He opened his eyes and hopefully surveyed the row of cars for a second
time. There was something about the blue convertible. He moved forward,
thinking to check the registration slip, when a smart-looking woman in
green tweed walked up to the car, got inside, glanced at him curiously
and quickly started the engine. He edged back, coloring about the neck
and ears.
He waited a bit longer but the lost feeling didn't leave him. If
anything it only grew stronger. He turned aimlessly back toward the
Grande Apartments, then started with a gasp of dismay.
The Grande Apartments were gone, and in their place was an
establishment called The Handy Drug Store! Fleetwood tried to think
clearly, more clearly than he ever had before. It wasn't any good;
there wasn't any logical answer. Warily, he approached the store and
went inside.
He by-passed the cigarette counter and the magazine racks, noted their
contents curiously, and climbed aboard a stool at a long counter. At
least it was a place to sit down and rest. A girl approached from the
other side of the counter and made a quick pass at the area in front of
him with a paper napkin.
"Yes?" she inquired.
Fleetwood turned and looked at her, and it happened. His eyebrows shot
up, his heart stood still. He felt faintly ill in a surprised, elated
sort of way. Never had he dreamed that there could be such a creature.
This girl, this ... this fragment of heaven! She couldn't possibly be
real. She was so extraordinarily ordinary!
"What would you like?" the girl said, and Fleetwood tingled anew just
at the sound of her voice; its tone was so enchantingly flat and nasal.
Never had he dreamed that it was possible for any woman to speak with
so little innuendo. He was shaken to the very core. He realized that
because of this girl something very important was happening to him, but
he couldn't quite put his finger on it. The mystery of the disappearing
Grande Apartments faded from his mind.
"I beg your pardon?" he murmured in an effort to induce the girl to
speak again.
"I said, what do you want?" the girl repeated, and her grey-brown eyes
looked into his unconcernedly.
It was too good to be true! Here she was, this extraordinary female
person, apparently eager, even impatient, to fulfill his slightest
wish, just for the naming. Fleetwood took a firm grip on the edge
of the counter. If this was a dream he didn't want to interrupt it
by being too rash. His eyes dwelt on her hair, tabulating the exact
measure of its fascinating dullness.
"Bourbon and water?" he said cautiously. "Double?" He couldn't remember
exactly what it meant, but it seemed a likely entry.
"Huh?" the girl said. "What was that?"
* * * * *
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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