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 Posted: Wed May 04, 2011 2:16 am
It was a particularly slow afternoon at Destiny City Antiques and Collectibles. Never a bastion of activity to begin with, the lone shop girl, Hypatia had been left to her own devices for the entirety of her shift so far. The jewelery had all been polished, the figurines organized by year and then size, a new piece of furniture had been re-stained and was currently drying in the back room. Everything that needed to be done, and even some things that hadn't, had been done and re-done.
It was only times like these that Hypatia hated her job.
Brushing back a stray lock of long hair, the college student dared to toe off her shoes, settled onto a lovely cream baroque-style chaise, and pulled out a school-library copy of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' that had been assigned to her through her Shakespeare class at the University and thumbed open to where she had left off, the early spring sunshine slowly shifting over the shop's glass cabinets and gleaming mirrored shelves as time slowly, slowly wore on.
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Posted: Wed May 04, 2011 9:33 am
If ever there was a good excuse to break from normal routine and do something he wasn't used to doing, like shopping, it was moving house. He came from a small apartment to a much bigger, though not too large, town house. He had more rooms than before, and his kitchen was no longer attached to his living room. There was space.
For things.
He left Nathan's room, which, after a fight, was decided to be the master bedroom because Tony was just that big of a push over, to Nate to decorate. His room was smaller, but still better than a sofa. And still needed to be decorated.
An old soul in part, Tony found he did not like the look of most modern furniture and decorations. He didn't want them. There was an old bath in the house, an antique, and it seemed to inspire him to seek out more things like it. Why replace a bath for something modern, when he could replace everything else with old things?
He walked into the antique store with a slightly dazed look on his face.
Where to start?
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Posted: Wed May 04, 2011 10:22 pm
The bell tied to the main entrance of the shop sounded, dragging Hypatia out of the first of Oberon and Titania's scenes. Closing the paperback book, the shop girl moved to her feet, smoothing down the front of her skirt (a ritual tick of hers) as she turned to greet the person who had just rescued her from a boring, slow-moving shift.
"Hello! Welcome to Destiny City Antiques." Cheerful, polite, professional-- perhaps overly so, but what would someone expect after a few hours of doing absolutely nothing worthwhile? Being over-eager was among the smaller sins a salesperson could commit anyway. "I'm Hypatia, and I'd be more than happy to help you find whatever you're looking for." The college student assessed the man as she smiled at him. Older, but certainly no less attractive for it. And familiar, hmm...
"Oh, aren't you Mister Darrow, from the library? I think I bothered you sometime last week looking for this," Hypatia said, tapping a French manicured fingernail on the cover of the play she had been reading. "What can I help you with, Mister Darrow?"
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Posted: Sat May 07, 2011 9:14 pm
Tony was all too familiar with the routine of welcoming patrons. He had his own, familiar few greetings to choose from, and a wealth of stored up perkiness, or at least warmth, to draw from. Nothing quite at the level Hypatia had though. That was probably a good thing, though, as it would be fairly creepy for exuberance like that to come from him.
The library would be quieter than it already was, in a different sense.
He smiled at her warmly, chuckling and nodding his head at the welcome. At least she was personable and eager. And, as it turned out, she recognized him. He had to take a second look at her, to remember her face among the many visitors of the library, from the one timers, the fleeting students, to the regulars.
"I am indeed!" He said, with a smile, eying the book and recognizing it from the library. "Oh yeah! I remember. Shakespeare. I mentioned I don't read much and I think you were being nicer to me after that than you wanted to." He grinned, teasing.
With a glance around the store, he realized he was once again in over his head. Why was shopping so difficult?
"Well, I'm looking for some furniture for a new house. My ah... my son got my old stuff so I'm mostly without... things."
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Posted: Mon May 09, 2011 4:50 pm
"Hmm, I think I do recall being somewhat taken aback by a librarian that doesn't read," Hypatia said, smiling broadly to show that she was teasing. "But, you're totally redecorating, are you? That must be exciting." Tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear, the shop girl beckoned Mr. Darrow to follow her. "Do you know where you'd like to start? Probably furniture, I would imagine." Tapping a fingertip to her chin as she lead him through the organized clutter, she scoured their stock.
"Start with the basics, and worry about the details after that, I should think." Pausing as she finally reached their large furniture show room (an impressive sight, if not an area that often sells well), she swept an arm around to indicate the whole of the room. "See anything that you like? We'll start with one thing, and go from there." It was easy to tell that Mr. Darrow was more than a bit overwhelmed at the moment, so it would be Hypatia's job today to add in some focus and advice to help him out.
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Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 10:13 am
Tony smiled, nodding his head. That was him: the librarian that wasn't much for reading. Sure, there were a few things he liked to spend time reading, when he had it, but it wasn't usually something he could fit into his schedule. And when he had free time, the last thing he wanted to do was feel like he was doing some kind of homework, or more work from the library. As much as he loved his job, and he did adore it, he did not want to bring it home with him.
He already suspected he spent too much time as the librarian, and making that idea a reality was a step too far.
No, he much rather collect books, maybe look through them when he had time, read the ones he had grown too fond of not too. He had a large collection of books on the third floor of the library, his own private area allotted to him for years of service to keep them safe. All legends, and mostly Arthurian in nature.
Now that he had a bigger place, he wondered if he might bring some of them home. He would need a book shelf... a few bookshelves...
Glancing around the show room, eyebrows high as if he hadn't suspected such a show, and was half wondering why he hadn't noticed how big the store was from the front, he immediately felt lost again. In over his head at all times, it seemed, even in simple tasks. He smiled though, chuckling.
"I think... uh... my bedroom might be the best place to start. Beds and things? Not... too big... my son got the master bedroom." He said that with a strained sigh.
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Posted: Fri May 13, 2011 12:52 pm
"We should have a few bed frames that won't take up too much room..." Talking more to herself than Tony, she weaved through the handful of dressers and mirrors they had, the restored counter tops and vanities. The large furniture store room was, more than any other area in the shop, was tightly packed. The space that they had was used to it's fullest potential, and unfortunately for many lovely things that Hypatia had come across, they simply didn't have the space for too many large items.
"Here we go. We have a few wooden frames, but most of those are super bulky... If you like the look of them, an iron bed frame might be better for your needs, like this one." With a gesture of a slim hand, Hypatia indicated a black bed frame. "It fits a standard full-sized mattress, so it shouldn't take up too much room. I actually rather like the look of iron, I think it's very country and homey, you know what I mean? You could mix it up with a few solid wood bookshelves, or even just wall shelves that you can move around to change the look of things, etcetera. Lots of options."
"Or if you wanted something more traditional, we certainly have pieces to look at in that style as well. Like I said though, I'm a little partial to iron. It's something different but not totally out there. It's also not as difficult to move up stairs and around corners," Hypatia added with a smile.
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Posted: Fri May 13, 2011 8:41 pm
Tony felt like he was hunting through some kind of strange forest, where the trees had processed themselves into furniture without needing to be chopped down. Throw in some vines and tall grass, suitable for hiding large predators in, and he would have been a little uncomfortable with it. He followed his guide, though, and managed not to get lost.
"Iron, hmm?" He looked at the frame, running his hand over the bed posts and examining the black metal. He seemed thoughtful, but not immediately dismissive. "I was looking for wood, but maybe you're right. The room is smaller, and a wooden bed might be too large..."
At the mention of wood bookshelves he smiled, liking that idea. If he brought home some of his collection of legends, he would be able to store them in a proper wooden shelf, rather than something like those awful metal ones the main library had had for so long. They had wooden shelves in their room at the library, but they were old and simple. He wanted a more fitting place for them now.
"Ah, you have a good point. I don't think I could do much moving on my own, and my son certainly isn't going to help much. The easier to move the better." He laughed. "I like this iron, then! And wooden bookshelves. That would be very nice. Do you have anything that might go with this?"
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Posted: Sat May 21, 2011 5:22 pm
Hypatia clapped her hands together, grinning widely. "Good, I'm so glad you like it! I think we might actually have a few wooden bookshelves, now that I think about it." Tapping a fingertip to her chin, the young woman looked around the rather crowded room. "Did you want an actual book shelf, or were you thinking more of the wall shelves that you can arrange however you'd like? We don't really have any of those, but it's nothing that a regular furniture shop wouldn't have, if that's what you're looking for."
Dipping a hand into her pocket, she pulled out a small pad of post-it notes, scribbling 'sold' and Tony's name upon it before sticking it on the iron bedframe. "I'll need your shipping information as well, if you don't plan on lugging the thing home yourself. Was there anything else you'd like to look at? Couches, maybe a vanity for your bathroom? Decorations, even? I mean, you did plan on decorating, did you? All that lovely new space to fill with lovely new things. Lovely new... old things, you know what I mean." Hypatia smiled, hands clasped behind her back to keep from rubbing them together in some sort of manic glee. It wasn't often that she got to help out customers on such a big scale, and it had been a while since she had showed off their art collection anyway.
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Posted: Sun May 22, 2011 8:55 am
Tony grinned. This was easier than he thought! Why did most men have instincts to fear shopping and all things decorating? Even he had succumbed to the worry of being trapped in stores for hours, dragging himself around because he didn't have any one to do it for him, listening to people paid by commission trying to sell him something he didn't want.
As it turned out, furniture shopping was fairly invigorating. He felt like he had accomplished something already, just by finding a bed he liked in a relatively painless manner.
He could definitely handle this.
"A wall of..." he looked thoughtful, then shook his head. "No, I think a good, old fashion, antique bookshelf would be best."
He smiled fondly, then explained, "I have a collection of mostly old books, based on legends. Uhm. Arthurian, mostly. So I was hoping to find a bookshelf that... fit them. I mean. Not just... where I could physically fit them all but... uh. That sounds a little silly and sentimental, I know, but they're very important to me."
He looked helpless, but his eyes were warm and friendly. He wasn't on edge, though he still felt a little overwhelmed when she mentioned how much he might need to look into. There was a lot of decorating to do.
"I probably need... all of those things," he laughed, "I'll definitely take a look around, see what else I might want to be shipped with the bed?"
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