The drive into Pueblo never interested Xavier, but Melinda's speech made him look around a little. It was lateafternoon, and the sun just dipped below the distant Rockies, a giant's mouth devouring a flaming ball. Occasionally, he saw the glisten of the metal and glass in the light, but what really caught his attention were the four black towers out to the west like fingers from a buried hand. And a fifth, jutting out in the center so as to rudely gesture to what had once been known as the "Pittsburgh of the West." Xavier had to laugh."What is it?" Melinda asked. Xavier pointed.
"I've never seen those before," Xavier said. Melinda choked over with amazement, then looked at his sincere face and laughed."Those are the old CF and I mills," she told him."You've never seen them before."
Xavier kept his face on the wheel during the rest of their trip through downtown and up into Abriendo where the antique store was located. Xavier had never entered an antique store before, but the store on Abriendo seemed to be exactly what he would have thought an antique store would look like. Shelves of various items from decades past divided up the main room into various asiles. Each shelf had a different theme, but there was little order to the arrangement. Star Wars memorabilia stood side by side with Curier and Ives, and 1930s memorabilia stood across from both.
What really interested, Xavier, though, were the dolls. Rows and rows of dolls stood on shelves all across the back wall. Xavier noticed one doll in particular: a china doll wearing a blue dress from the fifties. Her arms extended out in an embracing gesture. He looked into those painted eyes and those slight red lips, and he could not decide if the doll was smiling or_something. He did not know.
"Could I get bye, Shakespeare," Melinda said, and Xavier quickly stepped aside to let her in with her package. She noticed what he was viewing, and added, "That doll gives me the shivers for some strange reason." The doll looked down at the both of them, smiling. Melinda continued. "Some days, I'll be ringing up the orders or doing the paperwork and I have the feeling that that doll is reaching out to_ take something from me."
"Perhaps your soul?" an elderly voice asked. Xavier looked to the back of the store, and saw a strange old man standing in a doorway leading to where Xavier guessed was the basement. The man's eyes and face had an Oriental look, but he spoke flawless English. The CU sweater and blue jeans he wore made for an odd composure with his Asian face and eyes. He set a broom on the wall and walked towards him, laughing silently. Melinda sighed and rolled her eyes, walking toward the old man.
"You have a sadistic sense of humor, Mr. Lee," she told the old man, lightly kissing him on his forehead. Mr. Lee smiled."You still love me, don't you?" he asked. When shenodded, Lee turned toward Xavier. "But you haven't introduced me to your friend, Melinda."
"This is Xavier Horton, but I call him Shakespeare because he's a writer." Melinda said. Lee held out his hand, and Xavier shook it."I'm pleased to meet you, Mr. Horton. Melinda has nottold me about you." Melinda went to the back where Mr. Lee had been sweeping.
"I'll let you two old men talk." She said, and started the job Mr. Lee had been doing when the two of them walked in. Mr. Lee smiled, then opened the box Melinda left on the counter."I sense that something is bothering you." Mr. Leesaid, and Xavier tightened up."Oh, it's nothing," Xavier lied, "where did you growup?" Mr. Lee answered while opening the box.
"Okinawa," he said, "I learned English from an American solidier before I started traveling this nation. Since then, I've lived in Baton Rouge, Dallas, New York, Boston, and so on." He had a peculiar way of pronouncing each city. Xavier couldn't pick up accents that well, but Mr. Lee pronounced each of them almost like a native. No almost; his accent and idiom were perfect."Your English is perfect," Xavier remarked. Mr. Leenodded, then brought a green jar out of the box. "Excellent," Mr. Lee murmured, stroking the jar. Xavier noticed that the jar itself wasn't green, but contained a green substance of some sort. It had an odd glow to it, and Xavier felt attracted to the color."Do you like it?" Mr. Lee asked. Xavier had not evennoticed walking over and taking the jar from Mr. Lee. The jar felt warm to the touch.
"Yes," Xavier said, "what is it?"
"Shark fetus," Mr. Lee barked in an Asian tone. Xavier almost dropped the jar, and Mr. Lee threw back his head and laughed. Xavier sighed when he realized the joke. "Are you playing jokes on Shakespeare, Mr. Lee?"Melinda asked, then gave Xavier an understanding look. "Mr. Lee loves to play jokes on everyone. Once he told me he kept demons in the basement and then scared me half out of my wits when I went down there to clean up." Mr. Lee bowed to her, and Melinda went back to her sweeping.
"Ah, that I do, Xavier, but then we are told that laughter is the music of the soul, is it not?" he told Xavier. Xavier shrugged.
"I don't really believe in the soul," he said. Mr. Lee tilted his head slightly. At that point Xavier saw a twinkle in the man's eyes. A red twinkle. Xavier closed his eyes and opened them again; the twinkle was gone. He definitely needed some time away from his computer. "Really," Mr. Lee said, mockingly. "What do youbelieve in then, Souless One?" Xavier shrugged, and looked at the green jar again. The jar possessed a strange hue of green Xavier had never seen before in real life.
"I guess I belive in my work, and in the fact that every day the sun goes up and comes down, that there is such a place as the United States of America and a place called earth," he turned back to the old man and smiled, "other than that, though, I'm up for discussion on anything." "Ah, then let's discuss this piece," Mr. Lee saidhurredly. Xavier was glad to get away from the subject of religion. Mr. Lee tilted the bottle in his hands. "This is a very priceless thing, indeed. It took me years to get the formula just right to this hue, and even now I am trying to perfect the color."
"But what is it?" Xavier asked. Mr. Lee put the glass down.
"Why, a conversation piece. The greatest sort of conversation piece. Every now and then I talk to people and find the conversation to be boring so I bring this out and voll the conversation takes on a whole new life. It's amazing. I have several of these from past experiments, but this is the one that I prize most.""I can see why." Xavier could see. The tinge was soamazing, like a green lava lamp moving. A thought came to Xavier, and he pulled out his wallet. "How much would you want for it?" He asked the man."I would not take money for it," Mr. Lee responded.Xavier put the wallet away and began to talk of somethingelse. Mr. Lee clicked his toungue.
"Young man," he cut Xavier off, "I merely said that I would not take money for it. As I said, it is priceless, not the most valuable thing that I own. Putting a monetary value to it would be sacrilige. I know that college people are usually not gifted with unlimited funds." He glanced back at Melinda, who seemed intently into her sweeping. "I heard that." Well maybe not so intent.
"What will you take for it, then," Xavier said, eagerly looking at the glass.
"From you, the least valuable possession that you own." At that, Xavier's jaw nearly unhinged, but the man pressed on, "sometimes you would be surprised at what men would give away, and I value trinkets of those sorts."
Quickly Xavier looked over his body. All he had was his black coat and cap. He tried to offer them to Mr. Lee, but he refused. "I will not collect it now," Mr. Lee said, "I will wait." He placed the jar in Xavier's hands. "Until then, au revior."
"Oh, no," Melinda said, putting her hands on hips. "I bring that thing all the way from my dorm for you to give it away so Xavier can bring it back.""Thank you, Mr. Lee," Xavier said, and ran out of thestore. He did not know why he needed to get home, but a surge was rising in him. He jumped into his car and headed back to the campus.