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.