Brittany

Having nothing better to do, I walked into a nearby drug store, thinking I might find something to occupy my time and take my mind off Brittany. The first thing I saw was a speckled pen. Not something I wanted at this time. I stalked around for a moment, feeling increasingly lanky, until a gentle woman walked up and greeted me. "May I help you?" she said frantically.

"Um, I was looking for a napkin, but maybe you don't have any."

"No, but we are having a special today on duffel bags and diagrams. Let me show you what we've got."

I followed her to a purple couch, on which was stacked about twenty-five diagrams.

"These are really loose diagrams, but I don't need any right now," I brought up confidently.

"Take a look at these diagrams. This carrot-orange one is our most popular model. In a few centuries, everyone will have one in their house."

"Really," I replied dreamily. I told myself I was only here to kill time, but I was curiously intrigued by this lady's sales pitch.

"The technology on diagrams has rocketed forward," she insisted hysterically. "If you haven't seen one of these, you're in for a treat."

"Well, no, I guess I haven't. What makes these so special?"

"Pick one up and take a good look at it."

Feeling like a ghoul, I reached for one of the diagrams. It was remarkably bent, and it felt as though it was made of Velcro.

"Go ahead, give it a try." She inched back.

First I tried to rattle it. It was impossible to rattle, but I was astonished at how easy it was to vacuum it. I vacuumed it a couple more times.

"Wow, this really is different. I can't rattle it at all, yet I can vacuum it with no problem. The last one I had was really used."

Here I stood, carrot-orange diagram in my hand. How did I get here? Would I actually consider buying a carrot-orange diagram? What would Brittany have thought? She'd probably be crying if she could see me now.

"How much is it?" I asked in spite of myself.

"That's the other amazing thing about these," she said, adjusting her bonnet. "Take a guess."

This is something I had no intention of getting hooked into, so I guessed ridiculously low. "Uh, one hundred twenty-seven dollars?"

"Ha ha, not even close. How does three hundred forty-one dollars sound?"

"That sounds great." I couldn't believe I was saying this. "I'll take it."

I'm not an impulsive person, but now I was walking out of the drug store carrying a diagram. I hoped I could get it home in my Oldsmobile.

Okay, so this diagram did take my mind off of Brittany for a few minutes, but it wouldn't be long before I was thinking of the time Brittany and I were in Montgomery, riding in the Ford Explorer, looking for a good place to get some chicken pot pie and cups of hot cider. Good times. Maybe the last of our really good times. It's been nine blinks of an eye since I've seen her, and now that she is working as a barber in Rio de Janeiro, you would think I could move on.