As soon as he returned home, and had brought his purchases upstairs, he went back to the main house to check up on Charley. The cat seemed pleased to see him this time, with no further hissing or hair standing straight up
“Just a little something to make up for earlier, hope you like it,” William said, giving him the toy mouse he’d bought. He played with the cat and the toy for a while, before returning to his apartment to put away his purchases.
Plugging in the small television, he was pleased to see that most of the channels came in decently enough, even without the benefit of an outside antenna or cable. Next, all the books, except for the one he planned on reading that night, were put into the small bookshelf he’d bought yesterday at the thrift store. He placed the extra keyboard and mouse, near the laptop, for whenever he decided to use it again. The bags of clothing were left downstairs in the laundry room, off of the garage.
Making himself a sandwich, he settled down in front of the little television, and started watching a history of jazz program on the local public television station. He tried to pay attention, but instead, found his mind wandering to the times him and Elizabeth would sit snuggled up on the couch watching some history or nature show. Patiently, she would fill-in-the-blanks of the common knowledge his memory didn’t contain, for him. Of course now, he understood why everything he had remembered had been from 1880 and before. However, when there was a show on something he was well versed in, he‘d do the same for her.
Sighing, he flipped the channel, watching the news for a while, then a talk show before turning it off. He tried to turn his attention to one of the books he’d bought, and once again found his attention diverted by his own thoughts.
The duster had been laid carefully over a chair when he’d come home. Picking it up, he unbuttoned it and removed it from the hanger, then put it on again. For the second time that night, he felt a sense of something niggling at him just under the surface of his consciousness. Again, there was an almost ‘guilty pleasure’ to the sensation. Pushing the question of why aside, he grabbed his keys and headed out.
END CHAPTER 161