Don’t Judge a Book By it’s Cover
A puff of air escaped my lips, more out of frustration than the need to breathe. Another one of my “Off Days” shot in the rump.
I had just gotten a bad inspection on my car, and was in no mood to be anywhere near this horrid place. In fact, I would rather be stuck at work twenty-four, seven than to have to be here.
My now illegal Fundi Fuze drove through the lowest street in the once thriving town of Leston, Pennsylvania. I looked to the passenger’s side of the car after I heard a slight snore coming from Mum.
I gazed past her copper hair, and saw the old buildings that once held wares as high as the eye could see. Once a hot spot for shopping, bars and boards overtop of the windows and doors signaled something very different.
On every stoop there seemed to be a homeless person who possibly worked at those very businesses long ago.
The town that was once filled with hard-working steel mill employees and their families, now was filled with mixed races of people, and every corner was a dumping ground.
Sadness overtook me as we past the old pizzeria Mum and I had spent so much time at.
It’s large shop windows had a jagged scar down the middle. It looked almost as though if you even placed your pinky on it, the whole thing would shatter.
Looking around at the mess the town had become, I sighed.
“Mum, do you think this place will ever get any better?”
“No, I don’t. It seems to get worse every time we drive through here. Makes me not even want to set foot out of our car.
I came to a stop at a red light, and scanned the right side of the street. I was surprised to find a new store had set up shop in an old abandoned building. An antique store, unlike any I had ever seen.
On the side of the building stood towering statues of bears, chickens, and horses that you would only see at an amusement park. On a bench in front of the store were two elderly people. At least at first I thought they were people. As we drove closer, I came to discover that they were actually very life-like dummies. It was almost if that acted as guards for the entrance to the shop.
A giant flag labeled ANTIQUES, waved hello to all those that past.
I would have never gone into a place that looked so unruly, so dirty, on the outside if not for Mum who tugged and pulled on my arm.
“Julie, Julie, stop. Look at that horse. Oh Julie, I MUST go in there.”
I knew she would continue on if I didn’t, so I pulled off the street, and parked next to “El Mexico”, a Mexican restaurant.
We headed towards the building, I noticed a very well-dressed man. He hardly looked like the type who would ever think of buying anything second hand. The BMW he drove up in told me that much.
He ran his hand through his golden mane, and walked into the darkened building. When I got closer to his car; I noted he must have been on a business trip or such, as his license plate said Nevada.
A long way from home I thought. I completely forgot about the man, however, when I saw an older couple walk in behind him. The man had on holey sweats, covered in stains. His gray hair looked as though a rat would pop out of it at any minute.
The woman had on an old housecoat, and bedroom slippers. Either she was very thrifty with money, or she refused to toss out her favorite pair, because her big toe protruded from the front of the slipper. Her bun was coming loose, and she scratched her head several times. I wondered briefly if she had lice.
We finally reached the front of the building, and I peered inside. So dark, it seemed the owners must not have paid the electric bill. Mum went dashing past me, grabbing my arm.
“Come on lazy bones.”
“I’m coming. Mum, are you sure you really want to…”
Her grip was a vice on my arm as she drug me to the door. Before we could even set foot inside, a man with hair appeared. His dark brown eyes reminded me of mud, thick and solid, but had a life-filled twinkle to them. His sweatshirt was wrinkled, and looked as though he hadn’t changed it in a week. His blue jeans looked like swiss cheese, so filled with holes, and stains that must have been some sort of oil.
He scratched at his head, his face seemed to hold a constant grimace. His nose twitched upward in distain at having to greet so many people at once. It seemed to be a hard task for him to complete.
“Hi all. Has anyone been here before, or not? There’s a ton of rooms to see, look around, and let me know what you think.”
The business man jerked backwards as the man reached for his hand to shake. Covered in oil and grime, it was obvious the business man wanted nothing to get on his fancy suit.
“Hi, I’m Jake Walker. Me and my wife Hattie own this place. So what do you think?”
Mr. Business Man looked at Jake, and held his hands behind his back.
“Sorry Bud, I’m just here to look around. I don’t have time for chit-chat with you,” said the man, as he dashed away towards the back of the store.
Jake’s face dropped at the reaction. His gaze fell towards the elderly couple, he brightened, ready to give his intro another try.
“Hi there folks. I’m Jake. Me and Hattie run this place. So what do you think?”
The elderly woman grabbed the hand Jake held out, pumped it up as though she thought it would inflate Jake.
“My name is Lucy, and this is my old man Mike. We love this place, and I see something I wanted to buy. Can’t afford much, so I wanted to see if you’d drop the price any.”
I was about to beg Mum to leave, the antics were a tad overwhelming. As we took one step past the door way, a loud, shrill voice came from the office.
“Jake, don’t you dare give away anything. There are no discounts. If you can’t pay the price, move along,” said the voice.
I was surprised to see a small woman come out from the office, followed by a very wide bottom. Her faded reddish hair was flattened out, but was so frizzy from what must have been years of coloring it. Her true eye color was concealed behind two very fake looking blue contacts that reminded me of the color you would get from a toy ring. Her lipstick, a bright crimson, showed up on her yellowed teeth, which must have been from years of smoking.
I was now scared by this woman, who dashed past Mum and I, and marched up to Jake. She grabbed him by his ear, and twisted it. She narrowed her eyes at the couple, her mouth turned into a snarl, and she waved a finger at them, her long nails nearly poking Lucy in the eye.
“Out, out, out. You both have no money, we have no merchandise for you. I don’t give charity, and it’s not in dumbo’s place to give discounts. Take your mangy hides out of here, and don’t come back unless you got the cash to buy. Get out now.”
Jake grabbed at his now red ear, and chased after the couple as they turned and ran from the cruelty of this woman. She turned, and looked at both of us. I felt afraid of this woman who had just chased out two of her customers.
“So you folks new here?”
“Yes we are,” Mum said. We were just riding past, and saw your lovely store. I just begged Julie to stop, and she was so sweet to.”
“Alright then. You got the back area which has five rooms in it. The left side of the building has ten rooms, and if you go upstairs, there’s fifteen more. I must warn you though, five people have died in this place. So the upstairs is a tad haunted. Best of luck to you both. If you need anything, bug Jake. It’s not like he does jack.”
I was about to stutter out something, when Mum took over.
She grabbed Hattie’s hand. Mum was sugar-sweet, peppy and perky, and just full of joy when she replied.
“Oh Boy, I can’t wait. I LOVE antiques, and this is just wonderful. Come on Julie, let’s getting moving.”
Hattie’s face was an open book that spoke volumes, as she stepped back, grabbed her hand away from Mum.
“Ah, yeah, enjoy.”
She disappeared into the office.
Mum started to dash forward, ready to browse, and stopped dead in her tracks as she saw what laid before us.
Not at all what I would have thought possible in any store, the surroundings were a bit like a cross between a fun house, museum, and trip through a time warp.
I scanned the entry room, my eyes darted from left to right, up and down. It was like being into another world. To the right sat display cases, filled to the top with figurines. Everything from Mickey Mouse, to Shirley Temple peered out of their glass prison at us. Underneath the cases sat dust-covered comic books, some titles I was familiar with, others I had never heard of. To the left of us was manikins, dressed in wedding clothes from the twenties, and several outfits hung from the wall.
My eyes made it to the top of the wall, I realized that the owners were in desperate need of space for all their items, and were utilizing every inch.
I looked higher up, towards the ceiling, I saw that they had even mounted things on the ceiling, very unique actually. Crystal balls hung from the ceiling, along with several Indian masks, celestial moons and suns, and neon signs asking you to try this beer or that beer.
Mum was in her glory as she ran from room to room, her excitement overwhelming her senses as she saw the toys of her past. It brought back the memories of a better, simpler time in her life.
“Oh Julie, let’s go over here.”
I was steps behind her amazed at the variety of items. Some I had even owned as a child. My gaze fell downward to a glass shelf, I let out a squeal of joy.
“What is it Julie?”
“Mum, look. It’s the Wonder Woman doll we looked everywhere for. I can’t believe it’s really here.”
I looked at the tag, and grimaced. The three hundred dollars they wanted was way more than I would ever pay for anything, but it was a thrill to see what we had looked so long for.
Headed towards the back of the store, Mum slid open the big, robin’s egg door, and pushed with all her might. We looked around in awe as we saw carnival rides, mirrors, and vending machines.
“Upstairs Julie?”
“Yep Mum, this is a nice surprise I must say. I would have never thought this to be so wonderful.”
We were headed towards the staircase when Jake came out of nowhere.
“I’m guessing Hattie told you ladies about the GHOSTS. Yeah, five people died in this building. At Halloween time, it’s tons of fun. See we have séances upstairs and everything. Good luck up there and tell Casper I said Hi.”
We laughed, and made our way up the creaking, wooden stairs. On either side of us were pictures of people from long ago. The smell of must and mold was apparent, but made no difference to us, as we were on a mission to explore more of this place that time had forgotten.
We made it to the first room. Looking up, we saw there were buffalo skulls hanging from the ceiling. Bring down my gaze to normal height, I thought there was a family sitting down to dinner. To my surprise, it was more of the dummies.
Mum ran back and forth from one room to the next, as she tried to take it all in. She looked in the very last room as we past through a short hall, she came a crossed a small cupboard. She walked up to it, almost hypnotized. Her hand raised to turn the small, gold knobs, she giggled, and looked over at me.
“What do you think is in here Julie?”
“Dunno Mum. Why don’t you open it and find out.”
She turned the knobs, and behind the door was a figurine of a mother and daughter.
The mother had short, dark hair, with green eyes. She held her child, who looked around two or three, protectively in her arms. The daughter’s arms were wrapped around the mother’s neck, and a teddy bear dangled from her right hand. Both mother and daughter wore matching dresses. Both in white lace, flowed down around them, it reminded me of Mum and I.
Mum picked up the figurine carefully, as she turned it over to look for a price. Nothing could be found.
“Julie, I MUST have this. It’s us, I swear.”
“Alright Mum. Let’s take it to Hattie, and see what the damage is. However, from the looks of what she did to those other people, I’m pretty sure she’ll never give it to us at a deal. More like chase us out of here, and tell us to never come back.”
Down the stairs we went. Mum nervously held her new found treasure close to her chest. I thought it would take a crowbar to pry it away from her at this point.
Back downstairs, we figured out the money we had in the bank, versus what we would need for the remainder of the month.
We reach the last step, and heard the elderly couple from before in conversation with Hattie.
“Look June, we both know how much you and Al truly have in your bank account. I know you want to save a buck just like the rest of us, but Jake and I ARE trying to run a business. It’s fifty firm. Take it or leave it, the next guy will pay that much for it, no qualms about it.”
I was about to say something until I saw the couple.
The holey sweats were gone on Al, replaced by an Armani business suit. Crocodile skin shoes were covering his feet. His golden watch sent small orbs of light dancing around the room as the sun hit it. A breeze came through the open door, his cologne drifted under my nose, causing me to sneeze. A expensive brand for sure.
June’s big toe no longer waved hello at everyone from it’s hole. She wore designer shoes, and a dress that must have cost at least five hundred dollars. Her nails were long, and red. The diamond on her finger reminded me of something Elizabeth Taylor owned.
My eyes were unable to shut as I looked at the couple. Here was this couple from earlier, looking as though they had been evicted, now stood before us, looked like something that even Donald Trump would beg to be like.
Hattie stood with her arms folded, her eyes drawn into slits, and her mouth forming a snarl.
“No, the price is what it is. If you don’t want to pay it, then leave. Jake and I have bills to pay, and people like you aren’t gonna pay them for us. It is what it is, take it or leave it. Just please, stop wasting my time already.”
I was about to hear the response from June, when I saw Jake talking to Mr. Business Man.
The man pleaded with Jake to mark down the price on a small locket. He was nearly in tears, and Jake was rubbing his head, with his eyes closed.
“Please sir, I know I was snippy earlier. I’m very sorry. I’m under so much pressure. My wife, and I are here with our daughter, who’s in Children’s Hospital. She’s very ill, cancer, and I just, I don’t know what to do. She asked me to get her one thing, a locket, and I don’t have much money. I just came from the hospital. Please, I just…”
Jake grabbed the man by his shoulders and smiled. His smile lit up the room, and his eyes were filled with kindness.
“Sir, let me see a picture of your daughter.”
The man took out his wallet, his hands shook from the stress, and he pulled out two pictures. Both of the same girl, but in the first, the girl was healthy, with bright red pigtails, freckles, and eyes the color of emeralds that were hit by light. The second was the same girl, a bit older, but completely bald. Her freckles were covered by dark circles under her eyes, and she laid in a hospital bed.
Tears streamed down the man’s face as he showed Jake the pictures.
“This is my Lindsey. She is only four years old. The cancer is eating away at her. She’s under-going radiation right now. Sir, all I have right now is ten dollars. If there’s any way possible that I could just give you that, then bring the rest of the money later on, or send you a check once, if, we get back home…”
Jake’s eyes were filled up with tears. He hugged the man, then stepped back.
“You have already paid me for the locket sir.”
The man’s mouth dropped, and he scanned Jake’s face for an answer.
“I only wanted to see the girl. See who’s getting this locket. See, this belonged to a princess, and therefore should belong to one again. Take it to her, and on your way back home, please bring her in if you can. I’d like to meet a real princess you know?”
The man sobbed. He grabbed Jake, and hugged him. He clutched the locket in his hand, and grabbed Jake’s shoulder.
“Thank you sir, I can never repay you for this.”
“You don’t owe me anything. Good luck with everything, and give the princess a hug for me.”
I was nearly in tears at the sight of the man who waved to Jake as he ran out the door to get to the hospital.
I had forgotten Mum stood with me, about the figurine, and everything else. I was so shocked by what had all just occurred.
I heard Hattie telling June and Al to leave, and then saw them hand over the money, while they complained had to pay so much, since they were SO bad off. June gave the money over grudgingly, and Hattie shook her hand.
“Pleasure doing business with you. Now get out.”
The couple left, and Mum tugged on my arm.
“Julie, my figurine?”
“Oh yeah Mum, sorry, I was distracted.”
We walked towards the office, and Jake walked up to us.
“Find anything good?”
“Oh yes, how much is this?”
Mum looked down at the figurine while hugged it.
“Oh well, this, well, it’s been looking for a good home. So for you.”
Hattie came over, and glared at Jake.
“Jake Anthony Walker, what have I told you before? We do not give discounts to anyone.”
She stopped mid-sentence when she saw who it was for. My Mum, so cute with her large brown-green eyes, nose that was now wrinkled up at Hattie’s reaction, and pouty bottom lip, the one that always got her own way. Mum was short, only five foot one, she looked up at Hattie, and gave her this sweet smile. Mum held the figurine forward for Hattie to see.
“Um, Hattie, I would like this. It reminds me of me, and my lil girl. I don’t have a lot of money, but I will bring you cookies the next time I bake. Everyone says they’re happy cookies, cause they make people dance when they eat them.”
I was about to leave, and drag Mum away. I already figured out what I was going to have to do to make up for the disappointment of her not getting the figurine.
It was obvious that the one with the heart of gold was Jake, and Hattie was just plain mean. She cared not about her customers, or anything other than money.
I was about to tell Mum, “Let’s go,” when I was proven very, very wrong.
Hattie looked at Mum, and tilted her head.
“So you like this huh? Well, how much do you have on you?”
Jake was about to speak, and Hattie elbowed his side.
“Um, well, I have ten dollars max. Payday is a good while off, and we have to stretch our pennies. How much do you want for this?”
Hattie laughed at Mum, her mouth turned upwards into one of the most beautiful smiles I had ever saw. It made me feel as though a rainbow would appear at any moment.
“For you, no cookies required, though appreciated, one dollar. Oh, and a hug.”
Mum smiled, and grabbed Hattie. She squeezed her hard, causing Hattie’s eyes to bulge out a bit.
“Thank you, but why the discount for Mum?”
“Because, she is the first person to be perfectly honest with me. Did you see the last couple? They have more money than they’ll ever need. A while back, there was a young couple in a rental of their’s. The girl was pregnant. They were behind on their rent because the boy lost his job. With out caring about the couple, they tossed them out. I never forgot that, and never will. But with your mother here, she’s a good person I can tell. So, yeah, one dollar is fine.”
Mum dug through her pocket, found the dollar, and gave this cheesy grin.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you. I’m baking when I get home. Well, AFTER I find a place for my new treasure.”
“Gonna look forward to it,” said Jake.
“Oh yeah, we LOVE cookies, so bring them over,” said Hattie.
“We will,” said Mum and I.
Mum hugged Jake and Hattie. We turned to leave, and waved at them both. As we walked to our car, I turned and looked at Mum.
“You know something Mum?”
“What’s that Julie?”
“That figurine more than paid for itself.”
“How so?”
“Because I just learned the old saying is true.”
“How’s that?”
“Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.”
Mum looked at me, sliding her arm in mine.
“Well then Julie, it looks like we both got something priceless today.”
“Sure did Mum, sure did.”
Antique Shop Sung Kim Buy This at Allposters.com
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