The Comic Book Conundrum (Short Story) {Part III}

                                                                                                Word Count: 1213

      Just out of curiosity, Nicolas decided to do a little homework concerning the storefront he was about to sign a rental agreement for. At first just some casual prying around, and he might’ve even left it at that. Things got interesting though when he made a second visit to the area where he hoped to begin pursuing his comic book dreams.

     Just across the street he noticed Amin walking into the exact storefront he was about to sign a lease on, and almost waved “hello” to his newfound friend.  Instead deciding to remain anonymous and kept walking down the block. Curiosity concerning Amin got the better of him so he followed that up by a visit to the courthouse and a perusal of the tax records. Not because he had a perverse Accountant’s attraction to examining property codes, but to investigate the records for #184 N. 5^thStreet, current location of The Cozy Cover.

     The information he discovered wasn’t quite what he expected. The current occupant of the space was a bookstore operated by a Lebanese immigrant named Amin Abdoo.  Although Nick didn’t come across any information indicating that his new friend was experiencing some financial difficulty, he did access information revealing that the property had been through a number of lessees.  Not a good sign, so further investigation was in order.

     The previous occupants of the space were a hodge-podge of lessees. Various examples included a tattoo parlor called, “Indignant Images”, a fast food restaurant known as “Mother

Kluckers”, and an antique shop, with a business killing moniker, ”Dust Collecting Vases”.

The reasons for all of them vacating the premises weren’t revealed, but just the fact that the location had been through eight renters in the span of seven years was a bad omen. Not exactly a record to indicate successful occupancy of the commercial space.

     Next, Nick decided to get the contact addresses of some of the location’s former occupants just so he could call and ask them what had precipitated their decision to vacate the premises in the first place. The reasons for leaving were almost as varied as the tenants themselves. One of the former inhabitants left because a family emergency led to a shift in funding away from the business itself to help pay unexpected hospital bills. Another left under similar, but slightly different circumstances as money was shifted in order to help a relative meet bail for a crime of passion they knew about (and approved of..), but didn’t commit.

     Finally, a call to the one former occupant revealed that their business, an upscale restaurant with the somewhat prophetic monikor,  The Darkside Bistro, almost succeeded financially. The previous proprietor then broke down on the phone and confessed to Nick that he wasted all the profits on a nasty little powdered donut addiction. The type of pixy dust they produce in large quantities down in Bolivia as the gentleman referred to it.

     All of Nick’s calls almost made it sound as if the location itself was cursed, and he started to think this was indeed the case. Then he delved a bit deeper into the background of the proprietor just before Amin Abdoo, and discovered a rather revealing set of circumstances.  

     The business, a floral shop under the unique name of Mel’s Rejuvenating Greenery, failed not because of the business’s location, or anything Melvin Ordway did wrong, but because of a dramatic downturn in the economy of the L.A. Basin, as well that of Miami, Florida. Melvin had siblings in both parts of the country, and he told Nick that he was forced to send money to help

out family. Eventually unable to meet his own mortgage payments and inevitably sinking into

foreclosure quicksand.

     The location wasn’t cursed, but circumstances surrounding each of the businesses operating out of that spot resulted in them being snake bitten. On the surface this almost seemed too preposterous, but Nick suddenly began to envision a plan that just might work. Being an extremely strong willed, determined individual, he began to formulate a scenario in which it could happen. Now it became the slightly urgent matter of instituting it.

    Of course this plan would also include taking care of a burning desire to break the Dorfmeister family curse once and for all. His father bitching about it for all these years had gotten tiresome. Why not kill two birds with one stone, and also break the curse of  #184 N. 5^th St. too?

     In order to pull this off, Nick paid a visit to The Cozy Cover. Another heart-to-heart conversation with Amin was about to occur.

     “So Amin,” said visibly excited Nick. “I found out your shop is the exact same spot I’m planning to open my business in.”

     “You will indeed be getting a lease on the location my friend,” said Amin. “I’ve been unable to meet my mortgage payments due to, as you Americans put it, a “sluggish economy”. This has adversely affecting book sales. It looks as though I’ll lose the business entirely.”

     In the back of his mind, it almost did seem like the location was snake bitten? “Maybe not.”

     “What is this you speak of?”

     “What would you think about a business partnership where we share the space that you’re currently occupying by yourself?”

     The idea sounded intriguing, as Amin had never come across anything quite like this in all his

business dealings. Back in Lebanon, nor in the United States. For one thing most of the people

he’d had occupational arrangements with didn’t put themselves that far out on a limb. The structural integrity of most vocational tree branches wasn’t all that strong. “How do you institute such a plan? Does something like this happen and I still hold onto what I’ve already got?”

     “I should hope so,” said Nick rather emphatically. “You need to tell me about the hot water you’ve gotten into with your mortgage broker.”

     Amin was slightly embarrassed as he explained all the gory details, but in this situation he didn’t really have much choice in the matter. “Ok.”

     A half-hour later, things actually looked a bit more promising. “Those pesky past due mortgage bills still breathing down your neck, feels like a persistent head cold you can’t get rid of don’t they?” said Nick.

     “Yes they do. Your analogies are very good ones.”

     “Well my family has been up against a slightly similar, but different set of roadblocks ever since we first moved here from our native Germany. Our luck with various gainful endeavors hasn’t been the best. In fact, it downright sucks to put it mildly.”

    “How is this so?” asked Amin.

     This was followed by a longer than it needed to be, explanation of the formerly stellar Dorfmeister family legacy, which had fallen into embarrassing ineptitude ever since they first came to America.

     “I’m thinking that if we work together on this I should be able to help you out of your mortgage mess,” said Nick. “Succeed with my comic book business endeavor too. More than likely I might’ve failed miserably with that based on my families previous record.”

     “You think?”

      “This probably sounds crazy, but I’ve got this intuitive feeling that this’ll work.