Chapter 9 – Alexander Goth
This is the view from the roof of Alexander's store,
Child's Play.
He's been having a hard time lately. He really wants to fall in love and get married. Cassandra says that's just because of his traits – Alexander is romantic and family-oriented – but that doesn't make his feelings any less real. To cheer himself up, Alexander took the “for sale” sign off his lump of clay and started playing with it.
He opened the store, and pretty soon some customers started showing up. One of them, Janessa Jeffords, had been coming to the store pretty often, even though she didn't have children. As soon as he finished ringing up Eliza Pancakes, he was going to close the store and see if she wanted to go out with him.
Alexander suggested the Museum, which Janessa agreed to. She was a bookworm, he discovered, which was great, because he was a bookworm, too.
Janessa was also a foodie and a perfectionist. She was currently working in product placement for a pizza company, but that was a job she could quit any time. She stopped talking for a moment, and Alexander kissed her.
The kiss went well, so he followed it up with a proposal of marriage.
“Oh, no, no, no,” Janessa said sweetly. “It's much too soon. We hardly know each other.”
Embarrassed – mortified, really – Alexander went back to his empty rooftop. He had a book now – an
Introduction to Charisma – if he cared to read it. But even reading wasn't something that could pick up his spirits.
The next morning, Alexander opened his store and sold a junior chemistry set to Bob Pancakes, or rather the guy who was pretending to be Bob Pancakes. He didn't know what was up with him and Eliza (she'd bought a child's violin the day before). Neither one had gotten a bassinet yet, so they weren't expecting. Maybe they were planning to adopt.
Around lunchtime he went over to Shayna's bakery. He'd been dropping by every couple of days recently.
“Checking up on me?” Shayna asked.
“And grabbing some of your donut holes,” said Alexander. “Everything okay?”
“A-okay,” said Shayna.
Alexander sat down to eat. “Guess who!” a voice fluted behind him. It was Janessa. His heart skipped a beat, and Alexander turned around to give her a big grin. Just then he noticed Shayna...and his sister Cassandra. At the moment they had their backs to him, but this had the potential to be really awkward.
“You're not mad at me?” he asked Janessa as he stood up.
“Because you proposed? Why should I be?” she said. “It was just too soon, that's all.”
Alexander would have loved to continue the conversation, but this wasn't the place. He was about to suggest that they go to his store when Shayna came up. From her expression, he guessed that she'd overheard part of their talk. “WHO is SHE?” she mouthed in an angry whisper.
Alexander wasn't up to making introductions. He fled.
He spent the rest of the afternoon buying books at Bill's store and picking up another light fixture from Benson. In the evening he decided to go fishing in the park. On his way to the stream, he passed the rocket ship where a little girl was playing. It was really good to see children in the park again, he thought, even if they weren't his.
A few minutes after he baited his hook, Shayna came up next to him. He suddenly realized that the red-haired girl on the rocket ship was probably her daughter. For a few minutes they fished in an awkward silence. Then they both spoke. “About this morning – “ they began.
“I didn't mean to spring it on you that I was getting involved with someone else,” Alexander said. “I hadn't planned to meet her at your place; she just showed up.”
“And I didn't mean to be rude about it,” said Shayna. “I realize that you want a family, and that we can't get involved with each other. I'd like to meet her some time. She looks nice.”
“She is,” said Alexander. “And you and I will still be friends, right?”
“Right!” Shayna agreed.
The next morning Janessa agreed to meet him at the park before she started delivering pizzas. They sat down on a bench, and Alexander made his move just as a homeless person came up to the bench to do some sleeping.
He and Janessa were hungry anyway, so they went to grill some veggie burgers. Alexander proposed, and this time Janessa accepted.
They decided to elope and exchanged their vows right there in the park.
Back at Alexander's store, Janessa took a pregnancy test with a positive result.
Later that day, Benson Dahl got a phone call.
“Alexander here. You have any beds on hand? And I'll need another toilet, shower, and sink,” Alexander told him.
“Restocking right now,” said Benson. Restocking wasn't his favorite activity, but the more people starting families, the more business he got. He figured he'd be the richest man in Oasis Springs in no time.
