I went to the kitchen, careful not to stub
my toe on any protruding box that hadn't
been unpacked yet, and the fact that the
layout of the apartment is new to me.
I hadn't put curtains or shades up yet, and
the moon light was illuminating the kitchen.
I loved the ambiance, and I could still hear
crickets chirping.
I found the bottle of Scotch I had put in a
cupboard, grabbed a little glass, threw 2
ice cubes in it, and filled it three quarters
the way full. I went back to my easy chair,
and sipped my drink, trying to relax and
clear my mind.
I pulled the lever, reclining my chair. It
would recline almost flat, and was real
comfortable for naps. Within minutes,
I was asleep again.
I woke to the sound of my alarm blaring
it's annoying repetitive electronic beep.
I got up, went to the bedroom and shut it
off. Yawning, I went back to the kitchen to
start some coffee. It wasn't light yet, so I
had to turn the kitchen light on.
That's when I found my phone. It was
laying by the back patio door, smashed
as if someone took a hammer to it.
I checked the door, and it was locked.
I went and checked all the windows. They
were all locked, as well as the front door.
There was no way in as far as I knew, and
I was not only bewildered, but angry as
well.
First, someone slashes my tire, and now
this. Who could be doing this, and why?
After a few minutes, I was pouring my
first cup of coffee. I mixed in a splash of
milk, two teaspoons of sugar, and stirred
it up.
I grabbed the broken phone, and my cup
of coffee, and went to sit down.
The early morning air was still, and a little
chilly. I hadn't tried the heater yet, and to
keep cool, the living room had a big window
unit air conditioner. It looked like it had been
installed professionally, and the plywood
that covered the rest of the open space,
was caulked in and painted. They even put
the border trim around the edges to picture
frame the space. It looked maintained, so
I didn't bother to examine it further.
I found the thermostat, and turned it to
heat, turned it on, and adjusted the
temperature to 78°F. to get the place
warmed up. It was probably around 54°F
or so, according to my goose bumps.
The heater kicked on right away, and I
found one of the vents in the floor. It was
closed, so I opened it. I went to all the
rooms and opened all the vents. I don't
know how long the place was vacant, but
it seemed to be for quite a while.
It wasn't dusty or dirty, as if it had been
opened and cleaned periodically, but it
still had that musky, stagnant air smell.
After a few minutes, the place warmed up.
I had to crack a window because of the
burnt dust smell, but it didn't take long
for it to dissipate. The smell of the coffee
was overtaking the place, and was putting
a skip to my step.
I felt good, inspite of being woken up by
the nightmare, and the confusion I was
under regarding all the people staring at
me. I pondered that for a second...
What's with this strange town?
I started to unpack a few boxes, and
reassemble my writers desk. It was
easier to take apart and pack, rather than
try to muscle it to the U-Haul. It was a
beautiful piece handed down to me
by my Uncle, who was a journalist back
in New York when newspapers were the
big thing. He did pretty well for himself,
although him and my father never got
along, so I didn't get a chance to know
him, except for an occasional phone call.
What I did know of him, was, he was
nothing like my dad. A man of many words,
A poet, a writer, a columnist, a historian,
and a fine art collector. He had a nice
condo in uptown NewYork, where he lived
alone, and said he preferred it that way.
I understand. I have come to prefer being
alone as well.
When he retired from the Newspaper
he worked at, He told me I could have the
desk if I wanted it. It cost me a couple
hundred dollars to have it hauled to me
in the city I lived in, but what a gorgeous
piece of wood! Elegantly carved dark
cherry wood. The laquer coating was
perfectly done, giving it the most
beautiful sheen. It gleemed like a fine
automobile. You know, the ones they
show off at those car shows. It had 2
large drawers on the right hand side, with
a small drawer above them. A long narrow
drawer pulled out underneath where your
legs go, and had hand crafted deviders for
pencils, pens, etc. On the left side, was one
big compartment, and a little drawer above
that that locks. I have no idea where the
key is , so I disassembled the tumbler, and
put it away in a bag, in one of the desk
drawers. Sure would like to get that fixed!
I found my little socket and rachet set, a
wrench to fit the nuts, and assembled my
desk. Rubbing it all down with a cotton,
cloth and topping it off with my desk lamp,
I stood back to admire the piece.
Realizing, a couple hours must have gone
by, I went to find my wooden clock that I
keep on the desk. Unwrapping it from
newspaper, I rubbed it down and set it up
on the back right corner of the desk, so I
can see it from my easy chair. The clock
said it was 6:56 a.m. but I wasn't sure if
it was accurate do to my cell phone being smashed. I don't wear a watch because
the strangling feeling of the band causes anxiety. Anything pressing into me causes anxiety. That's why I wear loose clothing,
and by no means, would you ever catch
me in a turtleneck.
I grabbed the desk chair that I had
stashed in the corner with some boxes
that I hadn't unpacked, and wheeled it
over as I wiped it down. It was a nice
cushiony dark oak swivel office chair.
No telescopically adjustable seat, but
was by far more comfortable than those
flimsy Chinese mass produced plastic
Imitations for chairs.
I sat down to make the days to-do list.
It was Sunday, and I didn't start my new
job until the next day. I wanted to fill my
day with shopping and setting the
apartment up, so I can focus on my new
job without being distracted by all the
home duties.
I needed quite a few things, being that I
threw out a lot of stuff when I packed for
the small U-Haul trailer I rented. I had
to drop that off at the nearest U-Haul
today as well. I needed some blinds,
and a fan for my room. My old apartment
had a ceiling fan, so I had no need for one.
I needed a new shower curtain, and
a few odds and ends for the bathroom.
You know, soap dish, trash can, shower
rack, etc.
I threw a lot of that type of stuff away,
because I wanted everything to be fresh
in my new apartment, my new town, my
new life.

Chapter 4.

I had finished my list, straightened up,
took a shower, and was bringing some
empty boxes and trash to the complex
dumpster, when I saw Ted.
He was an awkward looking fellow, with
a tired hunched over look, for some one
so young. Brownish hair hung down to
his neck as limp as his body seemed to
be. He either had been broken spiritualy,
or he was on Qualudes, or Heroin.
He just looked worn out.
He noticed me, and straightened up,
as a fake smile formed on his mouth.
Waving, He said, 'Hey dude!'
I threw the garbage away, and walked
toward him. 'Hey', I said. 'Did your cat
make it home last night?' 'Yeah man.
He was scratching at the door last night
and meowing. I let him in. He's a cool
cat, huh?' Ted said with a pretentious
excitement.
'I don't know about that!' I said. ' The
little rascal scared the Bejesus outta
me last night. He was in the apartment.
I don't know how long, but when I opened
the door, he jumped out as I was bringing
groceries in.'
Ted chuckled a little, and said, 'Ah. Yeah,
sorry man. He's been going over there
for a little while now to play and catch
mice and what not'.
'How does he get in?' I inquired.
'I don't know', Ted said, 'but he's a cat.
Cat's can go anywhere they want man'.
'Hey! Wanna wake-n-bake?' Ted said
with actual excitement.
'Wake-n-bake? You bake and stuff this
early?', I naiveingly asked.
Ted started laughing. A genuine hearty
laughter that went on for an inappropriate
amount of time. As he gathered himself,
He said, 'No, No man. Do you wanna get
high? Smoke some pot?'
My face lit up, as I heard this, and I
chuckled at my own ignorance, 'No, No,
I don't do that stuff. Never have. Gotta
keep my mind sharp', I told him.
'Oh', Ted said. What are you an accountant
or something?'
'Great guess Ted!' I said, thinking maybe
there was some hope for him after all.
'Well, I gotta lot to do today. Catch you
later Ted'. I said as I walked away.
I heard him say behind me, 'For sure!'
As I was walking away, I heard a
woman's voice call my name. I stopped
and turned around to see the apartment
manager walking my way.
'Hello Miss Malloy'. I said. 'Dorris is
fine, Jim, how is everything? Do you
have any questions?' She asked curtly.
'No', I said, 'things are fine, just getting
set up today.' 'Oh, one thing, I forgot.
Do you have cable and internet in this
town?'
Dorris replied, 'No internet. We're just
simple folk out here, ain't inta all that
fancy techno gizmo stuff people be
using in them big cities.'
'We got basic cable from a little
company in town. I can get the number
for ya. If you need a phone, the same
folks can come out and install a phone
as well.'
'Do you have cell phone coverage in
this town?' I asked.
'Nope! Can't buy one here neither. I done
told ya, we ain't inta'... 'All that techno
gizmo crap, I know', I finished her
sentence. I do that often. I can tell
where people are going with their
conversation, and I want to keep it as
short as possible. Some people tell me
it's rude, but I really can't help myself.
It used to drive my girlfriends nuts.
Dorris kinda tilted her head, and studied
me for a second. 'Well, I'll go get that
number for you', as she whisked off.
I decided not to tell her about my cell
phone and the mysterious circumstances
that took place.
After having made a good breakfast,
and having my second cup of coffee, I
was ready to return the U-Haul trailer,
and go shopping. Thank goodness I had
bought a city map at the store last night,
and it had most of the current businesses
listed.
I made sure to put the phone number I
received from Dorris in the top drawer
of the desk.
I found the location of the local U-haul,
grabbed my sunglasses, keys, my list,
and headed out.
It only took a few minutes to hook the
trailer back up to the Ford, and I was
on my way out.
It took about 20 minutes to get to the
U-Haul truck rental place, and I just
looked forward. I didn't want to see
anyone staring at me, and it worked. I
became oblivious to the cold, dead looks
that folk were still giving me as I drove
around this strange town.
At one time, it was probably a pretty little
town, with lots of different colored trees,
Sculpted bushes, fresh flowers and paint
everywhere. Nice smooth paved streets,
and pleasant, peaceful neighborhoods,
with children playing and dogs catching
frisbees.
Now it was a dull, grey, overgrown town,
with cracked sidewalks, divots and pot
holes in the streets, set against a back
drop of mediocre sized mountains and
rolling hills that lost their shine.
The people walking around looked
about the same... Dull, tired, uncared for.
There were no children playing outside.
No dogs running around. An occasional
bird now and then, or a chipmunk would
show his little head for a second, then disappear into the overgrown bush that
seemed to populate the town.
I payed for the U-Haul with my Bank of America debit card and finished up the paperwork, signed my copy of the receipt,
and was back on the road.
At least they had a Bank of America here,
so all I had to do was update my address
and give them a new phone number.
They have an Ace Hardware, so I drove
over there to see what I could check off
my list. Everything was normal, as I pulled
up and parked, got out and went into the
store.
I headed over to the isle that had a sign
hanging at the entrance that said Kitchens
& Baths.
I picked out a nice inner and outer lined
shower curtain that had stars, planets,
suns and moons all over it, against a dark
navy blue backdrop. To my glee, I found
a garbage can, a toothbrush holder, a cup,
and a soap dish that had the same pattern.
I walked through the store until I came
across a nice stand up oscillating fan,
for the bedroom. Then I went and asked
a clerk to help me pick out some blinds
and curtains.
At first the clerk just looked at me puzzled,
as if to ask, 'What are you doing here?' but
then he smiled and said, 'Sure. Right this
way'.
The clerk showed me what they had, and I
picked out four standard sized blinds, four
curtain rods, four curtains, made of an
inexpensive material, but was thick and
soft. They were a soft pastel cream color
that would not take away from the light of
the room when closed. Then I picked out
a large blind for the kitchen picture
window and a blind for the patio door.
On my way to the register, I saw a nice
little Hibachi grill on sale, like 40$ off, so
I grabbed that, some charcoal briquettes,
and some lighter fluid. I found a nice grill
brush, a spatula and tongs to go with it.
On my way back to the register, I saw a
beautiful World Globe, that was made
out of a blonde wood and intricately
drawn by hand. Every detail from the
legend to the continents, From the major
cities throughout the world to the bas relief
of the mountains, to the rich colors of the
oceans. It was superb and I had to have it!
I finally got up to the register, and again,
swiped my debit card to pay for it all.
I thought to myself... That's funny. They still
have business networks in this town for
credit card and banking transactions, and
I'm sure the local Police have access to the
Nation Wide criminal data base to check
for wants and warrants, so why no internet?
Why are they keeping the World Wide Web
from the folk in this town?
I loaded everything up in the back of
my Ford, and closed the back hatch. As
I was going to get in, I couldn't help but
notice the young male clerk inside the
hardware store, staring at me. Just a blank
stare, nothing intimidating, just creepy.
I put it in reverse, backed out of the parking
slot, and started my drive home, again, just
looking forward and staying focused on
the road. Good thing too, because suddenly,
what appeared to be a dog, went running
top speed in front of me. I jerked the
steering wheel to the left just missing the
dog's hind quarters as it was running...
or what ever it was. It was as big as a dog.
Ran like a dog. As fast as a dog. But this
thing was messed up looking. Like it
had been set on fire and thrown into a tar
pit. It was gone in the blink of an eye, and
I narrowly missed a parked vehicle on the
other side of the road. I'm sure my
reaction would have been different had I
had opposite vehicles on the other side of
the road, that dog, or whatever it was
would have been a goner.

Chapter 5.

I got to the apartment complex with
no additional problems or mishaps,
pulled into my slot and shut the engine
off. Just as I was about to exit, Garfield
jumped up on the hood of my Ford,
walked up to the windshield, sat down
and stared at me. I looked back at him
and said, 'Shoo!' Waving my hand toward
him like I was swatting a fly. He just sat
there licking his lips, oblivious to my
want. I got out as Garfield watched me.
I went to the back, after hitting the hatch
button and started to unload my newly
purchased items. I got everything unloaded
and was about to shut the hatch when
Garfield popped his big orange head up
between the seats and looked at me.
I left the door open, I chuckled to myself.
'Come here Garfield', I said to the cat,
looking him in his leaf green tabby eyes.
He stood up and walked toward the back
of the Ford, jumped out and rubbed up
against my leg.
I was actually glad. It was the first warm
greeting I had received since I got here.
I bent down and stroked his long, orange
striped fur from the back of his ears to
his long furry tail. He liked it and let out
a purr that sounded like a rock tumbler,
while criss crossing my legs.
Careful not to trip over my new furry
friend, I got everything up to the apartment
and unlocked the door. Garfield went
running in ahead of me, as I turned on
the light and started bringing everything
inside.
I wasn't sure about how Ted felt about
his cat hanging out over here, but I was
actually thankful for the cats very
friendly and loving personality. Yes,
Garfield is a cool cat. I made a personal
note to pick the rascal up some kitty
treats.
I got the new fan unpacked, and
plugged in, and then realized I hadn't
called the Cable and phone people yet.
I left the apartment with the number
Dorris gave me, and Garfield close behind
as I went over to Ted's apartment.
Ted opened the door after a few seconds,
and I was hit with the smell of very
pungent marijuana. He looked at me and
said, Is my cat bothering you man?'
I said, 'No, No, I was wondering if you
have a phone and if so, would you let me
use it to call the phone and cable people?'
'Oh, Yeah man! No problem broski, come
on in!' Ted said with a valley boy accent
from his pot smoke saturated vocal cords.
I followed Ted into his place. Not in as
bad of shape as I had imagined, but
nevertheless... You could tell a younger
single party type lived here. The room
was thick with smoke, as Ted was waving
his arms trying to fan off the denseness
of it, as he said, 'There it is, pointing to
a plastic football on the arm of a worn
out love seat.
'What, the football?' I asked. 'Yeah man.
It works!' Ted exclaimed.
I picked it up as the football split in half,
one half being the receiver and the other
half being the buttons and cradle.
I took the paper from my pocket,
picked up the receiver and dialed the
number on the paper. After about a dozen
rings, a man picked it up and said,
Galgötha Cable.
'Hi, yes', I said, My name's Jim and I am
new in town. I am staying at the
Woodspring Apartments here in town,
and am need of cable and a phone'.
'Well, o.k. Mr'... 'Robinson', I said.
'O.k. Mr. Robinson', the voice on the phone
said. 'We can be there in two hours'.
'Perfect', I said, 'I'm in unit #6.
See you then', and I hung up the phone.
Ted was eating a bologna sandwich now,
mayonnaise dripping from the corner,
onto his Minecraft Creeper T shirt.
'All set man?' Ted asked. 'Yes, thank you
Ted. I appreciate it.' 'Hey', I added, 'You
don't mind Garfield coming over and
hanging out, huh?'
'Naw man' Ted said, 'Hes a cat. He does
what he wants. Besides, everyone around
here loves him. I don't worry'.
'Well, alright Ted. I'll see you around'. As
I turned to leave, I noticed Garfield up on
a high shelf on his corner cat castle
licking himself. 'Like a donut bro'! Ted
called after me.
I got back to the apartment and was
fixing up the bathroom with the new
curtain and accessories I bought. It
looked nice when I was done.
I was in the process of hanging the blinds
when the cable people showed up.
Two men, one in his twenty's and the
other probably in his late forty's. Both
clean cut and in company coveralls with
a big back patch, of a man in a suit and
tie holding a t.v. in one hand and a
lightning bolt in the other. Big red letters
above and below it emblazened with
Galgötha Cable - Polyandrion, AZ.
'Hello Jim? I'm Bob... This is Nathan'.
Bob said, putting his hand out in an
introductory way.

{Continue}

© Michael W. Taylor