Chair

a short story

Vivian. Now she is a real one of a kind. Sturdy and dependable. Independent. Colorful and bright.

A stroll up Walnut Street to the farmer’s market would take her under five minutes from her northside apartment. It was a weekly occurrence every Tuesday afternoon. Donning a pastel floral dress to match the mood of the emerging summer weather, she grabbed her basket — the one she got in France a few years ago — turned the key on the lock and skipped down her front steps.

“Hey, Viv!” Franklin yelled out to her from his front balcony on the third floor. “You off to market?”

“Yep. See ya there?” she asked.

“I have to take Tilly to the vet, so no,” Franklin said. “Hey. Could you pick me up a couple baskets of strawberries and I’ll pay ya later?”

Vivian waved her answer to Franklin and skipped away.

A chair. Sitting on the opposite corner of her apartment building, seemed to beckon her attention. As she approached it, she slowed to a stop. It was an old wooden thing with part of its wicker seat missing. Vivian stopped to inspect it. Take in its size and shape, its general demeanor.

I could maybe fix that seat, she thought. I suppose it’s for the taking, just sittin’ there like that. I like the color . . .

She grabbed the top of the chair, moved it around looking for wobbles. Remembering that she was on another mission at the moment, she let it go and headed for the market.

. . .

Franklin stood on the stoop of Vivian’s apartment ringing the doorbell. He could hear her shuffle as she approached from the other side. Smiling, she opened the door with his strawberries set into a paper box in her left hand.

“Thanks, Viv!”

“How’s Tilly, she ok?”

“Oh, yeah. Just time for some shots. She hates the vet, though, you know. So do I. Anyway, thanks for the strawberries. How much do I owe you?”

“Nothing. Invite me up for shortcake or something,” Vivian said.

Peering over Franklin’s shoulder, Vivian could see the chair was no longer on the corner.

“Shoot.”

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