Not Old Enough To Be Dusty

The sun was shining, Daria decided going on a walk in the old part of the city. History had always fascinated her, and the old buildings here had plenty of that. She stopped, looking at the carvings on the eaves. They looked grotesquely almost like goblins or trolls. To get a better perspective of them, she took a step back, bumping into a businessman, a very busy businessman. He got very irritated, “you should look where you go, you can’t just walk into people like that.” A bit taken aback by his rudeness, she apologised profoundly. She explained she had been so absorbed in the carvings, trying to decipher them. “They can’t be neither goblin nor trolls. What do you think they look like?”

He just looked at her like she was a crazy woman. With a “hrmp” he brushed off his immaculate suit and went to step past her. “I didn’t make you dirty. I’m washed and clean.” Surprised, he looked at her. “Excuse me?”

“You just brushed yourself off, as if you got dirty because I bumped into you, so I’m telling you, I’m not dirty. And for that matter, I’m not old enough to be dusty either.” With that, she turned on her heel and walked away, leaving the businessman looking speechless after her.

He stood there, feeling a bit shell-shocked by her remark. He had not even noticed brushing himself off. That was when he felt it, that weird rumbling from deep, deep down. He could not stop it. It just kept coming, the deep gut-wrenching laughter.

People watched him, people walked around him, he just stood there laughing. Not being able to control himself. Everybody watching him thought he was crazy, that he had lost his mind. For how long he was laughing, he neither knew nor care for.

In the end a small girl came over, and tucked in the seams of his jacket, “excuse me mister, what are you laughing at?” Her mother came rushing over to stop her from harassing the poor man, who obviously had lost his marbles. He said it was okay, then he told the girl what he had been laughing at. Knowing it was not the reason, he had laughed as heartfelt.

While telling the girl and her mother, he noticed people around him. He smiled and nodded to them. And he realised the woman who had said it to him, had unbeknownst to her, released a blockage in him. “The world needs to laugh a lot more. I need to laugh a lot more!” He went down in his hunches to get in eye level with the girl. “Never get too busy to laugh, remember that.” He got back up and went on his way, smiling and nodding to everybody.

It was later in the week, Daria went to the small café on the corner for her lunch. She was just about to open the door when an arm reached past her and opened it for her. “Here you go, miss.” As Daria turned around to say thank you, what she heard was, “Oh my, it’s you again. I know you’re not old enough to be dusty. Please have lunch with me, on me, too.” As soon as the words had left his mouth, his face turned red. “I didn’t mean it like that”, he stuttered, “I meant I’ll pay, oh geez.” He was getting more and more flustered, and Daria had not even spoken a word. “Please have lunch with me and allow me to pay for your lunch.” Daria could see he literally was going through what he had just said. Word for word, to be sure she could not misunderstand him.

She looked at him, pretending to be horrified by what he had said. She had, from the start, understood what he had meant. But found it hilarious, how flustered he was getting. Just by looking at him now, she could see her look was working on him. He was still getting increasingly flustered. In the end, she had mercy over him and laughed. “I’m so sorry for being cruel. I knew what you meant from the start. If you’re still offering, I’ll be happy to accept.”

The sigh of relief came from the deep of his soul. Assuring her, his offer still stood. She walked in front of him into the café. At the counter, they placed their orders. It would take about ten minutes, then a server would bring their food down. Drinks in hand, they found a table and placed their order number visibly.

He told her what effect their first encounter had had on him. How he had been standing like a complete lunatic, laughing for at least fifteen minutes after she had left. With a sly smile, she doubted it was as a ‘complete’ lunatic. He smiled back at her, “maybe you’re right, but it was darn near to it.”

The server brought their food quicker than expected. As she approached, he looked up, and she looked down. Their eyes locked. “Oh my, this is a small world. Little missies mother, please meet the lady who was not old enough to be dusty.” The two women looked at each other, sparks flying. “You stole my boyfriend! So, he knocked you up, or is it somebody else’s child?”

He quickly grabbed the two plates of food before she threw them down on the table. He got up and stood between them. “No fighting ladies, please.” The server sent an evil look at Daria, then walked away. “Hi, I’m Adam, and you are?” He sat down again.

Daria looked at him while calming down. “Hello Adam, I’m Daria. Nice to meet you and thank you for the lunch“. They shook hands before enjoying a rather delicious lunch. As they were leaving, Adam again held the door for Daria. Outside he begged his pardon, if he could ask what the encounter with the server had been about?

The weather was nice, and Daria still had plenty of time left of her lunch break. “How much time do you have?” She laughed, “this might take a while!” He looked at his watch, “plenty of time.”

“I guess it actually won’t take that long. You got the gist of it, I guess. I was in a committed relationship, or at least I thought I was. He went out with his mates, and came home reeking of perfume, lipstick on his neck, and you can guess what else. And no, it was not because he was drunk, he was the designated driver. The next day, I moved out. Hmm, I wonder why I reacted that way when I saw her. I thought I had moved past it. You see, when I moved out, I found myself.”

A smile spread across her face. “As a matter of fact, the break-up was a blessing in disguise. It changed my career, before I was like you. Desk jockey, nine to five, always too busy to live. The break-up… hmm… It made me pause and re-think my life.”

The light in her eyes, he could see it came from within, her soul lighting up. “At the time it hurt, and I put all my hurt in my art. It’s hanging in Gallery De Noir. I don’t know if you have heard of it?”

He just looked at her, “You are not saying you’re that Daria, Daria De Noir? The must sought out artist of our time.” Shyly, she looked away. “The office I work in. Your paintings are on all the walls. Our Managing Director is such a huge fan of yours.” For a moment, disappointment flickered across her face. “It was the son of our MD, who introduced his father to your art. He felt it told his story. Actually, the story of most people. Do you have time? I would love to introduce you to him.”

Daria checked her watch, and she excused herself. Her assistant had an appointment, so she had to get back. He was, of course, welcome to bring his MD into the gallery. She thanked him for lunch and pleasant company. “I hope we meet again, not just with your MD.”

They went each their way. Hardly two hours passed before the doorbell to the gallery chimed. There stood Adam and another business looking man. Daria suspected it was his MD. “Hello Daria, please meet my MD.”

The MD politely shook hands with Daria, then sent Adam and a peculiar look. “Very nice to meet you Daria, I didn’t realise you were a local artist, until my son just told me.” He looked at Adam, who grinned sheepishly.