The Shadow

Chapter 4: Dress Crisis and Creaking Attic.

After visiting Felix's old house I made my way to Tolmine street. If Susan had only told me where they live now. Honestly I didn't even know why I wanted to visit this heartbreaker after all these years. Maybe it was that blind love and selective memory. I don't know.

I strolled the empty streets wandering around pointlessly. I held my head down watching my feet shove down the dirty road, hands deep in my pockets. I walked and walked until suddenly I came to a stop, colliding with someone. My eyes shoot up and locked on the man's face.
"Felix?" I ask wide-eyed
"Hey Nat, how's it going!? Man, it's been- what, ten years?" He shook his head in disbelief and brushed his hair back with his hand, the other one in his pocket. He eyed me from my head to toes.
"Yeah best 10 years of my life, away from you." Natalie barked.
"Hey hey, I told you it was just a one-night-stand. Give a man some space!"
Natalie clenched her jaw and shook her head in disgust.
"I was ready to marry you on the spot! And then I caught you with that Cardiff bitch!"
"Yeah well she was gone the next day" he laughed.
I rolled my eyes and turned around to walk away.
"But you missed me after all, or you wouldn't be here!" Felix called out "I missed you!"
I looked back and stared at him.
"It was fun... The two of us." He began his face washed with sorrow. "I'm sorry about what I did." He looked me in the eye.
I came closer and as I was about to say that I forgive him, he opened his mouth again.
"But she was so much better in bed than you, I mean whoooo!! Things got hot!" He laughed.
His smirk went away quite fast after my hand left a bright red mark on his douchebagy face.
I stormed off back in the direction I came from.
"Bitch!" Felix yelled "I'd rather sleep with any random whore than ever touch you again!"
I glanced back at the idiot and gracefully showed him the middle finger and walked off.

I pity Lilly for getting together with this dumbass. She'll only get hurt and now with the baby on the way she's even more vulnerable.

After getting back to Susan's house I sat on my bed and looked through my clothes. It wasn't true, what I said about having something to wear for the party. Rarely ever did I go to parties. I went through my bag 3 times and found nothing acceptable.
People in this village were really judgemental and rumours and fake information were the daily news. So having an appropriate dress with style was a big deal, especially after being away for 10 years.

Following the dress crisis, I walked out of the house and made my way down the road back to Angelo's.
Back in the day, I borrowed some clothes from him that his sister, Amy left at his house. She was living with him for a while cause her wife kicked her out of their house after she found out she was actually a transsexual. I hated Amy's wife for that reason. I mean come on you can't just hate someone for being different, before you knew all that you fell in love with her so it's not like she was lying about anything...
Now Amy was a real fashionista. All the new styles and designs and God knows what else that I have no clue about, she knew. Want some fashion advise? Go to Amy. Looking for a new style? Go to Amy. Nothing to wear for a party, wedding, or evening event? Go to Amy cause Amy is the boss when it comes to clothes. Sadly Amy wasn't around when I needed her now. She moved to America following her dreams of being a fashion designer. A number of celebs wear her outfits and she has many boutiques with her name on it around the states.
I came into Angelo's café, again, acompanied by the bell. I stared at my shoes and didn't look up and bumped into a slim figure. I need to stop looking at my feet.
The person turned around and I apologized about 10 times with my hands up like as if they were going to shoot me.
"Sorry I didn't see you I- I- I just- "
I tried to speak but stopped when I saw her face.
Today was a somewhat lucky day, that person turned out to be Amy.
"Amy?" I asked unsure.
"Who? No I'm Kathy." She said.
"Oh well... I'm sorry- again!" I said quickly and walked off shaking my head at my own stupidity. Not so lucky after all...
I sat at the bar and laid my head in my arms.
"What is it sweetie?" Angelo asked.
I looked up annoyed and then put my head back down.
"I thought I saw Amy," I murmured.
"Hon' I can't hear you, speak up," Angelo said and wiped his wet hands on his used-to-be-snow-white appron.
I swang my head up and looked at him.
"I thought I saw Amy..." I said semi-embarrassed.
"Amy?" He laughed. "Of all people why Amy?"
"I was just... Thinking about her... Well you see, Susan got a call from Mia and agreed to a party. I dont have any 'party clothes' but I still said I do and now I was thinking about how Amy would help me and I guess I thought I saw her there..."
Angelo rubbed his head and stared blankly at me.
"I guess I can help you... Amy ain't coming home any time soon. Last I heard o'her she sighned a contract w'some weird chicken lady called CoCo or something..." He said and I laughed.
Damn he did know how to cheer me up, not that I was sad about not having clothes to a stupid party. It was more about Felix but I decided to ignore that asshole and just focus on the bigger picture.
"Alright-o, Alfred!" Angelo roared.
As soon as Angelo called, a bang and clash of metal came from the kitchen and a scrawny looking dude came running out. He had a pot in his hand and a sponge covered in soap in the other. He had dirty blond hair and bright sharp blue eyes behind huge glasses that make his eyes look twice as big.
"Yes- sir," his voice cracked. And he swallowed hard.
I found myself staring straight at him and smiled when I shook myself out of it to avoid awkwardness.
"Alfred, take care o'the bar when I'm gone an' try... Try not to set anything on fire, we don't want the same accident like last time."
"YES-SIR!" Alfred said and mimicked the army salute.
I stared in shock at their interaction and walked with Angelo around the back and up the stairs to his house, still in shock.
"Right... There's some ol'clothes in that drawer." Angelo said and pointed at it. He then walked over to a cupboard and began looking through the things within.
I opened the drawer door and kneeled down and opened an old wooden box.
Inside were clothes of different types, shapes and colours. Some pirate costumes and a ballerina tutu.
Amy did have everything.
I tried on one dress. It was knee length, navy dress with short sleeves. It was really flowy and a bit too big on me. Amy was in fact bigger than me so that explained it.
Angelo handed me a yellow mermaid dress with some sparkling designs. I looked at him with a disgusted expression on my face but still took it and tried it on.
"Angelo..." I said slowly looking at myself in the mirror. "I look pathetic" I said and dropped my hands at my sides.
"Well what about this one?" Angelo said and held up a bright pink fluffly dress with no straps or sleeves and a lot of sparkling designs on it.
"No!" I said annoyed and sat down on the ground my head in my hands. "People are gonna talk..." I said
"People always talk" Angelo said and sat beside me. I sighed deeply. And then looked up. A purple colour from under all the clothes caught my eye.
I took it out and tried it on.
It was a beautiful pale lilac dress. Short at the front and long at the back without any straps and a lot of flowy bits.
"Well Nat I think we got it," Angelo said and smiled.
"Yeah well..." I began. "Its, it's not right. I mean it's beautiful but... But not for this. It's something I'd wear for a wedding not a party." I said and frowned. I collapsed on the floor and sighed heavily. "This is useless there's nothing here! We looked through all these clothes and there's nothing here."
"What about here?" A voice called from the door and a hand holding a  shopping bag swang in the doorway.
She jumped inside the room and laughed.
"Susan!?" I said surprised but relieved.
"Mhm... And I brought you this." She said and threw the bag at me.
I looked inside and took out a short shiny black dress with long sleeves.
My size and all.
"Omg sis! How... How did you know? You got my size? And even the style isn't too bad..." I stood there in Slight disbelief.
Dresses weren't my strong side, I never liked them much anyway.
"I knew you didn't have anything to wear. I remember you never care about clothes when we were younger." Susan said
I smiled.
"Well I guess it's time to go then... Thanks Angie," I said and patted his shoulder.
"No problem-o" he said and smiled the biggest brightest smile that could light up the night.
We walked down the stairs and through the back of the bar.
Alfred was having trouble taking care of business. His face was struck with an expression of fear and despair.
I felt sorry for the poor guy.
We left the bar and made our way home.
The party wasn't until 7 which left us with a good 6 hours to relax.
Susan made lunch and we ate it in front of the tv watching our favourite childhood show. She then had to leave for work as her lunch break ended.
After she left I didnt do much. Mainly walking around the house and looking at old photographs.
I went upstairs and into the attic. I remembered some old things of mine were put up here form my childhood days before what happend...
I ventured carefully into the deep attic. I pulled the light switch but the light was low and the room was still very dim. A creaking sound warned me of upcoming danger and my legs sank into the floor boards.
I yelped and fell forward.
Dust filled the room and I coughed waving aggressively around.
"Now I gotta clean this up" I said to myself and sat at the edge of the hole.