7 – Isabelle Prepares to Say Goodbye
When I awoke, I was still in front of the TV on a Saturday morning. The daylight hit my apartment window, streaming throughout the living room. The sounds of rushing cars and cooing pigeons came from down below and high above, respectively. I was going to miss these mornings, but I knew I had one more Saturday morning here in my apartment. I dug around the seat cushions for my phone before it showed its presence upon the coffee table. I picked up the device and dialed my landlady, Mrs. Gilman, to tell her that I'm moving come next Sunday.
"Good morning, Mrs. Gilman! How are you this morning?"
"Why hello there, Ms. Herschel! I'm doing well. So, thank you for calling. Rent is due on the second, due to today, the last of the month, being on a weekend."
"Funny how you mentioned that. I've been meaning to talk to you about my lease! I just received a new job with an old neighbor out of town, and I'll have to move out on the eighth, maybe give the movers a week."
"Oh, my goodness, I'll miss you so much!"
"If you need me to pay rent in advance, that'll be okay!"
"Well, I'll see what I can do. If possible, you can cover March's rent with part of your security deposit, or we can talk about a discount because of you only staying a week this upcoming month."
"Anything is fine, ma'am. But thank you for letting me stay here!"
"Bon voyage and send your new boss my regards."
Mrs. Gilman and I were amicable, but not close. The one thing I did know about her was that her great-grandmother, she said, was a landlady in New York City during the roaring twenties. It's been in the family since then, even when branches of the tree poked into other parts of the world, like Montanie.
With me leaving my apartment lease behind, I wondered what could happen with my stuff. I'd spent a good deal of time establishing myself here, and little did I know I'd be leaving so soon. I spent the morning comparing local moving companies in the area. It wasn't until the results the internet gave me told me that every company wasn't open on Saturdays. With a sense of disappointment and curiosity, I checked my phone to see if the island company put anything down relating to moving on their website or in an email. Luckily, there was an FAQ.
The website for the deserted island development company wasn't as cursed as the advertisements, as instead it looked a bit more professional. I've forgotten what the website looked like, as I was unable to remember much of anything the last time I'd visited.
"How can I transport my furniture to my new island home, and what can I do about extra items that may not fit in my new house?" A question read. Bingo. I read the answer that the company gave.
"Rest assured, packing and delivery may only take a day or two if you keep it light.
Your new home may be smaller than expected, as most homes in the area are for a single occupant. Pack whichever things matter the most, anything that helps you live a better life, and anything that really screams 'You.' In essence, the essentials are all that are necessary.
We'll take care of transport. If you need items transported to your new home, we've got you covered! Just call or email a few days in advance, and we'll plan with local moving companies at no additional upfront cost.
If needed, lease a storage space back home, or sell off any spare inventory to local pawn or thrift shops or our on-island retail space. If you leave too much back home, don't worry! Our local retailers and the odd traveler have a wide selection of furnishings and accessories for your living space."
It wasn't really a problem, because my apartment was a one-bedroom, one bath studio, so there wasn't much. I've dealt with living situations that seemed cramped compared to my new space, so I wasn't too worried about packing. It wouldn't hurt to live on the couch for a while before I sent it off to the local Goodwill down the road if the island government didn't let me take it. Which got me thinking…
I walked around the apartment and envisioned what would go with me to the island, and what would stay back in an antique store in Montanie. I didn't have any boxes yet, but I arranged plans to buy some later. Any mementos I brought with me while moving here would have to go in a box or so, of course. I didn't want to throw out anything sentimental while donating unneeded goods. I didn't want to forget the happy times I've had in my life, like time spent with family and old college memories.
I didn't have any boxes or any idea how to start packing without them. I wandered around my apartment, until I found a near-empty sticker sheet on a desk next to the window. As soon the sheet with only one sticker left came into view, I knew what I had to do.
Right around the corner, there was a drugstore that I often stopped by on the days that the bus wasn't available. Usually, I did some shopping after work at Pendleton's Liquors by my apartment, or the local King Market, a good walk from the firm. At the drugstore, I could get a snack to cure whiskey hangovers, get some medication for the odd stuffy nose, or get some spare office supplies.
Ding, ding, went the bells on the door. Inside, the place had the usual Saturday morning traffic from Friday night revelers and weekend shoppers. The walls were eggshell-white, with a backsplash of baby blue. The hum of ever running, but somewhat unnecessary fluorescent lighting topped the scene. On the intercom, the song "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper played in the background. I picked up an equally blue basket a few feet from the door.
In the stationery aisle, I passed by a woman holding two cards. One of them had the Paw Patrol on it, and the other had the number "5" in gold on it. Thankfully, she wasn't blocking the sticker section. I looked around for just the right stickers on the rack.
A few cheap sticker sets stood out to me, and I, without thinking, picked out two random sticker sets. One of them had generic glittery foil hearts and stars, and the other was a set of green leaves and flowers. Into the basket the two sheets found their new home.
I left the stationery aisle, and the card-holding woman must have made her decision about which card she should get, since she was out of the aisle. I passed by a rack of assorted candies and magazines before making my rounds to the checkout lane. When I found my place, the song changed from Cyndi Lauper to "Hey There, Delilah" by Plain White T's. A conveniently placed fridge of buyable drinks made sure the line occupied less space in the building, but I wasn't thirsty. I had drinks at home, and I could cook something when I got back.
The clerk was a thin woman named Tanya with thick long hair, glasses, and a black long-sleeved shirt. She greeted me as I approached the checkout counter. Behind the counter, was a wall of pictures with names under them. Tanya was listed as "Tanya North, Shift Lead," and her portrait was paired with a muted orange top that accentuated her blue-black hair.
"Good morning, ma'am. You found everything you needed today, eh?" I put the basket of stickers onto the counter, and she got them out.
"Yes, actually! Just these few things!" Tanya rang up the stickers and put them to the side, before bagging them up.
She pressed a few buttons, and said, "Your total is three sixty-eight today." I dug through my purse, looking for my wallet and card. I pulled out my card from a little pocket hidden next to the fold of my wallet. Tanya looked at me, confused. I'd paid by card before, and I reckon she took my card before. "No, no, sorry. The internet's busted. So, you have cash, eh?"
I awkwardly put my card back into my wallet and laughed a bit. "Oh, yeah! I do have cash!" I picked up a fiver from the large cranny in the back of the wallet and put it back into my purse. "I'm sorry about your internet, though. It must have been a doozy."
Tanya took my fiver and used the computer to calculate the change. "No, no! No worries! We're still working on the issue, calling up the network company, and everyone's been cool with it so far."
I grabbed my stickers, receipt, and my change. "Thank you, ma'am!" Tanya waved as I walked out of the store and onto the busy streets of Montanie.
When I got into my apartment, I devised a plan for where I would put the stickers. Where would the starred furniture go? And what of the ones with the leaves and flowers?
Then it hit me. The profile picture on the emails sent out by the real estate company running the island business had a leaf in it. If I recall correctly, it was a sepia leaf with a little bite taken off it in a honey-golden circle outlined with the same color as the leaf.
Stars and hearts I put on the items left in Montanie, while the flowers and leaves had a place on the things I'm keeping for my new home. I could have saved money, I thought, by buying only one sticker set, but then again, I could divide them up further. A plan I had was assigning leaves to the ones I'd keep, flowers to those I could keep, hearts to those I maybe wouldn't keep, and the stars to those I'd discard.
The first leaf sticker item was a picture of my brother's shih tzu, dressed in formal clothing. I'd found this image in a box of photos I'd gotten printed from my 3DS and my phone. Somehow, I understood the look he had on his face was one of stern candor. They were the same person in essence, him and that dog.
I placed a flower sticker on the couch in the living room, hidden among the pansies, roses, dahlias, and zinnias in the gaps between stripes.
While looking under my desk for more things to pack up, another box revealed itself. This box had some bits and bobs, like my high school diploma, yearbooks, and framed photographs. I pulled out a photograph in a landscape frame.
There was a picture of a shih tzu and a man. Judging by the familiarity of the man, I felt like he was an old friend, or the owner of my brother's dog's littermate. At a second glance, she had a striking similarity to someone familiar.
The dog had blonde fur, a feminine business outfit on, and a little gimmicky scrunchie. She looked like someone I'd dreamt of being. My connection to her seemed closer than that of a sister or a twin. I may have forgotten her name, but I knew who she could be. I had dreamt about her, after all.
I couldn't lose this one, so I leaf-stickered it. I took pictures of both dogs' photos, saving them just in case they get lost.
That night, after fading off to sleep in my bed, I walked to the drugstore to return extra stickers. The sky was dark, but it felt like mid-morning inside. Tanya was manning the front counter, and I put a heart sticker on her hair. She returned a few coins with stars upon them, either buying the heart on her face from me, or giving me the change from earlier back to me, again.
When I left the drugstore, Ray was there waiting for me. He was wearing a shirt with the Night Vale cover on it, along with some gray pants and black shoes. I slapped a leaf sticker on his hand, identical to that of the real estate company logo, but in green. We soared over Montanie, across the mountains out of the city, and into a new tomorrow.
AN:
Hello everyone! Thank you for reading. I will be spending the next month or so revising this story and future chapters, and hearing back from beta readers. The next update may be in December if things go well.
-YouWontEvenTalkToMe
