sharon and the salesman, conclusion

by nick nelson

illustrations courtesy of penmarq studios

chapters 43 - 52 of 52

to begin at the beginning, click here

for previous entry, click here

43. last night could have been worse, thought larry, as the barely warm water hit him. now he had to get through the day. * 44. mom wouldn't notice if i don't get up right away, thought sharon. and besides, she could hear the shower running. * 45. when i do get up, thought sharon, i will stay up. yes, that was a good resolution. * 46. turning the shower off, larry's mind went completely blank. but only for a few seconds. it was the best feeling he had in days. something to build on. * 47. getupfulness * 48. quickly acting on her new resolution, sharon sat up on the bed. the television was off. should she turn it back on? maybe with the sound on, watch the news? yes, that was a good, responsible, idea. she acted on it. * 49. putting his clothes on, larry suddenly felt good. i mean, why not? * 50. maybe it would not be such a bad day after all, thought sharon. somehow she would start up a conversation with larry. she had all day to think of things to say to him. the whole day. * 51. oh, fuck! larry remembered his appointment with williams. * 52. really, could it get any worse? larry felt like getting in his car and just driving away. anywhere away from this life. * the end

sharon and the salesman, part 5

by nick nelson

illustrations courtesy of penmarq studios

chapters 36 - 42 of 52

to begin at the beginning, click here

for previous entry, click here

36. dawn. sharon could see the light seeping through the window, as she watched the mary tyler moore show. always one of her favorites, although she almost never actually laughed at it.. * 37. very soon, thought larry, or at least one of these days, or who knows, maybe never, i will live in a penthouse ... or at least … have my own apartment? is this life for fucking real? * 38. better just get up and get dressed, thought sharon. maybe sneak in a nap in the afternoon. not that she actually had anything to do. * 39. just when things were starting to look good… here i am back in a fucking rooming house. which most people think don't even exist any more. i wish i wasn't a big boy, so i could cry. all right, let's go. first, get into a sitting position. * 40. exhausted by her long night of gunsmoke, bonanza and mary tyler moore, sharon leaned back… * 41. everything he had ever… come on, big guy, larry told himself, what is the use of going over all this again… just get the fuck up and get in the shower. today is the first day of the rest of your life. * 42. now, sharon, now! get up! * chapters 43 - 52

sharon and the salesman, part 4

by nick nelson

illustrations courtesy of penmarq studios

chapters 27 - 35 of 52

to begin at the beginning, click here

for previous entry, click here

27. what was that? larry awoke suddenly. where was he? right, in his new room. * 28. nothingness. larry wished he could slide back into nothingness. but he knew he better get up and take his clothes off and take a shower or he would be so stiff and sore in the morning he would hardly be able to pick up his sample case. his sample case. * 29. understanding that she was being silly did not help sharon get to sleep. she decided to get up and watch some more television * 30. in books and movies people were always doing impulsive things and being "free spirits". were there any "free spirits" in real life, sharon wondered. if there were, they probably got put in straight jackets. but what could you do? * 31. very soon it would be midnight. then morning. of another rotten day. thought sharon and larry simultaneously. * 32. knowing it would eventually be finally over… * 33. nothing would ever change… but now sharon was walking down a long dark corridor actually she was swimming, but not making much progress she had to get to the airport… she woke up * 34. ohhh… what time was it? larry took his watch out of his pocket. twelve oh eight. would he wake the lady or the daughter up if he took a shower? on his first night in the place. fuck it, he'd take a shower in the morning. the morning. * 35. pulling the blanket up to her chin, sharon watched gunsmoke with the sound off. she had started watching television with the sound off about a year ago. it was addictive. * chapters 36 - 42

sharon and the salesman, part 3

by nick nelson

illustrations courtesy of penmarq studios

chapters 21 - 26 of 52

to begin at the beginning, click here

for previous entry, click here

21. quiet spread through the house. night had fallen. lying on her bed, with the television on but with the sound off, sharon was still thinking about larry. and how to get him to take her seriously, so they could have a nice interesting conversation. * 22. damn! thought larry as he suddenly woke up. he had fallen asleep on the bed, without taking his clothes off, after sharon had left. he had dreamed about sharon. but it was only a dream. what a relief ! * 23. generally speaking, larry was not a bad guy most of the time. even if he had to say so himself. being a salesman, he met new people - strangers - every day. about half of them were women. a lot of them were bored. well, some of them were bored. and some of them were crazy. * 24. larry just wanted to be alone. * 25. excitement had always been lacking in sharon's life. and she had accepted that. * 26. for once in her life, sharon wanted to have a little fun. not even fun, really, just to meet someone interesting. * chapters 27 - 35

sharon and the salesman, part 2

by nick nelson

illustrations courtesy of penmarq studios

chapters 14 - 20 of 52

to begin at the beginning, click here

14. "this is your room. how do you like it?" sharon asked brightly. maybe too brightly. "it looks very nice," larry answered. he placed his suitcase carefully on the bed * 15. knowing herself only too well, sharon tried to act grown up. * 16. "here - if you open the widow it won't be so stuffy." opening the window gave sharon something to do with her hands, instead of holding them behind her back. "there now, isn't that better?" * 17. exactly what larry needed. * 18. unless he was greatly mistaken, this young lady was trouble. trouble he didn't need. especially not now. * 19. calm down, larry told himself. maybe they never had a roomer before - yeah, wasn't that what the mother said? the girl was just a little nervous. this was a new experience for her. once she was gone, everything would be cool. so relax. * 20. just relax. * chapters 21 - 26

sharon and the salesman

by nick nelson

illustrations courtesy of penmarq studios

chapters 1 - 13 of 52

1. as sharon came down the stairs, she saw the man. * 2. fortunately she had been forewarned by her mother, and knew the man was the new tenant, who was taking bobby's old room. his name was larry, and he was, strangely enough, a door to door salesman. * 3. hard to believe that door to door salesmen still existed in the modern world, where everybody was afraid to open their doors! but there he was, sure enough, looking up at sharon . * 4. politely nodding and smiling, sharon continued down the stairs. * 5. contrary to her mother's explicit warnings, sharon was determined to befriend larry, and learn all about him and his curiously old-fashioned profession, which she had invested in her mind with a certain retro glamor, like the old black and white movies which she enjoyed watching on television. * 6. a hush fell over the stairwell. * 7. "right this way, sir," exclaimed sharon brightly, pointing to the top of the stairs. * 8. "i don't believe we have been properly introduced," larry replied. he had a nice smile! sharon could believe he sold a lot of rugs, or bibles, or whatever it was he sold. sharon gave him her biggest smile right back. "hello there! my name is sharon." * 9. before sharon could wipe what she felt must be a silly smile off her face, larry had come up the stairs and was standing over her - even though he was two steps of the staircase below her. "you must be mrs white's' daughter." suddenly sharon was at a loss for words. * 10. "you must be very tired," sharon finally managed to say. "oh?," larry answered, "why would i be tired?" "i bet you've had a long day selling stuff." * 11. "that could be." * 12. "you must think i'm awfully silly, " said sharon. "here, let me get out of your way." "thank you. my name is larry, by the way. larry miller." " i know. my mom told me." "ah." "and you're a salesman." " that's right." * 13. "really, i think that's so exciting. most people never go out of their offices any more - that's if they even go out of the house! and here you are, out talking to complete strangers, face to face, all day long." "somebody has to do it." * chapters 14 - 20