The Old Man - part four

On the way to the apartment, they stopped at a drug store and picked up some toiletries and sundry items, then a quick stop at a small second hand store for some clothes.

"Lovely," she said, holding up a sweater with reindeer on it. The sarcasm was thick as she examined the various clothes hung on the racks. "I don’t think I can wear these....things," she said, searching for a word she could use in public.

"You can’t go to school or work wearing, or almost wearing, the clothes you are used to," the old man said.

"Oh, so now you’re a clothes critic. That didn’t take long, did it? Thanks, Dad!" She looked at him with her eyes wide in mock anger.

"You should always look your best," he added.

"Thanks, for the advice, Mr. Poster. How about, mountains are climbed in many steps, or, do onto others........." she said, failing to finish the last. "These clothes stink!" she added, throwing the clothes she held in her hand on the top of the racks.

"Keep looking, you’ll find something you’ll like," he instructed.

"That would be a miracle."

"So, we wait for a miracle," he said, smiling.

Eventually, she found a few things she could tolerate and they continued to the apartment. Once there, the old man saw that she was settled in her room. She hung the few clothes she had bought in the closet, arranged the bathroom items in the small cabinet hanging over the bathroom sink and met the old man in the kitchen. She was acting nervous.

"Are you settled in?" he asked.

"Ya, all at home here." She was having second thoughts already.

The old man, sensed her reluctance. "You’ll get used to it."

"Sure," was all she said. "What do you do all day....besides stare at hookers?"

"I read, sometimes I visit with friends, watch tv, listen to music.......I do things," he said, ignoring her comment and thinking hard to make a list.

"Oooh, party hardy," she said, dancing in place a little. " I don’t know if I can stand the pace. I hope you don’t think I’m going to do that."

"You can do what you want," he said, then added, "as long as it doesn’t include drugs and street walking."

"Right." She walked into the small living room and fell into the green stuffed chair near the window. "Right," she repeated.

The old man followed her into the living room and sat on the matching sofa. "First things first, though. First we have to find you a real job. After that, we should see about getting you in school."

"Ya know, I’ve done that job thing and it didn’t work out to good," she said.

"To well," he corrected.

"What?"

He realized he had corrected her and thought better of it. "Nothing. This time you can do it. I’ll talk to some of my friends, maybe they can help."

"Whatever," she said, looking out the window.

"Why don’t you try on your new clothes."

"Oh, a fashion show. That would be sexy, huh?" she said, implying the old man had other motives.

"No, I just thought if we are going to look for work, you should look like something besides a street walker."

"We’re looking today?" she asked, incredulous he would think she should be doing something so soon.

"Why not. We’ll go talk to Mr. Benson at the book store. He said he was thinking of hiring some help. Maybe we can get something there."

"I don’t know if I’m ready yet. Ya know, it might be too soon to....ya know......go looking for work.....I just don’t think I’m ready," she said, pausing as she looked for words, stalling for time. "Shouldn’t we just wait awhile?"

"How long?" the old man asked.

"I don’t know, maybe a day or two."

"I think it would be best if you jumped right in. The best way to get in to cold water is to jump right in."

"Really, Mr. Poster, is that how you do it?"

"Yes, why not? Are you doing anything else right now?"

She turned and looked out the window, not answering him. He watched her, realizing she was afraid. He gave her a little time before he spoke.

"We might as well start now in case it takes some time to find something. I’ll go with you and introduce you to some of my friends. Maybe we’ll find something you’ll like," he said, standing.

"And just who are you going to introduce me as?" she asked.

"A friend."

"A friend? Do you have a lot of young women as friends?"

"Just one," was his simple answer. She didn’t say anything, just sat looking out the window in obvious contemplation of her options. He waited for her answer. When she didn’t speak, he walked into the kitchen, pulled some juice out of the refrigerator, poured two glasses and returned to the living room. "Here, this will help you think," he said, handing her a glass. She sat quietly sipping the juice and continuing to look out the window. Finally, he spoke.

"Well?"

She looked at him, turned to look out the window and spoke. "Ok, I’ll give it a try."

After she had changed into tan skirt with a matching jacket and a white blouse, they walked down to the street and up a few blocks to the Book Worm Book Store.

"You look very nice dressed like that," the old man said, admiring Holly's new look.

Holly smiled. It had been a long time since anyone had given her a legitimate compliment. She looked at her reflection in a shop window and was amazed at how attractive she looked in her new outfit, even though she was completely covered. Maybe the old man knew what he was talking about.

There were two customers browsing the shelves as the old man and young woman walked in. A small, bald man with glasses hanging down on his chest held by a black band, walked up to them. His squinty blue eyes studied Holly as he approached. Even though his suspenders held his pants above his large belly, he pulled at the waist line of his pants as he walked toward the old man and Holly.

"Hello, Paul. You’ve brought a friend?" He said, holding out his hand to Holly.

"Yes, Bernie, this is Holly. Holly, this is Bernard Benson, the owner of this fine book store," the old man said.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Holly," Bernie said, shaking her hand enthusiastically with both hands. "A friend of Paul’s is a friend to mine. Are you looking for a book?"

Holly looked at Paul, not knowing what to say.

"Well, Bernie, Holly here is looking for a new line of work and we thought you could use a good worker here in your shop," the old man said, smiling at Holly.

"Oh, I see," Bernie said. "What kind of work are you in now?"

"Uh.....sales," the old man said before Holly could answer.

"Sales......that is a very good field," Bernie replied.

"So, do you need any help here?" the old man asked, trying to redirect the conversation away from Holly’s current employment.

"Yes, yes indeed I do. Have you had any experience with books?"

"You mean besides reading them?" Holly answered.

Bernie laughed a squeaky little laugh. "Yes, besides reading them."

"No."

"Well, that’s ok, I can teach you what you need to know. When can you start?"

"I can have the job?" Holly asked, not believing it could be that easy.

"Sure, if Paul brings you in here, then you have to be ok. Would tomorrow work for you?" Bernie pushed.

"Uh.....ya....sure," Holly stammered.

"Great, stop in tomorrow at nine and we’ll get you oriented," Bernie explained.

"Thanks, Bernie. Nine in the morning it is," Paul said. They left the book store and started walking back to the apartment.

"So, there you are. See how easy it can be?" the old man said trying to encourage Holly.

"But, what if I don’t do a good job? What if I really screw up and get fired? Did you ever think of that?" Holy asked.

"You’ll do fine, Holly. Have some faith in yourself. You seem to be smart, you know how to deal with people, your personable and likable, and your pretty. You’ll be great!

"Right," she said, sarcastically. "I’m glad your convinced."

The old man spent the rest of the day trying to convince her. Later that night, just before they retired for the evening, she came close to buying into his enthusiasm.

"Ya know, maybe I can do this," she said. "Maybe I can beat my demons."

"So far, so good," the old man added.

"Yeah, so far so good."

The demons had been held at bay. But, they wouldn’t stay gone for long.

End of part four