Once Upon A Time (Again)

A few more parts. Its been too long since the last one.

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He always appreciated a gift. The first one she gave him was a six-pack of his beer of choice. Later, after he quit drinking, it was a pack of cigarettes, a pizza, a laptop bag. When she first met him, when she didn't know him very well, he told her about the sweatshirt he got as a gift.
"Nice shirt," she said.
"Its from my sister. She sent it too me for Christmas. Its my favorite team."
In winter he wore it every day. Over the years it started to look worn. Then started to look too big when he lost the beer belly.

When she was at his apartment he always talked about the things people had given him. A sign in the shape of an arrow that said "Fenway Park". Probably filled with memories of going to the park as a kid. She always meant to ask, but never did as he would move on to the next thing. Each thing a new story. A story he loved to tell.

He rarely talked about his life in a direct way. She, probably most people, learned about him from the gifts he was given. Or mayby that was just her impression, perhaps he did talk about himself but she just didn't remember.

He kept all his gifts on the shelves above the bed. He lived in a studio apartment. He took the doors off a closet to create the alcove for the shelves. He would reach over and pick up some object then start talking about it. "You see this..."

He loaned her a CD once. "Be careful with this. Someone gave this to me. Its special." Then he would talk about the person who gave it to him. One of the regulars from the pub. One of the "day crowd". He gave him CDs, and funny t-shirts. He treasured every one.

He gave gifts too. Not material things, those things disappear. She had a leaky facuet and, instead of just calling the landlord to have it fixed, she decided to fix it herself. It made her feel independent. She turned off the water to her apartment, removed the fixture, went to the hardware store, and purchased the correct parts. Only find out she didn't have the strength nor the correct tools to complete the job. She called him.

"Sorry, I just don't know who else to call. You're the only one I know who knows about these things and has the proper tools. Could you come over and help me fix my sink?" She had blabbered on, he stopped her.

"No, you're not bothering me. I'm glad you called me. I'd be honored to help you. You've done so much for me," he had said. He really did say he would "be honored". She almost laughed until she realized he was serious. Such chivilary. He enjoyed the chance to be able to help. She can still picture him, wearing the sweatshirt, sitting on the floor in front of the sink, with the wrentch on the pipe asking, "Do you really want me to try this? If this old pipe breaks, we are screwed." She did, and luck was with him. The old nut turned away cleanly from the pipe. "You are so lucky," he said.