Thursday, August 14, 2008

IMAGINARY FRIENDS - Page 19

Jeff was beginning to wish he had found Brian in the girl’s toy aisle. He could deal with that – someday, it would take some adjusting to, okay, but this, this he could not –

Fifty people in the immediate vicinity jumped as Davey crouched down like a constipated old man and bellowed,

“BRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!”

Jeff gazed down at Davey in horror as the boy stood back up and dusted off his hands. Davey looked up at him like it was all in a day’s work.

“I don’t think he’s around here, Dad.”

***


They raced into pet shops, and startled the iguanas and parakeets.

“Brian!”

They popped their heads in clothing stores, desperately scanning under the racks of shirts and pants for a pair of small legs.

“Brian?”

They ran through the home furnishing stores, thinking perhaps he might be jumping on a display bed somewhere.

“…Brian…”

They stopped in every bookstore, checking to see if he was by the comic book shelves.

“BRIAN!”

He didn’t want to, but Jeff even did a cursory search of every girl’s clothing store they passed. Just in case.

No Brian.

Damn it.

They ran past a Victoria’s Secrets. Jeff paused. Pictures of curvaceous models filled the display windows, all of them in various states of undress.

“Bri…an...”

Jeff started to enter the store – until Davey ran back and bit him on the leg.

“OW! WHAT?!” Jeff yelled.

Davey looked at him reproachfully.

“What?” Jeff persisted guiltily. “He could be in there!”

“Nuh-unh…girls have cooties, Dad,” Davey said in disgust, and ran on.

They checked Hallmark shops, and record stores, and fitness places, and eyeglass showrooms, and still no Brian.

As they ran past Santa on his candy cane throne, Davey suddenly dropped into a crouch again.

“I WANNA BUBBLE BABY!”

He ran away, leaving Santa to recover from his heart attack.

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Copyright © 2008 Darren Pillsbury. All rights reserved.

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