50. let’s go shopping
“That was a really good action you did in Burger Queen. I never would
of thought of pulling that trick with yesterday’s numbers. That was
really clever.” She opened the passenger door and slammed before
she ran.
“Yeah,” he said as he ran after Freedom towards the entrance of the
thrift center splashing all the way. “I’ve been wanting to do it for
some time now. Have you ever seen anybody really win the lottery?”
They both stopped underneath the building’s awning to shake off
excess water. “I mean, what does a person do when they win?”
Freedom shook her head.
“I did the firecrackers because I am a pyromaniac and, besides, they
say that firecrackers get rid of evil spirits, and I sure felt that
there were a lot of them hangin’ around the eatery.”
“You said it. Fast food places are weird. A conglomeration of all
walks of life with a couple of aliens thrown in.” She pushed open the
swinging glass door of the thrift center. “Ah. The Thrift Center. So,
you were driving to Fresno and you heard a voice on the radio.”
“Yeah. You know what’s even better. I dropped the ticket at the
entrance. Some dumb bloke is going to pick it up, or maybe they’ll
collectively spot it and there might be a fight afterwards.”
“You are wicked. So tell me more about the Gogo experience?”
“Back to that. Okay. Like I was sayin’ in the car. My friend Denver
and I had landed in a parking lot and were havin’ a snack, and out of
nowhere we get this station and on it is this woman’s voice. She
keeps on singin’ and talkin’. It must’ve been around Modesto just
when it started to rain.”
“You know, not many people have actually heard her speak. She lives
on a commune and doesn’t communicate very much.” She stopped
to take air into her lungs. “The smell of second hand, let’s go shopping.”
“Yeah. It didn’t last too long. But she said some pretty wild things.
Most of them I agree with, except for the lesbian part. Then she gave
us the alien code or confirmed it ‘cause I already had it.”
“Huh?” she asked and walked into the nearest aisle.
“Yeah. The code to talk to the aliens, egypt. I was tellin’ you about
it at the B. Queen.”
“Oh yeah egypt,” she commented nonchalantly, and stopped in the
middle of the aisle. “I heard of that before. Did she mention the
light bulb? I particularly like that concept.”
“No. Oh yeah. She’s connected to that lightbulb. My friend was
tellin’ me about that.”
“Yeah. You know. You both are pretty lucky. She doesn’t speak often
and only speaks to those who listen.”
“Like the aliens.”
“So where are you staying?” She stopped where the aisles intersected
in order to get her bearings.
“I’m livin’ in a Galaxy for a year, part of a time, slash, concept
piece. I’m livin’ for the moment and documentin’ the shit out of it.”
“So what are we looking for?” She twirled slowly around.
“I dunno. Let’s just shop.”
“So what are you doing in Fresno?” she asked and started with a row
of colored blouses.
“What? Like I already told you, sister. I drove here with a friend
’cause his parents’ house burned down and nobody knew where they
were. When we got to Fresno, I dropped him off at a café downtown.
He needed some time alone before dealin’ with family things. I didn’t
feel like hangin’ around, so I decided to explore Fresno in the dark,
this bein’ my first time here and all.”
“You’re from Sacramento and you’ve never been here before?” She
fingered her blouse after another until they turned into dresses.
“Yeah, well, like, there’s so many things to do in Sacramento.” He
gave a fake laugh. “Besides, my car broke down and the people were
nice. So, I decided to stay.”
“I know that joke. They still say that there?” She checked a
selection of faded terry cloth bathrobes on the rack opposite.
“I say it. So anyway, before I crash in the Galaxy I figured, I’d go
out and take a look at the charred remains, but I forgot to ask my
friend Denver the address of his parents’ house. So, I check the
phone book and there’s like maybe, five Griesses in the phone book.
I thought I’d get a pretty good picture of what Fresno was all about if
I took a tour of the Griess homes, and at the first one. Bingo. House
with hole in roof and family in tragedy.”
She threw him an oversized white robe.
“By this time.” He paused to untangle the sash from the bathrobe
before trying it on, “It’s early mornin’ but it’s still dark ’cause
it’s winter and it’s rainin’, and I’m getting’ a little beat myself.
So I park my car across the street, chill out, smoke a joint and am
just about passin’ out in the back of the Galaxy when I notice some
lights and a car pulls into the driveway.”
“This woman gets out of the car, I guess, ‘cause the electric garage
door opener ain’t workin’. She first tries to open the garage door
manually but it doesn’t budge. So mom goes to the front door.” He
took off the robe, held it up for a last check and tossed it back
over the rack. “I don’t think so. Come over here,” Icky said and
turned a corner. “There’s a lot of groovy stuff on this side.”
Freedom casually made her way down the aisle to follow Icky and his
story.
“Anyway, so I can see that she doesn’t know. I’m lookin’ from across
the street and I can see the hole in the roof. So, when she gets to
the corner of the house, she sees that there’s no door and sees the
charred remains of her livin’ room.”
“How come you knew about the house and she didn’t?”
“My friend got a phone call from his sister. She knew the house was
burnt, but somehow she couldn’t find her parents. Icky, sensing that
her concentration was temporarily lost in contemplating a pair of
woman’s racing pants, asked, “You know why they didn’t know?”
She stopped shopping and looked up at Icky.
“She didn’t know ’cause she was with her husband in the emergency
ward. My friend Denver told me when we had java this afternoon that
he had some sort of accident and pulled a stomach muscle. They were
just comin’ home from the hospital when I saw them.”
She nodded and shopped further. “Hey, did you get interviewed?”
“Yeah. I …” Icky was thrown for a second, “… I told you. I proclaimed
myself the First Go-Go dancer of the Eureka Republic. I’m dancin’ on
my platform for a healthier society.”
“What language do you speak?”
“Sacramentian. Why?”
“’Cause you sometimes say things so poetically.” She moved over to
the lady’s jeans rack. “I lied and told them I was from La La Land
and that southern california is great.”
“You said that! Traitor.”
“Yeah. I wanted to give them what they wanted to hear.” She pulled
out a few items for further inspection. “So, how did your story end?”
“It didn’t.” Icky pulled out a couple of pairs of slacks that met his
approval. “Mom was really freaked out. She started screamin’ and ran
back to the car where her husband was still sittin’. She started
poundin’ on the windshield and yellin’. I guess tellin’ him that the
house burned down.”
“You saw all this?” she asked holding up a white pair of overalls.
“Yeah. Like I said. I saw the whole reality through the window of my
Galaxy.”
“I think I found something I could probably dye. What do you think?”
She held the overalls up to her body for his opinion. “Do you think
they’ll fit?”
Icky nodded.
“So what did she do?”
“Well get this. All of a sudden, practically out of nowhere this
other woman appears. That was the strangest thing because it took
me awhile to figure out who she was. I kept askin’ myself where she’d
come from.”
“Hold on a second. Hold these.” Freedom went to the front of the
store and returned shortly with a shopping cart. “What? So she, like,
appeared out of nowhere?” She took the overalls from Icky and placed
them into the metal basket. Leaving the shopping cart in the middle
of the aisle, she turned her back on Icky, and wandered away.
“Kind of like that.” He followed casually increasing or decreasing
his voice according to his distance from Freedom. “I thought she had
to be a relative or a good friend or somethin’ ’cause she hugged mom,
then got her into the back seat and ran to this other car. That’s
when I figured it out she must’ve been hidin’ out in the pink
Cadillac that was parked in front of the house next door the whole
time I was there.”
“I can’t believe you saw all this.” She surveyed the potpourri of
useless objects laid out on top of the clothing racks.
“But mom escapes. She goes off runnin’ into the house and when
daughter gets back from the Cadillac, she jumps into mom’s car,
starts the car and backs up, and then realizes that mom’s not there.
She slams on the brakes, sits there for a couple of minutes, then gets
out of the car and runs into the burnt house. They both come out
carryin’ a whole bunch of shit that mom simply drops on the front
lawn, and goes back once more.”
“I wanna look for some shoes. Where’s the shoe department?” Freedom
asked and pointed out a portable popcorn maker on a shelf filled with
household items slashed for quick sale.
Icky followed Freedom and grabbed a red crayon from a cigar box full
of children’s drawing supplies along the way. “ I think it’s over
here. All thrift stores are the same.”
“So daughter puts her stuff in the car and then starts pickin’ up the
stuff on the lawn that her mother dropped. She keeps on doin’ this
until she gets fed up, I suppose ’cause it’s rainin’ and not exactly
warm, and then she goes inside and searches for mom.”
“I don’t understand. How do you know that they’re mother and
daughter?” She stopped for a moment to take a closer look at a sheer
purple chiffon blouse displayed on a mannequin. “Should I get it?”
“It looks nice. How much is it?”
“Oh look.” Freedom showed him the price tag. “They know what women
want to buy.”
“That’s still not a bad price. Let me see it.” Icky undressed the
mannequin and handed Freedom the blouse.
“It’s my size and it’s tailored a bit. It’s got a yellow price tag.
What does that mean?”
“They double the price and round it off by three.”
“I think I’m going to get it.” She draped it over her arm. “So
where’s a mirror. I want to try it on.”
“Probably also in the back.”
“So how did you know that the two women were related?”
“I didn’t know. I was just guessin’. Well, not really because later
on, like I said, I met my friend Denver. So I was right ’bout who
they were.”
“Oh my gawd. Look at these.” She ran over to the shoe rack and
grabbed a pair of gold painted ankle boots before anyone else dared.
“I hope they fit.” She sat down on a metal shoe-fitting stool and
untied her now soaked black suede ankle boots.
“Anyway. Sister gets fed up and goes to get mom who’s now haulin’ out
what looks like the family entertainment unit, and sister stops her,
makes her leave it and practically pushes her into the car. I could
see mom flailin’ in the back seat but sister manages to speed off
before she can escape again.”
“So what did you do when the drama subsided?” She removed her wet boots.
“Well, of course I’m all awake after witnessin’ this family tragedy.
So, as soon as they left, I decided to explore. You know, too bad the
fire happened before all the rain. But then again, I wouldn’t have a
story to tell.”
“Attention Thrifty Center shoppers,” a female voice announced over
the loudspeakers, “I would like to remind you of today’s shopping
specials. Ten percent discount on all blue-ticketed items. Thirty
percent discount on all red-ticketed items and fifty percent discount
on all yellow-ticketed items. Plus, a shopping special. For the next
hour fifty percent off on all book and magazine items.”
“Wow! Fifty percent off that blouse. What a deal! I love shopping.”
“Hey. Do you want to check the books out?” Icky inquired. “Where’s
the book department?”
“I don’t know. Look upstairs.” she replied, busy examining her new
boots.
“Let’s go have a check. I once found ten dollars in an encyclopedia
>from the turn of the century.”
“Naw. I don’t want to go searching for money in encyclopedias. Were
you finished with your story?” She tucked her right foot into the boot.
“Oh yeah. Now where was I? S.T.M.L. Short term memory loss.” Icky
said, tapping his forehead with his left index finger. “Happens when
I smoke too much dope.”
“In the house.”
“Right. So I’m in someone else’s house and that’s already kind of
weird, and I’m lyin’ on their burnt couch and starin’ out the hole in
the livin’ room, listenin’ to the rain drops comin’ into the house.”
“They fit.” She stood up, walked up the nearest aisle and made a
sharp turn to accentuate her glittery footwear.
“The next thing I remember is hearin’ another car pullin’ in the
driveway and see its headlights shinin’ into the house. So, I panic a
little, ’cause, I’m thinkin’, whoever it is, is goin’ to think I was
the one who burned down the house.”
“These boots are great. They were made for walkin’,” she said and
took another quick prance up and down the aisle. “Aren’t you going to
get anything?”
“I haven’t really been lookin’. Besides, I don’t buy. I receive. My
friend’s got this fireman’s jacket that I gave him when I worked for
Dorothea Puete.” He casually glanced at the row of used shoes. “Quite
a story, but I’ll tell you another time.”
“So what do you think?” She sat down and pointed her toes.
“Great. They look great.” He watched Freedom unzip her boots. “So
anyway, I sneak into the bedroom and hide under the master bed. The
whole house stinks of smoke and it’s rainin’ inside, plus these
sounds. It starts to really freak me out. I hear the refrigerator
open and this person is drinkin’ a beer or some other beverage
because I recognize the sound of the aluminum can bein’ opened. Then
this person sits down for what seems like half an hour.
“Oh my gawd. Look at the price. They’re a steal.” She held up the
boot for Icky to read the price on the sole.
“Then I hear this belch and I figure, I am dealin’ with a man.”
“Did you get out?”
“Listen. I’m under the bed and I don’t hear any more sounds so I
decide to move a little. I turn on my little pocket flashlight and
like wow! Everything that should be under the bed is. There’s a half
empty bottle of whiskey, a half a pack of cigs, some porno, some
strange dildo device still in its box, a used tube of KY. Shoes.
Shoes! Look at these.” Icky held up a pair of white Pierre Darwin
dancing shoes. “I got it made.” His excitement bubbled over his
amazing find.
“Hey, great! Oh! They’re fantastic!” Freedom stood up to take a
better look at Icky’s find. “I don’t know though. They look kind of
narrow.”
She moved out of the way as Icky approached, sat down on the shoe-
fitting stool and kicked off his beat black leather shoes. “Tell me
more about what Gogo said on the radio.”
“Wait a minute. I’m not finished tellin’ the other story.” He slipped
his right foot into the dancing shoe. “Don’t you want to know what I
did?” He looked up at Freedom.
“Oh. I thought you were finished with shoes.”
“No. I’m still trapped under the bed and I’m hearin’ some rumblin’
out in the kitchen and this man-thing starts walkin’ around.” He put
on the shoes and stood to test his weight in them. “They fit.
They’re great.” He sat down, took the red crayon and wrote a price on
the sole of his old and wet shoes.
“Icky?”
Icky stood up after tying his shoes and caught the flash of her
camera in the mirror. “Shoplifters in action.”
“I’m going to wear the boots.” She packed up the camera and sat down
on the stool.
“Do you always have to have your camera with you?”
“Almost always. It’s my job. So, you’re still under the bed?”
“Yeah, anyway …” He took his old shoes and placed them in the empty
space on the shoe rack. “… this goes on for a few minutes. In the
meantime, I’ve taken a slug of whiskey and I am carefully turning the
pages of the porno so that he can’t hear me. I hear him makin’ his
way to the bedroom so I turn off my flashlight and take another slug
of the whiskey.
“Let’s go look for some shirts for you. Here. Follow me.” Freedom
walked towards the men’s clothing section, dropping her old shoes and
the blouse into the shopping basket on the way, and stopping to
rummage through the leggings bin.
“Try these on.” She sorted out a pair of white tights. “Here look at
these.” She waved them at Icky. “Go on. Try them on.”
“No. I don’t do leggings. Is this story still interestin’?
“Yeah. Go on. I’m listening. I’m just shopping at the same time.”
Icky cleared his throat. “So. This man-thing comes into the bedroom
and he’s got a big flashlight. He starts fumblin’ through the
drawers, looks into the master bathroom. I’m glad as a devil in a
whorehouse that I’m not hidin’ in the shower. Finally, he sits on the
bed, lies back and gets comfortable.”
“Do you like this?” Freedom held up a polyester crocheted throw with
fringe.
Icky signaled his distaste and she went over to a nearby mirror to
make a personal judgment.
“Do you think, I should do the overalls,” and held them up for
display, “or should I look for a slacks and sweater combo, however
unpractical it might be?”
“Do the overalls. Go for convenience.”
“I’m sorry.” She smiled and walked up to Icky. “So what happens next?”
“Yeah. So great, this man’s made himself comfortable and before you
know it, he’s snorin’.”
“So you’re like trapped?” She shuffled through the scarves and belts
draped over a metal frame at the end of the aisle.
“Yeah. So like I do the only thing I can. I take a few slugs of
whisky and that puts me out like a bug in a bonfire. Somehow I’m able
to pass out under these horrible conditions.”
“I think I’m going to get this scarf.” She pulled out a yellow crepe
scarf. “Well. How did you get out of there?”
“I woke up when I heard him rummagin’ through the highboy. By this
time, I’m gettin’ tired of being trapped under the bed. So when he
finally leaves the bedroom, I creep out, shake myself awake and
almost get to the front door when I hear this crack. I turn around
and see this seven-foot tall, two-hundred-pound man-thing comin’ out
of the bathroom. So he says, ‘Excuse me, son,’ in this valley drawl
and asks me if I know Dee Griess. I immediately shift into high gear
’cause I loathe when anyone calls me son. So, I go and rattle off a
few notes on social ethics and respect.”
“Boy. This is a lot of scarf,” she said while wrapping it around her
neck. “It must be ten feet long and two feet wide. It could double as
a sari.”
“He excuses all over himself and we start talkin’. He says he’s
lookin’ for Dee Griess and shows me a picture of a woman sittin’ in a
car dressed as a cow. We have a good laugh because there is no way in
the world I would recognize anyone dressed as she was. I tell him
about bein’ under the bed. I remember the whiskey and we bond,
laughin’ all the way.”
“I’m ready.” She unwrapped the scarf from her neck, bundled it around
her arm, and went to retrieve the shopping cart. “Do you still want
to look at shirts?”
“Naw. I’m ready.” He followed Freedom, not missing a beat in his
story. “So, I try to help this poor guy. I think that maybe he’s a
friend or somethin’ and I tell him about the woman in the Cadillac
and give him the list of the other Griess abodes in Fresno, and he’s
really grateful. Never seen anyone splutter over himself with so much
gratefulness. He kept askin’ if he could do somethin’ for me.”
Freedom rolled her shopping cart to the checkout counter and piled
her finds on the counter.
“So I think fast and tell him that I can use some gas money and a
bite to eat, and as quick as a wink, he reaches into his pocket and
pulls out a crumpled up hundred dollar bill!”
“Oh my god. That’s great.”
“Yeah. Really fine. Can you believe it? I kinda did win the lottery.”
“Will that be all?” The cashier looked at Freedom.
“No, the shoes.”
Icky gulped and Freedom put her foot up onto the counter in order for
the cashier to read the sole of her shoe.
“Yeah, the shoes.” He reached into his jeans pocket and tossed a few
bills on the counter. “That’s okay.” He held a hand out to stop
Freedom from rummaging in her purse. “I’ll pay.”
“Thanks man.” She smiled. “Look. C’mon. I’ll treat you to a coffee
and cake. If you can believe it, there is a nice café downtown.”
“I think I know it. I think this must be a one café town.” Icky
received his change and collected the paper grocery bag filled with
Freedom’s new winter collection.
“We should have bought an umbrella,” Freedom said following Icky to
the parked car. “By the looks of things, we should of bought a raft.”
He unlocked the passenger side door as quickly as possible.
“Hey!” Freedom shouted over the hood of the Galaxy. “I’ve been
meaning to ask you. How did you get the name Icky?”
“Funny you never asked,” he said and got into the Galaxy.
“’I know what it’s like. People ask me all the time about my name.”
“It’s another story. I’ll tell you at the café.” He stamped his feet
on the floorboard. “I don’t think these shoes are very good for the
rain.”
“Oh, you did steal them! I forgot you had them on.”
“Yeah right!” He raised his fist. “Shoplifters and Lesbians of the
world, unite and take over.” He started the car and revved the engine.
“People to the power.”
He shifted into gear. “Damn! These shoes were not fair trade.”
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