Subj: The Working Man-part 6 of ?
Date: 12/30/99 6:40:35 PM Central Standard Time
From: Delilah Robbins
Nicholas Blair looked at his watch. It was six fifteen, only another forty-five minutes before quitting time. Wearily, he crossed to the set for some more unrewarding work.
"Suzie Cheesecake and Jules Burn on the set!" The director yelled, and then he addressed his actors, "Let's just pick up where we left off."
Sitting in her parlor, Suzie gazed at her artist father's finished and unfinished canvasses as she propped her cotton ball separated toes against a high backed chair. Her hair, wrapped in a towel, was carefully tucked away from her green mask smeared face.
At the sound of urgent knocking, Suzie limped to the front door. Clearly, she was mortified to see a dashing Jules Burn standing behind the door. "Oh!"
Jules stunned by the alien life form greeting him, made his apologies. "Sorry, wrong house!"
"No Jules wait!" She immediately pulled off the turban, hurriedly wiping off the mask. She encouraged him to look at her. "It's me, Suzie!"
Relieved, he let out a sigh of relief, as her beautiful face and hair materialized.
"I thought you were working tonight!" She gasped.
"I tried to, but found I couldn't concentrate. My mind constantly wandered to other things."
"Like what Jules?" Suzie inquired innocently taking a seat on the sofa, while Jules sheepishly crossed to join her.
"You." He stated simply, taking her hand. "Suzie," He continued, "There is something I want to ask you." He got down on one knee. "Will you…"
Suzie's eyes flew open in alarm. Immediately, she shot out a hand to cover his mouth. "Good Lord Jules!"
"Great balls of fire Suzie!" What's the matter?"
"Well…you're not going to ask me to marry you, are you?"
"That was the general idea, yes."
Suzie rolled her eyes and chuckled lightly. "In this setting? Look at what a sight I am!
He held her face in his long slender fingers. "You're perfectly beautiful just as you are!"
She shook her head wearily. "How can I make you understand Jules? A girl wants her proposal to be special. I want to be all dressed up and in the right atmosphere, candles, a nice restaurant like Augustine's!" She looked at him hopefully. "Oh and a huge diamond ring!"
"All right Suzie." He nodded hopefully. "We'll try this again tomorrow night. Prepare to be swept off your feet!" He said luxuriously, as he kissed her hand and exited the cottage.
"Cut! Print it!" The director bellowed.
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Back at the Blairs' New York flat, Nicholas was startled to find that his spouse wasn't home. Usually she greeted him like Donna Reed, dressed in her spotless white apron, displaying her UltraBrite smile…sometimes, wearing ONLY a smile! Those were the days that made marriage bliss for the former warlock!
Greeting him instead was a bloody pot roast dripping all over the countertop.
Shrugging, he sopped up the mess with a washcloth and placed the rancid roast back in the icebox. Oh, she's probably working the late shift, He reasoned to himself, temporarily easing his mind. Thinking to be a thoughtful husband, he decided he'd pick her up at the greasy spoon she'd insisted on working at.
As he crossed to the wardrobe, he found the doors flung open wide. Casually tossed on the floor adjacent to them, was a wire hanger. Dutifully, he replaced the hanger in the wardrobe and removed his trench coat from the cabinet. As he attempted to close the doors, he was attacked by his newest human compulsion…his counting fetish. At first, he'd started out counting ceiling tiles then steadily he'd advanced to bigger things like license plates. So, ritualistically, he started counting his gray suits. to his shock, he found only a mere…nineteen! Stubbornly, he counted again…still only nineteen!
Strange, he thought, I always have an even twenty except at night when I retire the one I'm wearing. He couldn't stand the sense of unbalance! Perhaps Maggie sent it in to be cleaned, he thought. He'd ask her when he picked her up.
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Nicholas winced as he entered The Dip and Sip. He'd decided that the establishment needed some kind of a warning posted at its entrance. Ah I know, he thought to himself grimly. It could read: CAUTION DINING HERE MAY BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR COLON! Just as his mind was about to compose another, the greasy smocked proprietor approached him.
"Did you forget something?"
Nicholas frowned, confused. "I beg your pardon?"
Impatiently, he flicked his cigar ash. "Can I help you?"
"Yes, I'm looking for my wife, Maggie."
"Have you misplaced her?" He laughed, setting off his own coughing spasm. Slowly recovering, he continued sarcastically, "You left with her, over an hour ago."
Nicholas squinted. "Come again? If that were the case, would I be looking for her now?"
The grease man crammed his cigar into his stained teeth. "Dunno! Last time I saw her though, she was walking out with you! So unless you got some evil twin running around…"
The answers to his questions were suddenly answered in a shocking wave, namely the whereabouts of a missing suit and more importantly, a missing wife!
Suddenly, memory of a former conversation came flooding back. "Why do you want to look like me master?" He'd asked and in answer, Diabolos just shrugged saying, "You're a handsome blade Nicky! I thought I'd share in the wealth!" It echoed in Nicholas' mind over and over again. "I thought I'd share in the wealth!" Wealth, in this case, meaning Maggie! He had to top him! Frantically he pumped the man for information.
"Do you know where he…I…took her?"
Slap! Down came the proprietor's spatula on the largest roach Nicholas had ever seen. "Jeeze pal, I dunno." The greasy man spat, as he lumbered to the grill, followed closely by Nicholas. To the former warlock's disgust, he used the same unwashed utensil to turn burgers.
"Please it's very important!"
The grease man nudged his wife at the register. "Hey, will you tell this man where he took Maggie? He can't seem to remember what he did with her!" He chuckled again, sending himself into a coughing frenzy.
His gluttonous wife looked at Nicholas as if he were incoherent. "You took her to her favorite restaurant, Henri's" She uttered, slowly.
Thanking the woman, he dashed out, hoping against hope that he could get to Maggie in time.
The proprietor turned to his wife, pending Nicholas' lightning-like departure. "Drugs!" He spouted off bitterly.
To be continued…