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Salamander
Fire Walking

Inside the Mystery Package
Sat Aug 25 2001

The Ex appeared at my apartment last night as the very soul of puncuality. Sure enough, he had a a fairly large bag of mail addressed to me still going to the house. Virtually all of it was junk mail. Some of it was financial stuff that I know I already sent an address change in on. I'll have to call those guys Monday. And, as promised, there was one UPS padded envelope, 10X14, with what the Ex said "feels like a T-shirt" inside. It was rigid - didn't feel like any T-shirt to me.

I didn't open it, just left it on the table while we grabbed some dinner and hit a movie. (Saw the French film "The Closet", by the way. I'll never understand why people hate going to subtitled films. This one was hilarious.)

He didn't come back in afterwards, but just dropped me off. Of course, the first thing I did was open the package.

One of my guesses was correct. It was a book I loaned them, part II of The
Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny. One book of two that I loaned them and then, when I asked for it's return months later, they denied having. C wrote a short note to go with it: E was cleaning out some books, and we knew you would want this back. Sorry for the length of the "loan". - C

I'm annoyed, but there's the end to it. I just last year replaced it with the new edition that came out that combined both volumes one and two. The book has sentimental value, I suppose, but without Volume 1 there isn't much point in having had it returned. I can't decide if this is supposed to be a slap to my face or an overture for me to get in touch with them. I'm smartest if I treat it as neither.

3 Comments
  • From:
    Jayne (Legacy)
    On:
    Sat Aug 25 2001
    saw you on the updates list and recognized your name from the message board. :)

    Welcome!
    Have a beautiful day....
    *jayne*

    p.s.
    I know the feelings you can have about loaning out a book and not getting it back... to me a good book is like a friend... its sick I know but I do get kind of attached. lol
  • From:
    Candle (Legacy)
    On:
    Sat Aug 25 2001
    That's it? A bloody book? LOL! All that worrying for nothing! I understand though how angry you probably were when they denied having it. I loaned a book (I forget the exact title, but it was the complete works of Shakespeare) to a friend, along with a scientific calculater and a black & white tv. She gave my tv to her niece, and denied ever having the book or the calculator. The book, which I needed for college, cost me $100 to replace. I haven't spoken to her since. I think you're right not to take it as a slap in the face or an invite to reconnect. If you don't want to talk to them, don't. :)
  • From:
    Franny (Legacy)
    On:
    Sat Aug 25 2001
    i learned to become a pest when it comes to getting a book back that i've loaned out. they're lucky i don't fine them! (library habit...) i did lose my copy of ziggy stardust & spiders from mars (bowie) to an old boyfriend's mom and a favorite book of poetry, Ariel, by Slyvia Plath that is probably somewhere in Israel now...
    :-(