Black Water Creek

by Robert Brumm

  “That’s okay. He’s nothing like my ex, that’s for sure.”

  Cheryl checked her watch. “Well, I should probably get going.”

  “Yeah, I need to get some lunch and a nap in this kid before he has another melt down.”

  Kelly turned down the heater and got ready to leave. As the three of them headed out the door she felt something brush up against her back. Cheryl and Keegan were already outside, wading through the leaves. Kelly turned around and saw nothing. She felt it, actually heard something scrape against the nylon shell of her jacket.

  She stood in the doorway, studying the open room and pulling the zipper up higher on her jacket. She just couldn’t get warm.

  “Everything okay?” Cheryl asked.

  “Yeah, just making sure I didn’t forget anything.”

  Cheryl said her goodbyes and they walked up the path to the house.

  Chapter 12

  Kelly sorted the display of Nintendo cartridges in the corner of the store, making sure the identical titles were grouped together. She counted over twenty copies of the Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt combo cartridge. Kelly didn’t know much about video games but even she knew that was the game cartridge that came included with the old console. Even today there must have been thousands around the country. Paul priced them at just 99 cents each and she wondered why he even kept so many in stock.

  Just as soon as she stepped aside, a thirty-something year old man spotted the sea of Mario clones and snapped a picture with his smart phone. Probably posting it on his Facebook account. The games weren’t selling, but at least that guy would get a “like” or two with his clever photo.

  The store was busier than usual for a Saturday and Paul seemed to thrive on the energy. She watched him as he answered a question about a used laptop before moving onto another customer. Ever since her talk with Cheryl, Kelly had to admit she’d looked at Paul a little differently. She found herself analyzing his different moods, looking for signs of depression or aggression. He did seem down lately, but that was probably due to the business. Despite the busy store that day, it was a ghost town earlier in the week. On Tuesday, Kelly rang up just $24.32 in sales.

  She noticed a person waiting at the counter and went to help. After the transaction, she surveyed the store from behind the counter, looking for any signs of confusion or indecision from the customers. She was learning to pick up on those clues and take them as a cue to go over and see if they needed any help.

  A teenaged boy looked at the back of an Xbox game and was talking his girlfriend’s ear off about it. She stared at her phone, ignoring his enthusiasm and looking like she’d rather be anywhere else. A mother with two young boys checked her watch and sighed, urging them to pick something out soon or they were leaving. Two other girls sat on the window ledge, looking bored as the two boys they came in with were amusing themselves with a game demo on one of Paul’s custom computers.

  Paul came around the counter with the used laptop from before and smiled. “How’s it going? Pretty busy today, huh?”

  “I just realized something,” Kelly said.

  “Yeah?” He dug under the counter for a power supply. “What’s that?”

  “The women in here. They hate this place.”

  Paul laughed. “What are you talking about? There’s women in here all the time.”

  “Yeah, but look around. None of them are in here on their own. The only reason a girl ever steps foot in here is because they’re with their husband, boyfriend, or son.”

  “Wow, I never realized you were so sexist.”

  “I’m serious, take a look around.”

  The guy purchasing the laptop came to the counter with his wife. “All right, I’ve got you folks all set to go,” Paul told the man. “It comes to $210.06 with tax. It comes with a thirty day warranty, or if you’d like, you can extend that for a year for an extra $39.99.

  The customer considered it for a moment. “Nah, that’s okay. I’ll take my chances.”

  “Ma’am, can I ask you something?” Kelly said.

  The man’s wife frowned slightly. “What’s that?”

  “This is probably going to sound a little weird, but is there anything in this store you’re interested in? Beside the laptop, I mean?”

  “I’m not even interested in that. He dropped the one we had at home and it smashed into a million pieces. I go online once and a while but that’s about it. I sit behind a computer all day at work and try to get away from them once I’m home.”

  Paul cleared his throat and handed the man his receipt. “Thanks a lot, you enjoy that.”

  The couple left the counter and Kelly raised her eyebrows at Paul.

  “Oh come on, one middle aged woman is hardly an accurate survey,” he said. “Plenty of women are into computers and video games.”

  “Yeah, of course there are, but you have to admit this store is more geared towards guys.”

  “Well, there’s not much I can do about it now. What do you suggest, offer a pink case for my gaming PCs?”

  “Look,” Kelly pointed to a woman sitting in the corner. She read a romance paperback while her kids browsed. “What about books? Way more women read books then men do. That lady there probably goes through at least one of those Harlequins a week, I’d bet.”

  “There’s that sexism again.”

  “Seriously! If you want business to pick up, you’re going have to do something to appeal to the other fifty percent of the market.”

  Paul crossed his arms and glanced at the woman in the corner. “Books? I don’t know anything about books.”

  “I do! Well, sort of. I always dreamed of having my own used books store and I read all the time. The used book business is practically the same model you have here with your computer stuff. We’d buy the books for cash or store credit and sell them on for a profit.”

  Kelly stopped talking while Paul rung up another sale. The more she thought about adding books to the store’s inventory, the more excited she got.

  “Here’s the thing,” Paul turned to her after the customer left. “I’m not saying it’s a bad idea, but you’ve got to invest in initial stock before being able to buy and sell. I just don’t have any extra capital lying around for that. Plus, look around.” He waved his hand over the front of the store. “We don’t have any room for books.”

  Kelly’s enthusiasm deflated. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right.”

  Paul gave her a pat on the back. “It is a good idea, really. Hopefully someday we might be able to figure out how to make it happen.” He gave her a half smile and went back out on the floor.

  Sue and Keegan walked through the front door. Keegan’s face lit up and he made a run for the sales counter.

  “Hey sweetie, what are you doing here?”

  “We just came back from McDonald’s,” Sue said. “He had a case of the wiggles so I let him crawl around in the tubes and ball pit for an hour.”

  “I got a sundae!” Keegan said.

  “I can see that.” She licked her finger and dabbed the dried hot fudge stuck to the corner of his mouth.

  “Hey, Aunt Sue.” Paul gave his aunt a kiss on the cheek before bending over to Keegan’s level. “Hi, Sport! How’s it going?” He held out his palm and Keegan slapped it without hesitation. He looked up at his mom and laughed.

  Paul lifted Keegan up and sat him on the counter. “What do you think of my store? Pretty cool, huh?”

  “Yeah!”

  “Hey, I think I have something for you that you might like.” He turned to Kelly. “Do you mind?”

  “Not at all.”

  Paul went over to one of the shelves and brought back an old Simon memory game from the 80s.

  “Paulie, he’s too young for that,” Sue said.

  “Nah, look at him. He loves it.”

  Keegan mashed at the colored buttons, instantly losing the game but laughing at the noise it made.

  “What do you say, Keegers?” Kelly said.

  “Thaaank yoooou.”


  Kelly was surprised at how quickly Keegan warmed up to Paul. Even before the gift, she could tell he grew comfortable around him more quickly than usual. Maybe he was growing out of his shyness or maybe it was the sudden change of moving. Or being away from his father.

  “Don’t mention it.” Paul tousled Keegan’s hair. “Take care of that thing, it’s a very old toy. Plus, it’ll help you get extra smart like your mom.”

  Or it could just be Paul. He really lit up around Keegan and seemed truly fond of him. Hard to believe a guy that spent so much time of his life training to be a soldier could be so good with kids.

  “We’re long past due for a nap,” Sue announced. “And I’m not just talking about him.” They said their goodbyes and left the store, Keegan beaming at his Simon game the whole way.

  “That was nice of you,” Kelly said to Paul. “I appreciate it.”

  “Tell you what, you can pay me back by figuring out a way to get your used book business off the ground.”

  “Really?”

  “Hey, if you can make it work, I’ll not only give you a big raise but I’ll make you a partner,” Paul laughed. He went around the counter and back out to the sales floor.

  “I’m holding you to that!”

  He turned around and winked at her before approaching a customer looking at one of his display computers.

  Chapter 13

  Kelly made the turn onto her street and the truck started to skid again, this time with a parked car directly in her path. She held her breath and slammed on the breaks out of habit even though she knew that was exactly what you’re not supposed to do. The truck slid to a stop a few feet from the car.

  She exhaled and looked over at Keegan, dozing in his booster seat and unaware of his mother’s struggle against nature. Just a few inches of snow had fallen so far but her rear wheel drive pickup was an entirely different animal in the snow compared to her old Toyota.

  She slowly pulled out and headed for home, relieved to be almost there. Despite the stressful drive from the grocery store, she was in high spirits, excited for their first night in the cottage. Earlier that afternoon she officially moved out of the Sheridan’s guest bedroom.

  Kelly reached the driveway and pulled in, glad to be home as the snow picked up more steam. When she’d left for the store just an hour earlier, there was barely a dusting on the ground.

  The truck rolled past Ed and Sue’s house and she felt a flicker of sadness as light spilling from the kitchen window briefly illuminated the cab of her truck. Sue was probably cooking a meal for two. She continued down the long driveway to the cottage and marveled at how beautiful the snow made everything look. The wet flakes clung to the tree branches and made her feel like she was driving right into a postcard.

  Kelly squeezed Keegan’s foot. “Up and at ‘em, kiddo. We’re home.”

  He woke up, mumbling something about playing in the snow and Kelly told him he’d have to wait until it stopped. A snowsuit was one more thing on her list of things to buy and one more thing she’d left at home when they took off.

  She grabbed the plastic grocery bags from the bed of the truck as quickly as she could. They were already covered in snow and accumulating more every second. She dropped the last bag on the kitchen counter with satisfaction, knowing they didn’t have any reason to venture out in the blizzard again that afternoon.

  Keegan sat on the floor in the middle of the living room with a scowl on his face.

  “What’s the matter, aren’t you excited to sleep in our new house for the first time?”

  “Nuh-uh.”

  “Why not?” She crouched down and unzipped his jacket.

  “It’s scary. I wanna go back to the big house.”

  “This is our place now, we don’t sleep in the big house anymore. Why do you think it’s scary?”

  Keegan stuck his thumb in his mouth without answering. Kelly was about to tell him not to do it but she decided to let it be, for now. He was just being crabby and she wasn’t in the mood for one of his tantrums.

  She went back to the kitchen to put away the groceries and smiled with a sense of pride as she surveyed her house. Thanks to her check from the diner and her first paycheck from Paul, she was finally able to get some furniture. It was used of course, but that didn’t matter to her. Ed took her to the Goodwill thrift store in Tillman and she was able to afford a sofa, kitchenette set, two dressers, and a coffee table. She didn’t like the idea of sleeping on a used mattress, so for now it would be camping out on the bedroom floor. She was even able to grab a few paintings to hang on the wall. It was sparse, but it was home.

  She put the last of the food in the refrigerator, generously donated by Ed. They had a second fridge in the garage and Sue convinced him they could live without it. They also threw in an old television that lost its place in the Sheridan’s living room when Ed bought a new 42” flat screen a year ago. She couldn’t get any channels on it, but another good score from the thrift shop was a used VCR and a dozen cartoon tapes. They were practically giving them way.

  “Wanna watch one of your shows while I make dinner?” she called over to Keegan. He picked his favorite tape, the old Winnie the Pooh movie and slid it into the machine. Kelly smiled at the thought of Keegan probably being the only kid around for miles that’s even seen a VCR, much less knew how to use one. He pressed play and sat down, fixated on the screen thanks to the analog baby sitter she was able to buy for five bucks.

  Kelly heard a car door slam outside and she looked the window. It was Paul’s Jeep. A second later, he announced himself with a rap on the door.

  “Hey, what are you doing here?” The icy wind blasted through open door. “Come on in.”

  Paul stomped his snow covered shoes on the floor. “Sorry to barge in like this. Did I come at a bad time?”

  “Not at all. We just got back from shopping. What’s up?”

  “I’ve got something for you and I didn’t want to wait.” He pulled a package wrapped in brown shipping paper out of his pocket and handed it to her.

  “What’s this?”

  “Only one way to find out.” Paul grinned.

  Kelly tore the paper to reveal a paperback book, How to Start and Run a Successful Used Book Store.

  “I found it online and had it shipped overnight. Lots of good reviews. Apparently that’s the book on doing it right.”

  She paged through the book. “Uh, thanks. Looks pretty good.”

  “I wanted to bring it over today because you’re going to need to start reading that right away. Like, tonight.”

  “Why?” she asked. A grin still lingered on Paul’s face.

  “My landlord stopped by the shop and we got to talking. Jim Seavers, good guy. Owns a lot of the commercial property in town.” Paul took off his jacket and hung it over one of the kitchen chairs. “He was complaining about the empty store next to mine. Besides some gift shop that lasted only a few months, it’s been empty for as long as I can remember. I think he said it’s been at least five years since he had a steady tenant in there even though he’s lowered the rent to the point of just breaking even.

  “Anyway, we got to talking about my business. He’s probably worried about me going under and leaving him with another empty store to fill. I mentioned your book idea, mostly as a joke. He gets this weird look on his face like he’s thinking or something.

  “He tells me that his mother-in-law died a month ago and apparently she was a bit of a hoarder. Jim told me she probably has thousands of book crammed into every corner of the house. He was just talking about it with his wife that morning, trying to figure out how to get rid of them all so they could get the house on the market. She’s got all sorts of crap filling the entire house but mostly it’s books. Stacks and stacks of them.

  “Long story short, Jim said not only can we have all the books for free, but he’s going to add the store next door to my lease. He’s not going to charge me rent for the first six months and after that, it’ll only be half of w
hat he’s been asking for the first year. He’s just happy to get rid of all those books and fill his empty storefront.”

  “That’s incredible!”

  “Not only that, but he’s fine with knocking out part of the wall in between the two stores so they’re connected. You’ve got your book department.”

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Say you’re up for it! This was your idea, remember? We just got our start-up stock for free.”

  Kelly looked down at the book still in her hands, her mind spinning. “I’m…I’m up for it.”

  Paul laughed and held out his hand. “Congratulations, Miss Book Department Manager.”

  “God, I’m terrified,” Kelly admitted. “Do you really think we can make it work?”

  “I don’t see why not. We have a lot of details to work out, mainly hauling all the books out of that house, building shelves, organizing the inventory. But I know we can do it.”

  Kelly finally set the book down on the table. “Hey, why don’t you stay for dinner? We can talk all about it and it’ll give me a chance to break in my kitchen. It’s our first night in the house.”

  Paul checked his watch. “Man, I’d love to, but I promised my Mom I’d install her new water heater tonight. It went out this morning and I was on my way to pick up a new one now. Great timing in this lousy weather.”

  “Oh. Well, that’s okay. Some other time.”

  Keegan broke from his Winnie the Pooh trance and shuffled into the kitchen. “Mommy, I’m hungry.”

  “I’ll make you dinner in just a sec.”

  “I could come back later, maybe,” Paul said. “It’s up to you.”

  “Sure, why not?”

  “It could be pretty late. Maybe nine or so?”

  “That’s fine with me,” Kelly said. “It’ll give me a chance to get ready. I’m not hungry now anyway.”

  “Great, it’s a date then. I’ll see you later.” Paul pointed at the book. “I’ll expect a full summary by the time I get back.”

  “Funny guy.”