Going Down in Gotham – new chapters
Posted by admin on Saturday Mar 12, 2011 Under writing“Find anything in that paper?” A pretty woman at the next table startled me.
“Its hard to find a job unless you want to be a shitty waitress, at some dump like this.” She whispered. I smiled at her.
“Sorry to bother you but I couldn’t help noticing you were looking at the help wanted page, are you looking for work?”
“Yes, I was…”
“Hello, I’m Daisy.” She got up and reached over to shake my hand.
“Oh hello, Brook, nice to meet you.”
“So are you a waitress or bartender?” She laughed.
Daisy had blue black shoulder length hair styled like a 1940s movie star, her bangs were curled under in a roll. She had a heart shaped face with glossy red Clara Bow lips and thick arched eyebrows.
The waitress slid my BLT across the table, I had to stop the plate before it fell into my lap.
“Careful!” I said.
“Oops!” Red head giggled nervously.
“Yes, oops!”
When she walked away Daisy said, “She can forget a tip from me, there was more tea in the saucer than the cup, and it was practically cold!”
“I know she’s pretty awful. Umm, would you like to sit here?” I said pointing to the empty seat opposite me.
“Sure. So Brook what do you wanna do?” She asked moving to my table.
“Like in the next ten minutes?” I asked confused.
“No… silly for work? Maybe I could help.”
“Really!” I lit up at the prospect of someone offering to help me. ”That’s a good question, I really dont know. I used to be a makeup artist, you know for shoots in London, editorial, magazine work mainly. I came over here with my husband who’s now my ex. But that’s a whole long story, that I wont drag you into” I giggled a fake lighthearted laugh. “I haven’t pursued the makeup thing. I’m sort of in that weird in-between stage. I really am down to my last few dollars. I got to get into something soon.”
“What do you do?” I asked.
“You know that empty store from on Eleventh Street.” She pointed uptown on Avenue A.
I didn’t, but nodded.
“Well I just signed the lease. I am going to open an antique 1950’s styled store.” She giggled and clasped her hands together.
“My parents have a house in Vermont and I go up there all the time. Not many people know but you can buy amazing 1950s furniture, literally whole houses full of the stuff for pennies. They just want to get rid of it. They think it’s junk. I have seen farm houses that have had incredible finds, stuff people like me only dream about and search for at pricey antique fairs. I have an obsession with the 50’s, like love!… Can you imagine what it must have been like to have lived back then when everyone wore their hair in pin curls and stiletto heels…” Daisy looked off dreaming.
“Sounds like a great idea. Good luck with that.” I said.
I was actually impressed and a touch envious that this ultra glamorous girl not only looked incredible but was smart enough to find a business, or a niche that no one had tapped into. Why didn’t I have a hobby or love of something?
“Hey why don’t you come by, that is if you’d like to see my new place.”
I was flattered, and didn’t have any immediate pressing interviews for high salary jobs to go to, so I said “I’d love to.”
We walked along Avenue A together. Daisy had the tiniest waist I’d ever seen. She wore a small pink mohair cardigan, skin tight black peddle pushers with a thick shiny black belt cinching in her waist, and low heeled stilettos. She looked straight out of a Marilyn Munore film.
“This is it!” She turned the key pushing open an old creaky door to a small store front in the middle of the block. There were a few empty shelves lining the bare walls, and a heavily painted white desk. A dusty gaudy lamp with a red fringe around the shade sat on top.
“Oh it’s great, I can see you could do a lot with this space.” There really wasn’t much more I could say.
“Listen I’ve been thinking, you might think me crazy but, I need someone to ride with me this weekend. To go upstate for this fall county fair. There are a ton of yard sales and flea markets that I’ve mapped out, its a really good time to buy up antique furniture upstate. There are great auctions of whole houses when people die.” She winked. “ I stay very in tune with the obit column.”
“I have a list of where to go. We can stay with my folks in my home town, its a small quaint lil’ country town called Western in Vermont. You’ll love it… You see you’d actually really be helping me, as I can’t do this alone. I can pay you like forty dollars a day and it will be just two days. What do you say? Come on…”
It sounded fun. I never did anything like this. I didn’t have anything else to do, sure why not.
”Umm, it’s seems kinda, cool…Wow! Sure, yes, I’d love to go!” I got so excited we both squealed as though we’d known one another for longer than ten minutes.
“Fab! I knew today would be a great day. I couldn’t get anyone I knew to take off time or help me, but this is great.” Daisy said
We sat together in her store talking like old friends and planning our trip. Daisy was very friendly, it was as though she’d been sent down to me from my guardian angel.
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