Worn Collars - Part Twenty-Eight - "Four Years" (C)

Worn Collars

Part Twenty-Eight

"Four Years" (C)

            “Where does it say that I am in charge?”

            Of this

            Estate contents distribution.

            Then... if... I am not:

            “Who’s in charge?”

            I avoid that.  Of course.  (Being in charge).  I side step.  I do not “do” appraisals.  I don’t answer the telephone.  I don’t return calls.  I don’t... say anything... and avoid ‘being there’ to be expected to ‘do that’ (say anything).  “Of this (THIS) estate contents distribution” I prefer to see a robust, career challenged... ‘hand held’ internet savvy and diction “has a fabulous way of saying that” ... (used) old (rare) book... person...

            Do the dirty work.

            So.

            I leave the doors open for Damny Books to ‘work’ ‘on site’.  In the first chapter (Part One) the housekeeper reports that Damny pinched her tit when she was “seventeen”.  And her mother threw “stove water” on him and told him “DAMNY:  YOU GO!”

            That may have happened.

            But I doubt it.  I mean.. happened that way.  Something probably happened but who witch way when HOW.  So all that’s good for is just “THESE TWO” (Damny and the Housekeeper with a dash of ‘the mother’)  ‘go back a long ways’ and

            The rest is like... I don’t want to know.

            So to have him (Damny) show up “for the books” is not really a surprise or...

            Much of anything.  I mean...:  HE can be in charge.

            Of this estate contents distribution.

            I know Damny.  I talk with him.  When ever.  But that; ‘when ever’ doesn’t happen often.  I don’t go to library sales.  Book sales.  Book auctions.  Book barns.  Book stores.

            He does.  If I ‘do’... ‘any of those’... he’s there (“around”).

            He’s quick... with a box of books.  He ‘knows value’.  Too.  He fills his cardboard boxes with books quickly

            Too.  (“Spine ends down”) (that is to prevent ‘stress’ to the bindings).

            He is very likely to have two high school boys carrying boxes of books ‘after school’.

            He has a ‘rare book section’ out of reach of the general public “walk in”... in his (old) used book store.  This is, like, the fifth store... location... he’s had.  It’s the same store; “DAMNY’S BOOKS”.  Just different ‘location’ (“rent”).  Not a problem.  I don’t’ go there.  The “rare books” in the ‘rare book section’ are all listed... and described... for sale ‘on the internet’ ‘anyway’.  So... I could check that.  But I don’t.

            If ...YOU... were very smart about this... you may go in there (the store)... right after ‘you know’ he just bought a good house lot (“library”) of ‘old books’ and... you could... ‘really clean house’.  This would be possible because... YOU... would have determined that this incoming “library” IS ‘a good one’ meaning... that the ‘house’ of the ‘house lot’ is the ‘right kind of...’ including ‘read, can read, do read, educated, college, professional, in place, for decades, undisturbed’ and... throw in a silver spoon or two... too.  I don’t want to be too nice about this.  One may ‘determinations’ without seeing any ‘an old book’.  If Damny’s got one ‘like that’... I might... show up.

            Just to “look”.  We’d talk... a little... just professional banter.  I’d ‘look’.  If I happened to, while looking... ‘find’... I may expect, should I ask, to hear “THAT ONE I haven’t FINISHED WITH YET”... trickling down to “THAT ONES A GOOD ONE.”.

            “YOU EVER SEEN A COPY OF THAT”.

            “I have seen one.  Owned one.  Sold one. ...  and I have one in stock.”

            “Oh.  There are TWO on the NET:  One Twenty and One hundred.” (dollars).

            “It’s a fragile book”

            “Fragile?”

            “Falls apart.  Brittle (paper stock is brittle).  Cheap binding.  You ever read it?”

            So it is easier... on me... to let Damny ‘be in charge’  He’s ‘a package’.  One can see that?  Just carry that over to neatly shelved-by-subject and/or author ‘in protective glassine wrappers’ “good” “clean” “copy” “That will be ...$... with the (sales) tax”.  “We’re open until SIX tonight”.

            In an old house... he can (is good and quick at) box the books up and

            Get them out.  Even the boxes still down by the furnace that Bunch of Keys Steve did not... carry up to the living room (Part Twenty-Eight [B]).

            Once I was sure that Damny Books is ‘on site’ ‘in this’ (estate contents distribution) I... stopped waiting, made a move and then... went back to waiting.  At that moment... Damny... with his henchman Steve... I assured myself... ‘have been in’ and are ‘not there now’ and that the

            “SHE” (Housekeeper) is there

            Alone and

            I

            Say that “WHEN THIS IS SETTLED” and “IF YOU WANT TO”

            “SELL THE CONTENTS”

            “INCLUDING ARLINGTON’S LIBRARY (his old (rare) book room),

All the other books and

            All of the contents of the house including...

            “EXCEPT”

            “THE THREE CHINA CABINETS BECAUSE I KNOW...

            “Arlington wanted you to have those”

            (That last is a ‘verbiage deployed’)

            “I WILL TELL YOU HOW MUCH I

            CAN

            PAY.” (not ‘will pay’).

            “How much will you pay?”

            She asks.

            “I will

            Say how much I

            Can pay

            When you have the contents ready to sell.  I will not

            Say

            What I can pay

            Until I can see exactly what I am offering to buy.”

            “Oh.”

            “Kay”.

            She said.

            I left

            I waited

            For three more years

            It is a “powerfully slow time it takes” to “get something done”.  But since the ‘estate’ ‘ran the house’ during this ‘powerfully slow time’... not much ‘moved along’. I don’t feel I could even say there was a ‘winding its way along’ to the settlement (and distribution).  And of course I could figure (“feel”) from the get-go that Damny was ready to go including Steve.  And... so... that ‘was taking a while’ by their notion of “WHEN WERE WE IN THERE?  TWO YEARS AGO?”.

            “But Damny... YOUR IN CHARGE.  What do you expect (“think”).

            I said to myself ...alone... only.

            “Why don’t you go over and ask her what’s going on “ I suggested... to no one... because I knew he would do that anyway by himself or with Steve tagging along too and then they’d all go over to Arlington’s house and go in there and poke around and ...run out of saying the same things over and over and go back out and down to the Housekeeper’s mother’s house with a couple of the other sisters there “maybe” and

            NOTHING

            COME OF THAT

            AT ALL.

            Except for all of them talking through again “HOW WE ALL”... “WENT INTO MINT MOSHER’S BARN CELLAR” and “DRANK UP” all of his “STRONG CIDER”.

            They (the sisters and Damny but not Steve) were in High School

            “Together”

            “THEN”.

            All or them; the sisters still travel in a herd to this day.  They come as a herd; trample everything down as a herd and eat all the food as a herd.  Then leave as a herd.  That’s not important except for one thing.  That is that they (the sister herd) never... ever... ‘went into’ Arlington’s house.  It is doubtful that the sisters even knew of the rare book room.  The rare books.  Or ‘any of it’ (Arlington’s mother’s stuff).  No.  The housekeeper would happen to never mention any of that ‘anyway, over the years’ in addition to... like her... these sisters... ‘not read’ ‘books’

            “Anyway”.

            Damny knew this and kept his mouth shut too.  No one ever even asked “WHY ARE YOU HERE?” (at the mother’s house after speaking with the Housekeeper in Arlington’s house).

            “JUST GOIING BY” he might have to say.

            Because he was in charge.

***

(This is a rare book)