The new TV that Jimmy rescued was on, a fuzzy picture of the events of an afternoon family barbecue fading in and out of it's screen. Jimmy peered out from behind the TV and called to Karen.
"Hey sweet pea, how's them samwiches comin'?!"
"You hold your horses, mister, or you won't be gettin' a sandwich today!" Karen replied.
The two were together again, as they had come to be so frequently. Karen looked up from the cutting board and saw the TV.
"Wait! Stop right there! The picture's clear, I can see everything!"
Jimmy slowly crept out from the TV and looked at the front- Karen was right, there was no static in sight. Rejoicing over his victory, Jimmy ran into the kitchen, grabbed Karen's waist and swept her, squealing, into his arms.
"Put me down, you silly man, or you can't have any lunch!"
After planting a big, wet, sloppy kiss on her lips, Jimmy placed Karen carefully on the yellow-tiled floor of the kitchen.
"You know, Jim-bo, we really ought to start decorating in here," Karen said.
"Well, as soon as I-"
Jimmy was cut off by a HUGE explosion coming from the vacant lot next door. Jimmy ran over to Karen and protected her as vases and glasses fell off the shelves and crashed onto the floor, the building shaking in the aftermath. Pavement debris smashed into the side of the buildling, creating even more turbulance. What seemed to last forever suddenly stopped, and all that was heard was little tinklings against the glass. All of a sudden, something broke through the middle of Jimmy's favorite stained glass window, breaking it into irreparable pieces. Jimmy leaned down to pick up the tiny, shimmering rock, and ran to join Karen at the window. Thousands of little, shiny rocks were flying through the air, breaking windows, knocking some unconcious, and making many people's days. An impeccably dressed man was standing right next to the what-used-to-be vacant lot, jumping up and down, shouting praises in some foreign language that Jimmy didn't recognize.
"Hey- I know him!" Karen exclaimed. "He came into my store one day! He said it was 'adorable,' what a sweet heart! I think he said he's from Italy!"
Jimmy didn't answer, but was instead wondering what in the world the rock was. He remembered seeing something like it before, maybe something that his mother had...
"HEY! This right here may be a diamond!" Jimmy yelled. "My momma has somethin right like this on her weddin' rang!"
"Well what do you know? Ah! Look at the Italian man!"
Jimmy ran back to the window and saw Eros scrambling around the outside of the vacant lot, picking up as many rocks as he could manage. He then moved his way inside the lot and began to roll around in the piles of diamonds that had fallen to the ground. Laughing to himself, Jimmy turned away, assessed them damage to the window, and began cleaning it up. For some reason, he didn't feel so bad about the window. It was as if a spell had been broken.
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It was friday. Jimmy woke up at 8:30, almost late for work. He jumped in the shower, grabbed a quick bite to eat, and headed down to the garage. It wasn't until around lunch time that he realized that he hadn't woken up early in the morning and ran to the bathroom. He hadn't woken up again, later, on the cold tile floor. It was the first time since his dad died that he had had a normal friday morning. Maybe things were looking better after all...

Jimmy stepped into the barn. The dim lantern in the corner created eerie shadows. Bartholomew whinnied softly. A swaying shadow contrasted with one of the golden walls. Jimmy looked up and saw his father swinging from the rafters, a rope around his neck.
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He woke with a start. His nightmare had haunted his dreams every Friday since the one Friday he found his dad. Jimmy stumbled to the bathroom, his stomach already heaving. This was his early morning routine every Friday. As he came to his senses on the cold tile floor, he began to shiver. Eventually he drifted back to sleep and awoke again a few hours later, stiff and frozen.

Pretending to postpone thinking about his past, Jimmy reached over and turned on the shower. Slowly he got in, letting the burning water heal his wounds.

Jimmy was shocked to find that a dusting of snow had fallen overnight. He had never really seen it before. But today, he was not interested. So, he grabbed a cold bowl of grits and a piece of toast and sat down in his chair. Time slowly passed as he forced himself to eat. Finally he stood and wearily slipped into his oil-stained jumpsuit and walked down the decrepit stairs. He was earlier than usual getting to work. Work would distract him. It was going to be another one of those days.
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Jimmy stopped in to say goodbye to Pokey as he was leaving. He stepped loudly so he wouldn't scare Pokey, like he had last time.

"See ya later, Pokey. Have a nice weekend."

Pokey looked up and smiled. Pokey liked Jimmy, or so Jimmy liked to think.

"Bye! I'll come see Buck before I go home!"

"You go on ahead and do that Pokey. You do that."

He felt downtrodden as he climbed the last step before the fourth floor. He just wanted to sit on the couch, see her face, talk with her. He knocked on her door and then entered, tripping over the pink doormat. Karen looked alarmed as she walked into the living room from her bedroom, but, realizing it was Jimmy, smiled and came towards him. Jimmy felt his legs give out as he collapsed onto her couch. The energy left in his body was drained.

"Jimmy! What's wrong with you?" Karen asked.

"I- I just need to rest darlin'."

Karen didn't ask any questions: she simply went into the kitchen, got two cups of tea, and put his head in her lap as she sat on the couch.

"I brought you some tea when you want it. Just rest."

Jimmy had never allowed himself to let someone take care of him. But it was time that he opened up to someone. And she was the right person to do so with. They understood each other. She allowed him just to be. She didn't persist, asking what was wrong. She knew he would talk when he wanted to talk.

And he told her everything. And she just listened. He loved her for listening. He loved her for not judging him. He loved her.

The sunlight blinded Jimmy as he slid out from under the corroding Ford F150 and stood up. He was happy. He felt his heart catching in his chest whenever he thought of her, as if he was galloping on his horse, Bartholomew, through the fields back home. Jimmy hadn't seen Karen in a day, seeing as he did not want them to become too attatched too quickly. He still felt as if he needed to experience the city some for himself, without a companion. Suddenly, a man meekly peeked around the corner of the bay doors and slowly made his way towards Jimmy.

"Good mornin' sir, how can I assist you?" Jimmy asked.

"Well, I'm looking for someone who I can give a check to. I had my car fixed the other day and didn't have the money on-hand, but I've come back with a down-payment of one hundred dollars." the man replied.

"I'm not sure I can help ya much there; Leo does most of the business stuff. I just fix cars. He's out right now, but why don't you take a seat and chat with me until he gits back?" Jimmy asked amiably.

The man reluctantly sat down and an awkward silence ensued.

"So, uh, where do ya live? What's yer name? Where ya from?" Jimmy inquired.

"My name is Henry Wilson and I live in Thallow Flats."

"OH- Thallow Flats?? That's where I live too! What floor do yer live on??"

"Uh- the fourth."

"Aw, shucks. I was thinkin' we coulda been neighbors. I live on the seventh."

"Oh."

"Well- what's yer story? How long ya lived here?"

The man hesitated, so Jimmy jumped in.

"Well, I'm from Georgia and been livin' here not longer than a month. Came to the city to get away from the country some. I reckon I needed to change my life some, break some old habits and start new. So that's why I came here."

"Ah. I've lived here for a while now, I'm not quite sure how long. My son just went away to pec- uh- boarding school, and my wife's been- uh- living in a foreign country on business."

"Hey man! You got some business!" Jimmy yelled to Leo as he walked into the garage. "Henry- there's the fella you wanna go talk to about yer car. Say- since I don't know many people and you seem like a decent feller- why don't we go out tonight? Grab a beer- well, I won't- but you can. I'll get a coffee or some coke. Whadaya say?"

"Why- sure. That sounds- nice."

"Alrighty- I suppose I'll come round to yer place round' 7."

"Okay. See you then."

Jimmy smiled to himself as Henry walked into Leo's bland, white office. He sensed lonliness or loss coming from Henry, but he figured it was because he was currently living alone. Returning to the Ford, he lifted the rusty hood to check it's innards. Karen's pretty face immediately entered his mind and he couldn't help but smile even more. Satisfied, Jimmy began to check all the parts of the engine, planning on stopping by Karen's place to give her a rose and a kiss before going out with Henry.

A couple of weeks had passed. Jimmy sat on the sofa in his living room, reminiscing about the previous night's date with Karen. He had borrowed one of Leo's old cars and picked her up from her shop. They drove around the city, not far from Thallow Flats, of course, and found a quiet Chinese restaurant. They talked and talked and talked, and Jimmy delighted in her smile and happiness. She reminded him of home. He thought she was adorable, especially as they were leaving, when she gasped and ran across the room to peer at the exotic fish in the tank.
"I wonder what it feels like, bein' able to breathe underwater and swim around all day!" she exclaimed.
Jimmy chuckled to himself, humming along with Prince as he sang "Little Red Corvette" in the background. He grabbed her hand, slid his other arm around her tiny waist, and walked together to the car. After he kissed her goodnight, Jimmy skipped up the stairs to his apartment, feeling so content that he slid right into bed and into a sound sleep.
Now, looking out the window, he saw the magnificent sunlight illuminate the drab cityscape surrounding him. With his feet propped up on a simple, wooden hand-made coffee table from home, Jimmy lingered over his sausage biscuit and grits. There were many things he wanted to do today, like covering the stained white walls with a pale blue paint, or maybe even build the model airplane he hadn't gotten the chance to start. Although he thoroughly enjoyed his new job, Jimmy was grateful to have a day off from Leo's dry humor and Buck's ceaseless growling.
Suddenly, he knew what he wanted to spend the day doing. He called Karen to say that they should both go out tonight and that he would come by her apartment around 6. It was 1 o'clock now, so he knew he'd have plenty of time. Running down the stairs into the lobby, Jimmy spotted Mamet, and called out to him.
"Mamet!" Jimmy's souther drawl echoed across the atrium, causing Mamet to turn around abruptly.
"Hello, Jimmy. How did your date go?"
"Well I'd say it was right nice. I'm plannin' on makin' Karen a surprise tonight, so where do ya reckon the nearest grocery is?"
Mamet thought for a second.
"I believe there's one not too far down the road, a long-ish walk. I think it's called something like Pig Wig or something," he said brusquely.
Two hours later, Jimmy returned to Thallow Flats with two paper bags full of groceries and a bouqet of fresh flowers. Once he was back in his apartment, Jimmy wrote Karen's invitation to dinner in careful calligraphy. When that was done, he began to cook like a madman- frying, baking and boiling. At around 5:30, Jimmy jumped in and out of the shower, dressed in his best outfit, grabbed a rose and the invitation and headed to Room 408. He placed them on the floor in front of the door, rang the doorbell and ran to the landing. Peeking behind the wall to see if she picked them up, Jimmy watched Karen open the door, bend down, read the note and smell the rose. He smiled. Singing "Dos Gardenias" and dancing back to his room, Jimmy stopped and thought for a moment.
He came here, to the city, to start anew. He got a job and then was robbed. A wonderful girl came into his life and wiped away his fright, his abandonment. He knew that, after all that had happened, he had no clue what could come around the corner. The city was so different from the country, so harsh, so strangely beautiful, so cold. He'd found someone who reminded him of home. Still- was he doing the right thing? Was love, while he was so naive in this new world, a good thing?
Deciding he'd finish the though later, Jimmy returned to the savory aromas of his apartment. While he waited for his date to arrive, he rearranged the bouqet of flowers on the kitchen counter for the third time, making sure they were perfect.

Jimmy's legs began to cramp as he knelt on the floor of his living room, picking up shards of glass and pieces of dill pickles and carefully placing them in a wicker trashcan. Sunlight came streaming in his windows, forming beautiful shapes on the floor. The stained glass window turned the white sunlight different hues of blue, green and red, and Jimmy felt slightly comforted, recognizing a familiar sight. Jimmy forced himself to recall the events of the dramatic, unsettling last twenty-four hours:
He arrived home yesterday to an open apartment and found his refrigerator empty of food and his guitar, signed by Lynard Skynard, missing. Frantically racing out of his apartment to look for signs of the thief on the street below, Jimmy tripped over an abandoned jar of his favorite type of pickle, shattering the jar and soaking the already water-damaged wooden floor. Still feeling the thrill of pursuit, Jimmy leapt onto his feet and raced down the stairs, through the lobby and into the daylight, whipping his head in all directions, scanning the surroundings, trying to glimpse his fire-engine red guitar. He began to run in one direction, then another, then another, until finally the unyielding forced of gravity caused him to collapse into a pathetic, panting heap on the concrete.
Jimmy rose slowly, defeated, unable to understand, unable to comprehend what had happened. Nothing like this had ever happened to him before- he had never been driven to lock his doors from the fear of intruders. He though of calling the police but didn't know the number. No friends were here to help him search for the perpetrator. Jimmy was alone. Jimmy was not at home.
Hours passed and Jimmy found himself sitting in his old, moth-eaten recliner, staring out the window, feeling empty. He didn't recall returning to his apartment. Turning around, he realized that his door stood open; rays of light from the dim overhead lamps flooded into the darkness of his living room. Jimmy fumbled for his wallet and keys in the deep pocket of his jacket, found them and left, carefully locking the door behind him. A raw numbness sat in his stomach, and he slowly felt it spreading to the farthest corners of his body.
"Why would someone do something like this? Why would they take my guitar? My guitar... my guitar! Dad... dad!"
The rumbling of his stomach interrupted Jimmy's thoughts, so he headed for the Tavern; "One beer won't hurt- right? "
Part of him pleaded with him to not go inside the Tavern, to simply find a diner. But Jimmy felt the hunger deep inside, the hunger that didn't want food, the hunger that longed for escape. It longed to numb the shock, to take him away from this new place, to help him feel at home, to fix his problems. Frightened of the past and the could-be future, Jimmy gathered his strength and fought the hunger. He just needed a beer. One wouldn't hurt. He would be fine.
Jimmy walked blindly into the dimness and headed straight to the bar. He asked for a Bud, but pulled the bartender aside and asked him to only give him one beer, even if he demanded more. A lone man sat on the center bar stool, slumped over a glass that was one of an astonishing number of empty ones, which were spread out next to him. The two men made eye contact and Jimmy approached him.
"You know whar the nearest diner is 'round here?"
"Take a right outta here and it'll be a couple of blocks down," the man replied.
A silence followed.
"So- I'm James. And what's a young guy like you doin' in this shit-hole?" the man asked.
Before Jimmy could answer, the door opened and a beautiful woman walked in. The strange man immediately focused all of his attention on her, and had no more words for Jimmy. Deciding that it was worthless to be in a bar that had customers as miserable as that man, Jimmy drained his glass and went into the night, searching for a place to eat.

Apt. 714

"Good luck!" Jimmy's mother cried as he hung up the phone.
Jimmy Lee crossed the pale yellow kitchen, walked through his living room and stopped. He liked the urban feel of his new apartment, although the apartment itself was definitely not new. Glancing at his favorite stained glass window, he exited his apartment without locking the door. Jimmy made his way to the staircase, which smelled of stale urine and food, and walked down all seven fights. Once outside, he realized that he left his wallet on his bedside table, so he reluctantly trudged back up the stairs to his apartment, #714, and happily emerged from the stairs into the fresh air once again. Jimmy didn't like elevators.
With a nervous look around his new block, Jimmy headed towards the grungy auto-shop next door. He entered the grim darkness of the shop through the open bay doors, and when his eyes adjusted, Jimmy noticed an old man sitting in a white plastic chair in the back left corner of the shop. A big black dog laying next to the man began to utter a low, guttural growl.
"Excuse me, sir, I been wonderin' whether you in need of a new mechanic," Jimmy said.
The old man did not respond.
"Mah daddy's got an aut-oh shop down in Georgia, and I been workin' there since I been 15. I'm 21 now."
Nothing.
"I sure do got a lot of experience, sir. I been learnin' bout cars since I been 5."
All of a sudden the dog leapt to it's feet, barking, snarling and spitting, straining at it's leash which was tied to the wall.
"SHUT UP ya good-fa-nothin' dog!" yelled a large elderly man with a peculiar accent Jimmy had never heard before.
"Can I help you?" the man asked Jimmy gruffly.
"Yes, sir. I came to see if you been needin' another mechanic 'round here. I been learnin' 'bout aut-ohs fer 15 years and been workin' on 'em fer 6. My daddy owns a garage down-"
"Yeah, yeah, whatevuh. So you say you're good with cars?"
"Why yes sir, if I do say so myself."
"Den if you're so good, go take a look at dat Honda right there and tell me what's wrong."
Jimmy walked over to the jacked-up car, peered inside, and noticed that the engine block was cracked. He told the man what was wrong.
"Good. So- uh- what's ya name and where ya from?"
"My name is Jimmy Lee, sir, and I'm from Blairsville, Georgia. I like to hunt and fish and listen to the Buena Vista Social Club."
"Well, Jimmy, I'm Leo and I'm from Brooklyn. Dere ain't much huntin' and fishin' 'round here, but that Buena Vista Social Club sure is somethin' else. That's all I play in this garage. Tell ya what, come back tomorrow, and if ya do good work, ya hired."
"Thank ya sir, thank ya right much!"
Jimmy walked calmly out of the shop into the bright sunlight, and as soon as he was out of sight, a big "YEEHAW!" and a jig erupted right out of his tall frame. He took the steps two at a time, not noticing the two kids writing graffiti on the wall, anxious to tell his momma the news. When he reached his landing, Jimmy sprinted down the hall to his apartment. His feet stopped five feet from his door and his pulse quickened. Slowly creeping forward, Jimmy was shocked to find the door wide open.

On the way to school...

I had a semi-difficult time getting to school this morning because Hagrid came by my house and needed to talk. Apparently BuckBeak has been flakey lately and didn't meet him in Diagon Alley OR at the Three Broomsticks on Monday. Anyway, Hagrid emerged from the shadows as I was getting in the car and begged me to stay and chat. We ended up making tea, watching Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and making fun of BuckBeak the entire time. It was such a great way to start the morning!