Bored, bored, bored. Doug Lambert hated the flea markets; to him it was just a congregation of old people and hoarders trying to shove off their worthless junk to other old people and hoarders. He really didn’t understand why anybody would pay for something that had been owned by some stranger before? He could not really explain what exactly creeped him out about the idea, maybe it was just some irrational fear that some sort of ghost or residue of the previous owner stuck with the object and invaded the new owner’s life. Or perhaps it was just the smell; mothballs and death.
So, what was Doug doing at the Sunday flea markets? Well, thing was Kate, Doug’s girlfriend loved them for some ungodly reason, and if Kate loved something Doug was most often willing to at least give it a try, scratch that, he was willing to walk barefoot to the ends of the Earth to her. He put his arm around her as they walked past the different stands selling out-of style clothing, tacky ceramic figurines and paintings of crying clowns. She smiled at him, man she was gorgeous; jet black hair, baby blue eyes and a damn good body too. And Kate was not just beautiful, she was smart as well; she graduated top of her class from college and immediately got a good job as a newspaper columnist. He was lucky someone like her put up with someone like him. It was not that she was too much out of his league, he was an all right looking guy, if he was allowed to say that of himself. He was 6’2’’ with a lean built, hazel eyes and straight, dark auburn hair.
It was more that, compared to Kate Doug felt as stupid as a pile of rocks. He barely managed to graduate from his business degree and, of course had been unable to find a job since. The problem was not finding job offers, no Doug’s problem was that he always blotched the interviews. He would get nervous, blotch his answers. It was a confidence issue; deep down Doug did not believe that he was good enough to work for anybody, and neither was he good enough for Kate. Eight months of unemployment had also taken their toll on his looks; he had gained quite a bit of weight, his hair had grown too long and shaggy to suit and if it wasn’t for Kate, he’d probably just spend his time sitting on his sofa, drinking beer and playing video games all day, all while wearing the same unwashed clothes he had been wearing for the past week.
And still Kate had insisted that they movie in together, on Kate’s salary they had managed to rent a small house in the suburbs. It was not perfect, definitely a fixer upper, which would have been alright if Doug had any mechanical skills, but he couldn’t even provide that for Kate. He was useless, a parasite! The least he could do was entertaining her.
So today this meant accompanying her to the stupid markets. At least the weather was nice, it was sunny, but not too hot yet and the Jacaranda trees blossomed in spectacular purple. Kate wanted to pick out some furniture for the house, especially a sofa (at the moment they sat on beanie bags). Hopefully Kate wouldn’t take too long anymore, they had already been there for two hours.
“Oh, let’s look over there!” said Kate pointing towards another stand.
Doug sighed, “Aw, come on, Kate,” he caressed her arm, “I’m tired,” he nuzzled her neck, “don’t you wanna go home?”
Kate giggled, but slipped from his embrace, “Look, hon, why don’t you wait for me in the pub across the street? Here, buy yourself some beer, I’ll be with you soon, I promise. Bye!” She gave him a peck on the cheek and trusted a few dollar notes into his hand, walking off before he could respond.
Looking at the dollar notes in his hand, Doug felt a sinking feeling in his chest. So now he was a child, given allowance send off to play with the other boy so that his mother could shop in peaces? Well, perhaps that’s what he was; a stupid boy, because he definitely failed as an adult.
Mulling over those thoughts Doug started walking without consciously choosing a direction. Soon enough he found that he had, per accident, walked right into a clothing stand and had gotten himself tangled with the clothes hanging from the stand’s roof.
“What the...?” Doug mumbled, brushing the clothes away and looking at them, one was a three piece pinstripe suit, another was a white disco outfit like the guy in Saturday Night Fever was wearing. He had walked into one of those goofy vintage clothing stores!
“May I help you, dear?” the owner of the stall asked, a kindly looking old lady in a flowery dress.
“Ah...no,” answered Doug, “just walked in here by accident.”
The old lady smiled, “Well, if you are here already why don’t you take a look around? I have a large selection of men’s clothes, you never know if something might catch your eye.”
Doug snorted, “Sorry lady, I’m not into the whole retro stuff.”
“What a pity,” the lady said straightening out the leg of the pinstripe suit, “you would look so dashing in proper suit.”
“Yeah,” the sarcasm in Doug’s voice was almost palatable, “I’d look like a total idiot. Really, I know vintage is big at the moment, but I never got it. The last century wasn’t that great; people were sexist, close-minded, and unhealthy. There were wars going on, one economical collapse after the other and even a few genocides. Seriously, the past sucked! Why try to bring it back, or emulate it?”
To Doug’s surprise the lady’s smile did not diminish one bit, it was a bit creepy, “Oh you got it all wrong, dear. Of course there were bad things in the past, but my stall is not about them, it’s about appreciation of all the good things that once existed. I have been around for most of the last century and while I agree with you that it was not always a paradise, there were also many good things. Sure there were wars, but there was also a whole generation that believed you could save the earth through idealism alone. Sure people were sometimes close-minded, but they were much more optimistic than nowadays. And especially the men from back then were marked by a certain strength and confidence that, pardon me if I say so,” she surveyed him from top to toe, “today’s youth lacks. That’s why I’m selling men’s vintage clothes. Because I hope to bring that optimism, that strength, that certain elegance, if you will.”
“Sure...” Doug was careful not to act on it, but truth be told, something about the old lady’s words of strength and confidence had piqued his interest.
She looked him into the eyes, “Why don’t you at least find something to try on and I could make a photo of you with your mobile,” she offered, “it would be good fun wouldn’t it?”
Somehow Doug found himself agreeing, “Yes, miss, it would,” and he immediately started to look through the articles in the stall. For a while he found nothing he liked, until suddenly an article of clothing caught his eye, it was almost like it was calling out to him to put it on, it was a....