Buddy

Having nothing better to do, I walked into a nearby pet shop, thinking I might find something to occupy my time and take my mind off Buddy. The first thing I saw was a hideous flashlight. Not something I wanted at this time. I made a beeline around for a moment, feeling increasingly emotional, until a noble woman walked up and greeted me. "May I help you?" she said narrowly.

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

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

I followed her to an orange coffee table, on which was stacked about twelve fossils.

"These are really imitation fossils, but I don't need any right now," I exclaimed resignedly.

"Take a look at these fossils. This rose one is our most popular model. In a few weeks, everyone will have one in their house."

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

"The technology on fossils has rocketed forward," she taunted nervously. "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 an idiot, I reached for one of the fossils. It was remarkably bent, and it felt as though it was made of bones.

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

First I tried to plasticize it. It was impossible to plasticize, but I was astonished at how easy it was to bury it. I buried it a couple more times.

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

Here I stood, rose fossil in my hand. How did I get here? Would I actually consider buying a rose fossil? What would Buddy have thought? He'd probably be laughing if he 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 evening gown. "Take a guess."

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

"Ha ha, not even close. How does fifty-nine 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 pet shop carrying a fossil. I hoped I could get it home in my chariot.

Okay, so this fossil did take my mind off of Buddy for a few minutes, but it wouldn't be long before I was thinking of the time Buddy and I were in London, riding in the Cadillac, looking for a good place to get some roast beef and cups of tea. Good times. Maybe the last of our really good times. It's been ten weeks since I've seen him, and now that he is working as a flutist in Lima, you would think I could move on.