Strings

Chapter 5

Chapter 5
 A long while of pulling his xxxx together (by long, at least a minimum of 3 days and a half of starving himself and lying on his xxx) took Jack before he managed to finally get back on his feet. Honestly, he would've gone on moping pointlessly as God would have intended it to be until he either died from a heart attack or loss of oxygen. But if Jack learned anything from his shrink, it would be to never let your grief consume you.

 Dr. Mallerd had told him that during the sessions of their first meetings together. For all Jack knew, Mallerd had been a moment too late on saying that, since he had already lost both his wife and child during that time. Though, as much of a xxxxxxxx Jack thinks it to be, he can't really degrade it that much, since it was basically true. It's worked for the last few patients Dr. Mallerd had before, and while it hasn't worked on Jack, he's still patiently waiting for it to. Mostly because it was the only positive thing that ever came out of the man's pie hole, and also because there really wasn't much Jack could do either.

 Besides this very significant reason, Jack had another more important one that prompted him to snap from his sorrow-laced reverie. It was the Spring-floral themed, doll dress orders still pending from the toy store that Jack worked for. He was now a week overdue, and still had to make 15 new dresses to add up to the 30 ones he already had stock-piled.

 Jack's career as a tailor was one that many people had belittled him for, even by Kellie (at least after they got divorced). Everyone thought that it made his image look weak, with what and his history with alcohol and all. Not to mention, how they all thought that the salary was complete xxxxxxxxx compared to the work and effort he had to put whenever he got an order. But, the reason that Jack absolutely loved the most, was that people thought, his job made him look sinisterly weird.

 Whenever he worked, Jack always went into a state of frenzy. When he would position himself onto his seat in front of his sewing machine, Jack would feel as if the world would disappear. And upon touching the clothe-maker, he would enter a completely different world of his own. A colorless, colorful world, with inanimate, faceless mannequins instead of live people. There were rumors once that some people saw Jack talking to one of his dressed dolls, and the people whom it was shared with didn't take it so well. 

 It made Jack often wonder, if Kellie had seen this as some sort of negative side of his, one of the many which she found in him and made it the reason to leave him.

"I have no strings. So I have fun." Jack hummed quietly to himself.

 He was inside his work station, sitting in front of his beloved sewing machine, mechanically knitting another seam on the dress he was currently working on. Not even his recently-damaged, gauze-stripped hand from a few nights before was bothering with his work.

 Jack had to admit it, doing his job felt just like drinking a bottle of gin. It made him forget everything else; every problem and every xxxxxx person making them. He was thankful that he saw the dry brown paper tacked to the cork-board on the door of his office, and thus giving him a more safer solace from all his troubles, rather than his usual gin-binge.

 "I'm not tied up to anyone." He sang, finishing his 5th dress in no less than 3 hours since he started working that morning.

 One of the things that people often saw as unnecessary in a person was their desire to do things meticulously and in perfect precision. Jack was one of those people. And although it was time-consuming, making things completely flawless in every sleeve and seam, it never prevented Jack from finishing a job on time. From his observation, he would probably be able to finish the remaining 10 dresses around noon, and he would be able to deliver them all personally to the toy store.

 Several hours later, just before 12:17, Jack had finished the last dress, and sat back in his chair with a sigh of satisfaction. Deciding to take a break before going over to the store to deliver them, Jack stood up, taking his empty mug of coffee to go into the kitchen. He sips up the last bit, being the OCD-y person he was, before washing and drying it on the sink. He then goes to the fridge, with the intention of taking the tupper ware of leftovers. When he reaches for it, though, he also sees the untouched bottle of gin.

 The memory from a few nights ago suddenly returns to him. Shaking his head, Jack grabbed the tupper ware, and closed the fridge with difficulty, leaving the bottle of vice in there to cool off. He took out the leftover food, cold cuts of salmon and some asparagus. He placed it on a plate and set it to heat up in the microwave for half a minute. He stood there looking down at the beeping machine for a bit, when he suddenly hears a phone ringing. It was coming from the yellow phone hanging near the light switch of the kitchen.

 He unplugged the microwave two seconds too soon to go and get the incoming call. He wasn't expecting it to be Kellie or Chris, especially with how he acted back at the party, so he answered it very quickly.

"Yeah?" He started.

"Is this Jack Collingwood?" The other line asked.

"Yeah, but who is this?"

"This is Val Higgins. The uh... caretaker of Gordon's Toy Emporium."

 To this, Jack gave a quiet sigh. If a call from his ex-wife or her boyfriend was something that Jack didn't want, a call from the old toy-store he worked for was another. Turning around to go back to the microwave, Jack locked the phone between his neck and shoulder.

"Yeah, what is it?" He asked.

 "I'm calling on behalf of--" Jack quickly cut her off.

"I know whose behalf you are on. So why are you calling?" He demanded, taking out his now heated-lunch and dumping the plate on the nearby table.

"The store has finally been sold, sir. To very wealthy business-owners." Val said.

 Jack drew the stool from the corner and sat on it as he began to fork his lunch.

"And what does that have to do with me?" He inquired, surprisingly managing himself to be patient with the caller.

 There was static for a bit, probably movement in the background.

"Well, sir, the paperwork of the building entails me to either sell or throw away the materials that have been stocked here before the new owners were to start. None of the former employees want to-- And since you used to be close with the boss--" Again, Jack quickly cut her off.

"I was never, in any xxxxxxx way, close to the boss."

Silence for a moment.

"Well, sir, if you would like to have a look at the store. I'm opening it this afternoon."

 Jack hung up the phone without giving a reply. He sat back at the table, his mood almost returning to that of what he felt three nights before. "And I thought this day wasn't going to get xxxxxx up."