(Picture by Jeff Baker)

A Mischief That is Past and Gone

by Jeff Baker

“You got your phone?” I asked.

“Nope, something better,” Kip said.

“Where did you get that?” Chad asked.

“My birthday when I was about twelve,” Kip said. “My Dad may have gotten it at a garage sale. That’s where I found these flashcubes.”

“Flashcubes!” I started laughing. “And a real camera!”

“Don’t call it a real camera in front of kids, they’ll throw their phones at you,” Kip said. “To say nothing of their looks when you try and explain what a record store was!”

“Hey, why don’t we wait until when it’s light to do this?” Chad asked.

“I’ll be on a plane back to Honolulu, remember?” I said.

“Oh, yeah.” Chad said.

“They’re tearing this old place down in a week or turning it into something else.” Kip said.

“Wow,” I said. “Hey, when did you start working here, I mean, there anyway?”

“About ‘89, right before you and Kip started working there.”

“Selling records, nothing like it,” I said. Still, it wasn’t a bad job for a senior in High school.

“Okay, I’ll get the picture of you two, then you can get one of me,” Kip said.

The flashbulb flashed, the camera clicked.

“Okay guys,” Kip said. “How about you do what you used to do in the back storeroom? For the record.”

Chad and I stared at each other. We’d seen each other a few times since the mid-nineties. I think he was divorced, I’d been in a bunch of busted relationships.

“Okay,” Chad said. I nodded. We kissed as the camera flashed and clicked again.

“It’s been a while,” I said.

“Yeah,” Chad said. “But it feels good.”

Summers and Winters from thirty years ago flashed through my head. I took a deep breath. Before I could say anything Chad looked me right in the eyes.

“Hunter, I still think about you all the time. That’s why I came back here to see you guys.” Chad said.

“Same here,” I said holding Chad tighter. “How about you catch that flight with me?”

Chad just grinned. Kip snapped another picture.

—end—

AUTHOR’S NOTE: The picture is mine, the place really was a record store in the 70s and 80s but I never worked there. This story went differently than I thought, doesn’t quite fit the title. Oh, and I have that camera!—–j.s.b. Sept 22, 2021.

“To mourn a mischief that is past and gone is the next way to draw new mischief on.” —-Shakespeare, Othello.