Tuesday 15 February 2011

My First Coat--Gordon

Prompt: "I remember that donkey-brown coat, bought with my first ever paycheque."

Nonchalance is like a prelude.

I walked down the shopping arcade with an air of nonchalance and expectation, surrounded by tall oak trees that held the street in their embrace by covering the bitumen strip like a green archway. Dotted between the shiny trunks were reflective shop windows that gave a sparkle to the elegant streetscape. Couples wandered down the sidewalks peering into shop windows and laughing and giggling as they walked. Others scurried from one office to the other conveying a feeling of rush and hurry. I resisted any form of rush as my intent was a new coat. I had dream't for weeks of walking into a shop and immediately seeing just the right coat. It had to be brown with a fine weave of grey giving it a sheen that portrayed 'well-dressed'. This moment should not, and could not, be rushed as it had to be just right.

I walked though the arched doorway and opened the heavy glass door. "Hello sir," the assistant exclaimed. "Can I help you?"
In the moment I said: "I would just like a look around." "My name is Arthur, and I would be delighted to help you, but do take your time." The preliminaries over I turned and looked at the elegant clothing beautifully displayed on criss-crossing racks and also around the walls of the room. It took only a moment and there was the coat I had to have. "Could, I try this one on", I said. Gently, I took it off the rack and Arthur helped me put it on. As I swung around to look in the mirror, to my horror I saw the price tag. It was as much as my first cheque. The coat was beautiful and the fit perfect. I loved it and how good it felt.

I had carefully considered how, with my very first cheque, I could buy a whole range of desperately needed kitchen items and maybe even a television. I really did have to have a coat as winter was just around the corner and I had been really cold at university this last year. "I will take it", I said, knowing full well that any television would have to wait at least another four weeks.

4 comments:

Scriveners said...

Kerry says:
Very compact story of a man buying his first coat.
I was entranced by the first paragraph with the description of the shopping mall.
I felt the dialogue dragged the flow and could go. But in 15 minutes there's not time for that sort of discretion.

Unknown said...

I was intrigued by your first line, and the unravelling of it carried me along for the rest of the story. Your dapper character, who could almost but not quite afford to be dapper, stayed consistent through the story.

And some lovely imagery.

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