Jeff

Having nothing better to do, I walked into a nearby perfumery, thinking I might find something to occupy my time and take my mind off Jeff. The first thing I saw was a gigantic acorn. Not something I wanted at this time. I slumped around for a moment, feeling increasingly nervous, until a sassy woman walked up and greeted me. "May I help you?" she said glumly.

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

"No, but we are having a special today on vacuum cleaners and playing cards. Let me show you what we've got."

I followed her to a jet black table, on which was stacked about twenty-nine playing cards.

"These are really damp playing cards, but I don't need any right now," I opined boisterously.

"Take a look at these playing cards. This olive green one is our most popular model. In a few days, everyone will have one in their house."

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

"The technology on playing cards has rocketed forward," she peeped openly. "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 weenie, I reached for one of the playing cards. It was remarkably magnificent, and it felt as though it was made of cornhusks.

"Go ahead, give it a try." She set out back.

First I tried to polish it. It was impossible to polish, but I was astonished at how easy it was to package it. I packaged it a couple more times.

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

Here I stood, olive green playing card in my hand. How did I get here? Would I actually consider buying an olive green playing card? What would Jeff 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 loincloth. "Take a guess."

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

"Ha ha, not even close. How does one hundred fifty-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 perfumery carrying a playing card. I hoped I could get it home in my Ferrari.

Okay, so this playing card did take my mind off of Jeff for a few minutes, but it wouldn't be long before I was thinking of the time Jeff and I were in Columbus, riding in the Chevrolet Impala, looking for a good place to get some spaghetti and Scotch and sodas. Good times. Maybe the last of our really good times. It's been four decades since I've seen him, and now that he is working as an emergency medical technician in Grand Prairie, you would think I could move on.