The Other Side

Della re-entered the store and collapsed into a chair behind the counter Paul came in then and noticed her. "Tired?" he asked.

She nodded as she took a sip of the soda shed' left on the counter earlier. "You could say that," she replied.

Paul chuckled slightly. "Been kinda quiet out here," he remarked. "Guess you can't say the same, huh?"

"No," she replied. "That I can't. It's been downright hectic in there." She gestured to the back of the store. "I don't know what I was thinking when I scheduled ten different lessons today!"

Paul lounged slightly on the counter. "At least you're busy and making money," he commented, and she nodded.

"There's an up side to everything, I suppose," she said with a defeated voice. Paul grinned to himself as she headed back into the music room.

He sat down behind the counter and went through the papers on the desk. He dismissed most of them as insignificant or not noteworthy, and tossed them aside. Have to order more violin and cello strings. Toss. Don't forget to call the piano tuners next week. Save. Phone call for Della, New Town Realtors. A phone number. Toss. Order new-

Wait, what was that? Phone call for Della, New Town Realtors. Call back soon. That could be important.

"Hey Della," Paul called as he pulled the crumpled slip of paper out of the garbage. The soft sounds of the piano filtered through, and he realized she probably wouldn't hear him. He'd just have to wait until she came back out.

"Packing already?" Chris asked as he leaned in the door way.

Paul looked up from his dresser. "Just getting organized," he replied. "Della got a call today."

"Oh yeah?"

"Realty company," he continued. "Found somebody who's real interested. If it goes through, I'll be outta hear in two weeks."

"Two weeks, eh?"

"Hopefully."

"You sure you won't stick around a bit longer. I mean, just in case?"

Paul looked at him quizzically. "Case of what?" he asked.

Chris didn't reply. Instead, he just shrugged and left the room, leaving Paul to puzzle over his words.

Paul arrived late to the store that morning and when he entered he could hear the hum of a violin in the back. Humming along to the tune they were playing, he set about his work, organizing papers and getting ready to start up.

A man entered the store just then, soon followed by another, and it was noon before he was able to talk to Della.

"Any luck with the realtor?" he asked as he took a bite out of his sandwich. Della had called them back early this morning.

She shrugged. "Too soon to tell," she replied as she sipped her soda. "They found somebody who's interested, and he's coming by this weekend to check it out. If all's good and they meet my price and requirements, it might pull through. "

"Sounds good," he replied. She nodded non-commitally.

"I guess," she answered with a shrug.

The day continued along as usual and Paul and Della broke for lunch. Chris entered with the sandwhiches and joined them for the noontime meal.

"Heard you had some luck sellin' this place, Della," he commented, and Della told the story all over again about the realtor.

"She doesn't want to get her hopes up," Paul informed Christopher, taking a sip of his soda.

"Nope," Della agreed. "No point in getting all worked up over nothing. There's a possibility it won't work out. "

"She does have a point there," Christopher said thoughtfully, and Paul nodded.

"So where do you think you'll go after here?" Della asked Paul, changing the subject.

"I don't know," he replied honestly. "I might head back to California. That's the direction I came from."

"Makes sense," Chris said. "If you have any family or friends, the odds are that they're back there."

"Just a matter of roaming until I figure out who I am," Paul said casually as he bit into his sandwhich.

There was a silence for a few moments and then lunch was over. Della went into the back to prepare for her next student and Chris began to gather the wrappers from the sandwhichs and get ready to head back to his own store.

The door opened then and a tall man dressed all in black wearing a cowboy hat entered. Paul and Chris both turned to see who it was.

The man took a few steps forward and they saw that he wasn't really as tall as he'd first seemed. He took off his cowboy hat and a mess of curly hair appeared. The man grinned a wide grin in the direction of Paul and Chris.

"Which one of you is the owner of this here establishment?" he asked.

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