gina's bike walter

Walter slept on the futon cushion on the floor Sunday night. On Monday he made the furniture store with same day delivery his first stop. With the cavernous little house in his mind he tried to think what furniture he should buy. He just could not picture any of the sleek looking furniture in that wide open space. The tiny kitchen was no more than a third of the back wall on the left rear of the house. It did have a very small refrigerator and stove. Both appliances were meant for an apartment of about the same size as his little house, so the balance was good.

It was a good thing because Walter know from nothing about decorating. After thirty minutes of wasting his time and that of a salesman, Walter left empty handed. He didn't know what to do next. The one thing he was sure of was that he needed a bed. He also needed a place to make a sandwich.

One of the appeals of the small house was a one car free standing garage. It had been used as a shop/storage building in the rear of the house so long that the driveway leading to it had disappeared under the lawn. Walter moved all his tools the day before so he was ready to build things. That also stayed in the back of his mind while he shopped. Walter's big problem with that was he lack any real skills. Most of what he did was wood butchery.

After his initial shopping debacleWalter was riding around aimlessly on his bike a couple of hours later when he saw the yellow metal building. The sign read Wholesale/salvaged building material for sale. In much smaller print were the words we deliver. That was enough to get Walter's attention.

Walter was surprised to find mostly old doors and window inside the warehouse. It seems that not a lot of other things were of any use to him. He didn't need anything from the bins of copper and galvanized pipe or the piles of hardwood flooring. He bought seven paneled doors from the warehouse and thirty used 2x4's. The price for it all was just over a hundred dollars. The surplus warehouse arranged delivery for the next morning.

Walter stopped on the way home for items from the hardware store. Those were more expensive than the purchases from the surplus building supply store. Walter knew there were going to be many more things he needed but he had a one track mind. That one track mind, even though deeply depressed, had helped him to survive. He could only dwell on one tragedy at a time. He probably would have been overwhelmed and killed himself if he fully grasped the size of his loss.

"Where's your bicycle," the waitress at the family style restaurant asked.

"I had an errand that required the car this afternoon. I was out buying things for my new house."

"New house wow, congratulations."

"Oh it isn't much but I like it. Its less than half the size of the house I lived in before."

"I'm sorry times are tough for everyone."

Walter almost explained that he hadn't lost the big house but he decided not to bother. She was just a waitress. "Yeah, I suppose that is true. Anyway how about a BLT with French Fries?"

"Sure, won't take but a minute."

Walter enjoyed both the food and the iced tea. Iced tea was something he loved but never made at home. It was gallons of diet coke instead.