A constant knocking on the window brings Al back to the present. A short and stout elderly man with a bulldog face is looking back at Al with tired, bloodshot eyes. He points to the door in a manner that asks Al to let him in. Al unlocks and opens the door for his cousin Tony.
Bulldog!
exclaims Al as he slaps his cousin on the shoulder.
Alberto!
What do you think?
asks Al as he gestures to the store’s interior.
I’ve never seen this place so empty. Did you do all this yourself?
After I closed the store, I kept one of my best associates to help me dismantle and move the shelves. We then cleaned everything. I let him go yesterday. The last person I’ll ever fire.
Quite a lot of endings for you today. How you holding up?
I’ve never been so tired in my life. I’m physically tired, of course, but my mind is drained. This store’s been my life for almost sixty-five years. Hard for me to leave.
Pops is looking down at you, proud of the work you put into this place.
Don’t know what I would have done with my life had your father not given this puzzola a chance. Don’t know what I’d be doing if you had followed in your Pops’s footsteps.
This store drove me crazy. Having to climb Pops’s rickety ladder every five minutes to grab something for a customer. I hated that friggin’ ladder. Ol’ Rickety. Didn’t want to be chained to that thing for the rest of my life.
Yet you became a ladderman for Station Number Eight. Makes sense.
Number Eight had a helluva lot more sturdy ladders than Pops’s rickety one. I felt a lot safer towering over a burning triple decker on our ladders than climbing six feet on Ol’ Rickety. You remember the time a middle rung snapped as I was coming down with a can of Federal Blue?
Ha! Ha! Yes! Mrs. Santonelli almost got hit by the falling can. Instead she got trapped by the spilled paint.
You came out of nowhere, picked her up, and brought her to safety. Captain Hardware Store Hero! I noticed she came into the store quite a bit after that. She always asked for you.
Yeah,
chuckled Al. Her husband always gave me the evil eye whenever he came in.
Many memories in this place. You know whenever I think of you and this place, I always think of you looking out that window, just like you were doing when I came in. You are always in a daze when you’re looking out that window. What do you think about?
Al’s cell phone rings. I gotta take this,
Al says to Tony, then answers the phone. Taft Square Hardware. Al speaking.
How can you be open when you’re giving me the keys soon?
a voice on the phone asked.
Just wanted to say that line for the last time. Are you on your way?
Something came up Al. I’m running late. I’ll be there in two hours.
Al sighs. OK. Sal. I’ll see you in ..
Al stopped speaking when we heard the line at the other end disconnect.
Disrespectful little shit. Real estate people are scum.
He’s making you wait.
Yeah,
said a disappointed Al. I just want to get this done with.
These money people. Think the world revolves around them.
Sal’s father was a great guy. Kept the rent reasonable. When Sal inherited the building after his father died, he kept jacking up the rent year after year. I noticed that as my rent kept getting higher, his cologne kept getting stronger.
Wanna come for a walk around the neighborhood.
No, I’ll stay here and wait. You go. Check out your old house. It’s for sale.
I know. I thought I was getting a great price when I sold it for $290,000. Now it’s listed for $690,000. I should have waited! Anyway, let’s go for lunch when you’re done. Sound good?
Where do you want to go?
I’m craving a Diamond Spa grilled cheese.
Al points to the restaurant formerly known as the Diamond Spa. If they have grilled cheese, it’s probably twenty bucks for a sandwich carved up into tiny pieces.
I’m game if you are.
Sure, why not. We can snicker at these yahoos while they snicker at us old timers.
I’ll leave you to your window.
See you later Tony.
Al watches Tony leave the store. He sees Tony walk by two women with purple hair holding hands. Tony keeps looking at them when they pass while he keeps walking forward.
Like you haven’t seen that before. Come on. Don’t make them feel like freaks,
Al says to Tony even though he can’t hear Al. Unaware of what’s in front of him, Tony walks into one of the new boxy looking parking meters the city recently installed. Al laughs.
Tony looks to see if Al is looking. When he sees Al laughing, he gives Al the bird, then walks away.
After Tony is no longer in view, Al returns to using the window as a medium to his past.
©2021 Tim Sheehan