Furniture Sale

Gina didn’t have a make up mirror like other women. She used the bathroom
mirror. Her hands were busy plucking away at her eyebrows. There always seem to
be a few stray hairs.  She pushed closer. Her face was against the mirror,
barely enough room for her hand to work.  Bam. Someone was knocking on the
door.

“Gina, you in there?”

“What is it?”

“Nothing. I just wanted to know if you were in there or not.”

“Who were you expecting? There’s no one here but you and me.”

She opened the door. He was walking away.

“What is it?”

“Huh, nothing. Just wanted to say good bye.”

“Good bye for what? You’re coming right back. Now come over here and give me a
kiss.”

“Awwww Gina. Did you just put lotion on your face?”

“So?”

“Nothing. I just don’t like the taste in my mouth.”

“You gonna kiss me or what?”

He gave her a kiss. When she went back to the bathroom, he wiped his lips clean.
“See ya later.”

“Yeah. See ya.”

What time was it, Billy thought. 6 am. Maybe 5. It felt early. He looked at the
kitchen clock. 7. It was still a good time to start.

Billy was a runner in junior high school. Not the best track player, he would
say. But he was a team player. He was the loudest cheerer. Never sat down until
the game was over. Always congratulated his teammates. Never complained. But he
didn’t make the team in high school.  He wasn’t close. His body had gotten in
the way. His arms were too long and his legs were too short. The size of his
calves was larger than his thighs and his stomach jutted out a bit. Not a beer
belly like his father, but a small stomach that only he noticed. The doctors
told him he would grow out of it. He didn’t.

Billy had on his old school color. He didn’t even notice it at the store. The
girl at the counter told Billy it was one of their best jogging suits. He
thought it was a bit pricey. But she looked like a runners and they knew where
they were going.  He lied about the price to his wife. She wouldn’t care
anyways.

Now that Billy was running, he noticed the suit was a size too small, especially
around his calves .The girl at the store also told him he would grow into it.
Halfway down his block, he realized he didn’t stretch before it. How could he
forget? The next morning, he told himself, he would stretch first thing.
The end of the street was approaching. He could hear a car coming behind him.
Billy sped up just a bit and held his head higher.  The car passed him. He
thought he knew who the driver was and tried to wave. It was too late. The car
didn’t see him.

His goal was in sight. Small steps, he told himself. Everyday, he would do
something small. Those something small would add up to something big. That
something big was the rest of his life. This was the first day. A smile crossed
his face when he reached the stop sign. He looked up and thought it was a good
idea. Walking back, he felt good.

How long has he been running? At least an hour. Billy has always been a bad
judge of time.  He never did well on tests. If tests weren’t time, Billy
thought, he would have aced every single one blindfolded.  He walked in and
looked at the clock. He had thought he underestimated the time. Thought, with a
smile, it must have been longer.  It was 7:20.

“Hey, that you,” he heard his wife say.

“Huh? Yeah.”

“How was it?”

“Great. Couldn’t been better.”

“You know what I was thinking,”

“What?”

Billy was taking off his shoes and ignoring his wife.

“I was thinking we could get some new furniture.”

“What?”

“You know, a couch or something. Something nice.”

“But honey, you know we --- “

“Yeah, but we could do the monthly payments. Besides, look at that old thing.”

“I’m looking.”

“Well, don’t ya see it.”

“See what?”

Gina walked out of the bathroom and pointed at the couch.

“That thing is a thousand years old.”

“Maybe it gave birth to your mother.”

“I’m serious. Aren’t you embarrassed by it?”

“What do you mean? It’s not like I carry a picture of it in my wallet.”

“That’s not the point.  Don’t you get it? It’s an eyesore. I can’t even have
friends over because of that stupid thing. It looks like someone was murdered
on it.”

“You’re exaggerating.”

“We can make the monthly payments. My credit is better than yours. I found this
place. It’s only a few extra dollars a month. ”

“Yeah, what is this place of yours.”

“Then you’ll go?”

“Let me take a shower first.”

“Yeah sure, give me a few minutes to finish up first.”

They got into a car and drove off to a place Billy’s never heard of.  She took
him next to the meat packing plant.

“Here?”

“Trust me. This is a good place.”

“There’s no one around. There’s not even a sign.”

“It doesn’t need a sign. Deals this good. If everyone knew, we wouldn’t be
getting a good deal. They’ll practically beg us to buy something.”

“Hey, let’s park over there.”

They got out of the car. Gina walked out and took a deep breath. This was the
place, she thought. Billy walked out, took a breath and gagged. He never liked
the smell of meat.

“What, is it in the warehouse?”

“Don’t be stupid. How could you have a furniture store be in a warehouse? It’d
get all dirty. It’s the building next to the warehouse.”

“Yeah, that makes even more sense.”

“Cut it out, already. You’ll ruin it.”

“Ruin what?”

“Never mind. You’re walking slow again.”

“You walk too fast. The building is still gonna be there whether you get there
in ten or thirty seconds.”

“Then I’d rather get there in ten.”

Gina walked in, practically ran in. Billy was wrong. She smiled. There was a
sign. A small sign above the door and below it was a notice of an ongoing sale.
Everything was working out, Gina thought. She was meant to have a new couch. She opened the door.  It was stuffed with old furniture. It didn’t have the smell of
new things.  But no matter, this was Gina’s day.

Gina strolled casually to the other side of the store. She didn’t want to
salesmen to think she was too eager to buy.  There was a sound from behind.  A
bell swung above the door. It was Billy. It took him longer than she thought.
She waved at him. He waved back, but walked over to a recliner. He legs were
sore. He needed to sit down.

The selection was smaller than she thought it would be.  She looked around. Some
were covered with plastic. These were the newer ones, she thought. They had a
price tag to match. The ones left out were older, some older than the one they
already owned. But she took her time, carefully examined a few couches. She sat
down. There was a mirror propped up against the couch. She looked.
The mirror was dusty, ignored. She looked, transfixed. She held her stomach in
and looked at her figure. She wasn’t fat, she told herself. She wasn’t like
those other women who let themselves go. No, she held herself together. There
were only a few pounds separating her and the beautiful people. And her nose.
If only her nose was a tiny bit smaller, she could have been a model.  She move
her fingers across her chin. It was a good chin, a good face, she thought.
She grabbed her purse, ready to go. But she couldn’t help getting another
glimpse. She smiled. But before standing up, she noticed something. There it
was. The couch. Conditions were too perfect, she thought, for it not to have
worked out. She waved frantically at Billy, who was falling asleep on the
recliner. She would get him later.

The couch was the furthest away, tucked behind the shadow of a dresser.  It was
hidden, she thought, like this store, for only her to find. It was green
velvet. The bolts were painted gold. It was just like the movie, she thought.
She sat down. It felt right.

“Can I help you?”

“Oh.”

Gina was startled. She thought she was alone in the store.

“Oh no,” she corrected herself, “I’m just looking.”

The salesmen didn’t believe her. He had been watching her the entire time.
Didn’t bother to get up. They didn’t look like the type who would buy. The man,
probably her husband, didn’t look interested. But he wasn’t there. While he had
her alone, he would go in for the kill.

“That’s a nice couch you’re sitting on.”

‘It’s alright.”

“Yeah. You’re lucky. We just got it today.”

Gina did her best to suppress a smile. The man noticed and pushed a bit harder.
“It’s velvet. You don’t get many couches like that anymore. Furniture these
days, they don’t got no soul to them. “

“I know what you mean. I’m trying, we’re trying to, you know, our couch,” Gina
corrected herself, “ we’re just looking to see what you got.”

It was too late. He noticed.

“If I tell you a secret,” he leaned in, “you promise not to tell anyone else.”

“I’m listening.”

Gina was playing coy. He played along.

“Well, just between you and me, this couch has seen Broadway.”

Gina was silent, looked down and stroked the couch with her fingers. It felt
softer. The man smiled. She looked up.

“What play was it in?”

“Oh,” the man paused, “ever heard of D------.”

“No.”

“Well, either have I until we got this couch. Did some investigating of me own.
Apparently, it was a big hit. Played over a hundred times. People kept wanting
more. That couch you’re sitting on, huge part of the play. The main character
died on it. Very melodramatic. Won like all the Oscars.”

“You mean Tony’s.”

“See, you’re a smart women. I knew it the moment you walked in.”

“Let me asked my husband first.”

Gina got up.

“Well don’t take too long, a piece of history like this doesn’t keep it self
secret forever.”

Billy was fast asleep. On a day like this, Gina thought, how could he be asleep?
She shocked him, nearly slapped him. He had always been a sound sleeper.

“Look, I found something.”

She grabbed his hand and dragged him behind.

“See. Look at it. It used to be on Broadway.”

“Yeah, really? What play?”

“D-----------. It was really big. Wasn’t it?”

She motioned towards the salesmen.  He nodded.

“ If it’s so big, how come I’ve never heard of it?”

Gina looked at him furious. But he was looking at the salesmen.

“Does it matter? Folks, we have here a good couch, good quality, good price. Why
don’t you sit down and have a go?”

They sat down.

“It’s bit a hard. Not very comfortable.”

“That just means it’ll last longer. Billy, it’s a good couch.  Look at it.”

Billy looked. He didn’t see it. Couldn’t see what made his wife happy. It
smelled like the meat factory next door.

“How much is it?”

“There’s a price tag on the side.”

Billy picked up the paper and handed it to his wife. She looked at the paper and
gave it back to him.

“Is this the price with the sale,” she asked.

“Yes m’am. I didn’t believe how low the owner marked it down for. It’s a real
steal. Monthly payments are listed on there too, if you want to take a look.”
“Yeah, I saw. Will you give me a moment with my wife?”

“Of course. Take your time, But don’t be too long. Like I told your wife,
couches like these go real fast around here.”

“It’s too expensive.”

Gina looked down.

“It’s such a wonderful couch.”

“I know.”

“It wouldn’t have been a good story to tell our friends. I’m sure they’d be
jealous.”

“I know.”

“It would add color. You know how I’m always saying we need color.”

“I know. Gina, I’m sorry. We’re not going to be able to…”

“Yes. I know. Let’s go.”

“You sure. We can look around…”

“Yes, I’m sure. Let’s go home.”

They stood up and walked away.

The salesmen didn’t bother to get up and chase after them. He knew they wouldn’t
buy anything. He knew those types of people. He looked around the office. Now
that they were gone, there was nothing else to do.

They got to the car. Billy tried to look concern. But the smell made facial
empathy impossible to muster. It didn’t matter. Gina wasn’t looking. Billy
started the car and they began to leave.

“You know what we could do?”

Gina didn’t answer. He thought she didn’t hear him, so he spoke louder.

“Hey. Do you know what we could always do?”

Gina looked at him, but didn’t answer.

“You know, we could always get a couch cover. You know, one of those slip
things. I’m sure they sell them in green. You know, our old couch isn’t so bad.
Sure, it’s a bit odd shaped. But once we get the cover it will be alright.”

“Yeah…”

“Of course it will. We can get your mom to tailor the cover in a bit. She likes
doing things like that, doesn’t she? Yeah, it’s going to be alright.”

Billy patted her shoulder and placed the turn signal on. Gina looked away as
they drove off.

The End.