wait on Cameron hand and foot for the commission.
Cameron put the clothes on and stepped out barefoot for Li’s approval.
“Hey, not bad. It’s not the old stuck-up DC, but it’s the new more modern DC. You’ll fit in okay.”
Cameron stayed quiet. He had no opinion of the whole process. He only knew that at this point he was hungry. He could feel his stomach rumbling and twisting in knots of hunger. This made him think of Karen again and about his time with her twenty-four hours ago because she had fed him home-cooked meals.
He could really go for one of those. Then he decided maybe he was thinking too much about Karen and should focus more on the current situation. Live in the present had been his motto, and right then, the present looked promising.
Li said, “Here. Put these on.”
She handed him a pair of black dress loafers with brown trim. The label read DeBeers. He started to look at the price tag, and she grabbed his hand.
“Don’t look at the price. These will look good on you. They’re worth it. Trust me.”
And Cameron did trust her. So he didn’t look at the price. Instead, he asked, “How do you know my shoe size?”
“I guessed. Try them on.”
He went back into the dressing room, left the curtain open, sat down, and tried them on. Perfect fit. He smiled. She had sized him up good. Li was all right. Better than all right. She was turning out to be something else and rather quickly. Cameron liked genuine people, and Li was pretty genuine.
He walked back out of the fitting room in his new clothes.
“Where are your other clothes?”
“I left them.”
“Better get them or they’ll think you don’t want them anymore. They’ll throw those old things out. They won’t even mistake them for a part of their own inventory. No way. You’ll never get them back. Never see them again. They’ll end up in a landfill where they belong.”
Cameron smiled and said, “Don’t want them back.”
“What? You’re just going to ditch them?”
“You got it. These are my clothes now. Especially if the price is going to be what I think. In which case, they’d better last.”
Li shrugged and said, “I guess that’s why you don’t have any bags. Because you don’t have any clothes to carry in them.”
Cameron nodded and stayed quiet.
They went to the register, and he watched in horror as the numbers rang up on the rectangle-shaped digital screen above a tiny computer.
The whole outfit was over a hundred bucks—well over. His instincts were telling him to run, but he took out his debit card and paid for it. He was so astonished at the price that he couldn’t even recalculate the amount of his bank account. Of course, it had been taking hits for the last year, but he still had plenty of money left. If he kept buying clothes like this on a regular basis, however, he’d be broke in six months. Less even.
Cameron paid and turned while Li tore off all the tags and pulled a long sticker off of the right pant leg. She handed them to the girl behind the counter, and they walked out of the store.
Cameron smiled, and he knew immediately that the clothes were well worth the price because as soon as they started toward the exit, Li put her arm through his and leaned on his shoulder like they were a couple. The crown of her head was just below the top of his shoulder.
She said, “Now people will think we’re on a date.”
Cameron stayed quiet, more out of fear of saying the wrong thing and not out of the habit of saying nothing.
She said, “I bet you’re a dive-bar kind of guy. So let’s walk to the next street over. There’re some hole-in-the-wall bars there I’ve never been to. This side of town is sort of like where all the college kids like to come to drink. Or at least it was when I was in college. The bars are all dives, and they have live music. Plus, the food is probably good. Well, it’s the kinda food that you like, I’m sure.”
“These college kids. Are they the poor kind or
Cameron put the clothes on and stepped out barefoot for Li’s approval.
“Hey, not bad. It’s not the old stuck-up DC, but it’s the new more modern DC. You’ll fit in okay.”
Cameron stayed quiet. He had no opinion of the whole process. He only knew that at this point he was hungry. He could feel his stomach rumbling and twisting in knots of hunger. This made him think of Karen again and about his time with her twenty-four hours ago because she had fed him home-cooked meals.
He could really go for one of those. Then he decided maybe he was thinking too much about Karen and should focus more on the current situation. Live in the present had been his motto, and right then, the present looked promising.
Li said, “Here. Put these on.”
She handed him a pair of black dress loafers with brown trim. The label read DeBeers. He started to look at the price tag, and she grabbed his hand.
“Don’t look at the price. These will look good on you. They’re worth it. Trust me.”
And Cameron did trust her. So he didn’t look at the price. Instead, he asked, “How do you know my shoe size?”
“I guessed. Try them on.”
He went back into the dressing room, left the curtain open, sat down, and tried them on. Perfect fit. He smiled. She had sized him up good. Li was all right. Better than all right. She was turning out to be something else and rather quickly. Cameron liked genuine people, and Li was pretty genuine.
He walked back out of the fitting room in his new clothes.
“Where are your other clothes?”
“I left them.”
“Better get them or they’ll think you don’t want them anymore. They’ll throw those old things out. They won’t even mistake them for a part of their own inventory. No way. You’ll never get them back. Never see them again. They’ll end up in a landfill where they belong.”
Cameron smiled and said, “Don’t want them back.”
“What? You’re just going to ditch them?”
“You got it. These are my clothes now. Especially if the price is going to be what I think. In which case, they’d better last.”
Li shrugged and said, “I guess that’s why you don’t have any bags. Because you don’t have any clothes to carry in them.”
Cameron nodded and stayed quiet.
They went to the register, and he watched in horror as the numbers rang up on the rectangle-shaped digital screen above a tiny computer.
The whole outfit was over a hundred bucks—well over. His instincts were telling him to run, but he took out his debit card and paid for it. He was so astonished at the price that he couldn’t even recalculate the amount of his bank account. Of course, it had been taking hits for the last year, but he still had plenty of money left. If he kept buying clothes like this on a regular basis, however, he’d be broke in six months. Less even.
Cameron paid and turned while Li tore off all the tags and pulled a long sticker off of the right pant leg. She handed them to the girl behind the counter, and they walked out of the store.
Cameron smiled, and he knew immediately that the clothes were well worth the price because as soon as they started toward the exit, Li put her arm through his and leaned on his shoulder like they were a couple. The crown of her head was just below the top of his shoulder.
She said, “Now people will think we’re on a date.”
Cameron stayed quiet, more out of fear of saying the wrong thing and not out of the habit of saying nothing.
She said, “I bet you’re a dive-bar kind of guy. So let’s walk to the next street over. There’re some hole-in-the-wall bars there I’ve never been to. This side of town is sort of like where all the college kids like to come to drink. Or at least it was when I was in college. The bars are all dives, and they have live music. Plus, the food is probably good. Well, it’s the kinda food that you like, I’m sure.”
“These college kids. Are they the poor kind or
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