Robert Karson: A Life in Nine Parts

by Ellen Mae

Part Five: The Cause for Hope

  Billy’s death was a hard pill for Bob to swallow. He was lost without the aged cat, and so, it seemed, was She. The hatchling mewed and screeched, and no matter what Bob did, he couldn’t make her stop. He fed her, cooed at her, tickled her under the chin, and even yelled at her, but nothing worked. The hatchling refused to stop mourning. She sat at Billy’s grave and wailed, as though the grouch would dig his way out at any moment. He didn’t though, and every now and then Lou would have to grab She to stop her from digging it up herself.

  “She misses ‘er Billy,” Lou told him.

  “He was my Billy, and I miss him too,” Bob snapped. He was in a foul mood, and he just wanted Billy. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

  “Well don’t look at me.” Lou was sitting in a large tree, Bob and She underneath it. They couldn’t go back to Lou’s sleeping place, but the park was safe enough. For the time being. “I ain’t gunna help ye. If I was smart, me mam wouldn’t be locked up, ‘cause I’d make sure they didn’t catch ‘er. I once killed someone wiv me bare hands, ye know.”

  “I want to speak to Manfred.”

  “Oi, are ye even listenin’ to me? Ye’re not, are ye?”

  “I need to go back to my work,” Bob told the boy, scratching his head. He’d have a hard time getting in. He couldn’t just stroll through the doors.

  “Ye can’t go there! They know ye, idiot!”

  “I know that!” Bob laced his fingers under his chin. He’d have to disguise himself, he thought. Of course, he wasn’t too sure how that worked. Did he dye his hair, or change his whole face? The second idea seemed rather dramatic (and expensive) to Bob. Maybe it was just a case of hiding his face so no one recognised it.

  “Right!” Bob exclaimed. “I know what I’m going to do. You wait here with She.”

  Without waiting for an answer, Bob raced off, leaving the two behind. He made it through the streets and to the store without trouble. Sally’s Costume Shop. Perfect! His boss’s secretary had spent a whole hour talking about the shop once when she’d been sent to deliver him a message. He was still waiting for that message, actually...

  The door gave a cheerful tingle as he opened it. A pretty woman with curly blonde hair greeted him. “Can I help you with anything, sir?” She had a wide, warm smile, and he caught the scent of rose and vanilla.

  “Uh, I’ll be right, thanks,” Bob replied. He hoped she didn’t recognise him. Bob searched the store. There were costumes for every profession, along with dragons, superheros and everything in between. He came across an aisle full of spider merchandise. There were plushies, gag toys, make up and a thousand different hair products. Three aisles were set aside for lollies and drinks, and another two for ‘gag food’.

  Bob found the fake moustaches. They were comical, to say the least, but what could he do? He grabbed one that looked at least a bit real, and took it to the counter with a pair of sunglasses and a felt top hat. The woman smiled at him. “Party?” she asked.

  “No. It’s for a, um, party.”

  The woman raised an eyebrow. “Okay...” She scanned the items through and he paid and quickly left. He needed to get back to the park, don his disguise and brave the Department of Departments.

  He didn’t get very far, however, when he heard someone sprinting after him. Panicking, Bob sped up, breaking into a sprint. “Sir! Excuse me, sir!”

  Bob kept going. He wasn’t going to jail, at least not until he found out why Manfred had set him up. “Sir, please, wait!”

  They sounded female. Bob frowned, and halted. Turning to her, he saw that it was the woman from the store, clutching a bag and chasing after him. “I paid in full,” Bob defended, before the woman could say anything. She’d recognised him, she must have. He was in trouble now. What could he do? She’d chase after him if he ran, and he couldn’t hit a woman!

  She shook her head. “You left your stuff behind, sir,” she informed him, holding the bag out. The brim of the felt hat poked out the top. So he had.

  “Oh...” Bob took the bag from her. “Thanks.”

  “No problem. My name’s Sally,” she told him with a smile.

  Bob nodded. “I noticed the shop,” he said stupidly. He wasn’t even sure if what he said made any sense.

  “You know,” Sally started, “when someone tells you their name, you usually tell them yours.”

  “Oh. My name’s, uh Bob.” Bob mentally slapped himself. He shouldn’t be giving out his real name to people. “But not the one from the news,” he added hastily, before realising that would probably make it worse.

  “I don’t watch the news. It’s all lies anyway.” Sally held out a piece of paper. Bob took it, and saw a number scrawled on it. “You seem pretty lonely, Bob. Maybe you should give me a call sometime?”

  Bob didn’t know what to say. A woman he’d never met had given him her number. A woman! This was a significant milestone in Bob’s life. He couldn’t call her, though. He was, after all, on the run and he didn’t know how long he’d be locked up for. A year? Ten? Life? He didn’t want to think about that. He didn’t know too much about the law.

  He did, however, want to think about Sally. She was beautiful, with her blonde curls and blue eyes, and Bob found himself dreaming about a life with her. Just the two of them and She (he guessed he’d take Lou as well, maybe if the boy stopped scratching) and their life-companions. Bob baulked. No. He didn’t have a life-companion anymore. Billy was dead. The thought saddened him.

  Maybe he could find another life-companion. Was that even possible? Bob wasn’t quite sure he wanted to, even if he could. It felt too much like he was replacing Billy.

  Sally’s voice disturbed his thoughts. “You will call me, right?”

  “No – yes! I mean, I will if I can...” Bob trailed off. He couldn’t tell her the truth

  Sally just smiled. “Well, I guess that’s good enough for me. You have a nice day, Bob.” She walked off, back to her shop, and Bob was left wondering and hoping.

  And so it was, Robert Karson met a girl.