Short Story Suspense – Old Charlie
Photo credit: mantasmagorical from morguefile.com
Truthfully my job was dull and boring I had been stuck in an admin job for over 20 years. I had spent my time behind computer screens for so long I was beginning to get square eyes. Not to mention a couple of spare tires. I had always told myself one day I would leave and go in to business for myself, I had a tidy sum in the bank especially for this occasion and had been telling myself this year was my last, but I had been saying this for the last 3 years.
It was a wet rainy evening I was driving home through some of the little out skirt villages, so that I could avoid the rush hour traffic. I had taken this route many times and had noticed a one storey derelict looking building on the out skirts of cherry village. It was always a building I looked for on my way out of the village , I’d pass a load of cottages, then a large house, the main garage, the one storey building and a little cemetery before coming to a sign saying 1 and a quarter miles to bettle.
This day there was a for sale sign on the front of it, for sale by legal tender all reasonable bids considered. I enquired about the old building and found out it used to be an old fish shop some years ago. The more I thought of the idea the more I thought I could do that job. I looked up all the information on what it entailed to run such a business and decided to put in a bid, 2 weeks later at the auction I got the shop.
I began renovating it, it needed new windows, doors, plastering, painting, and tiling. After a painstaking 3 months it was finished, all sparkling and new, new serving area, prepping area, chipper, rumbler and the old walk in cold freezer was given a new lease of life with new wiring, It looked great. After putting up my timetable of opening hours in the window 9-4 Monday to Saturday. I knew I was going to have to be ready for the next day, opening day.
I woke up early, did my chores and all other business before heading to the shop for 3.30pm. Once inside I pulled on my black and white checked trousers and white shirt, I looked every bit a fryer. I received my fresh fish deliveries, started my fryers, rumbler and chipper going, then made my fish cakes and completed my menu list before I opened my door to welcome my first customer. My first customer was an elderly gentleman with a walking stick and well weather complexion, he went by the name of Stevie.
“Stevie Jones” he said as he asked for fish and chips twice. “This used to be old Charlie’s shop, he used serve great fish and chips back in the day” he said “curry sauce was the best around”.
“Well I hope I can live up to his high standards’ I said to which he replied
“we’ll see, we’ll see” he picked up his dinner, nodded, smiled and then left. The evenings were very busy and on the 3rd night after closing I had cleaned and disinfected the tiles in the back of the shop and had just started to hose them down when, I spied a figure at my back door it was an elderly but portly gentleman and for a moment I was startled.
”I’m sorry I didn’t mean to scare you, I just came to see the shop, you see this used to be mine” he said.
“aahhh” I said” you must be Charlie”
“yes” he replied with a smile “that’s me. I just wanted to look at the old place”.
I asked him in and told him he was welcome to look round. He said how things had changed and how he used to do the chips by hand and not by these new-fangled machines, we talked for a good while before he bid his farewells and was gone. After that Charlie regularly came to visit and helped out in the back with the chipper and rumbler. At times you’d find him laughing to himself saying new-fangled contraptions what next. I’d ask Charlie if he wanted to help up front but he’d say he liked it better where he was, he said his time serving was well and truly over. He kept telling me that I needed to get extra help, as I could not do everything myself, I told him not to worry as I have you, he laughed and said don’t rely on my old bones, you need young ens full of life to help you, I just laughed and shrugged it off. I guess I knew he was right because he would turn up every now and again, then he was gone just as quick.
One night I talked to Stevie, tried to get some information on Charlie, I asked him if Charlie lived local and did he go out much, did he have many visitors, to which Stevie laughed and said “you could say he resides locally, not too far from here I guess, I go to visit him every now and again, told him about this place when you opened and how well it’s doing. No he don’t get many visitors, not for many years “he said.
With that I felt sadness and yet gladness that he would come to visit. One evening I was running late, I rushed in, turned everything on, spilled batter in the back room, rushed to get my chip bucket, slipped and knocked myself out. I was brought round by Charlie who was telling me, I had to get up and get out as, my fryer was on fire and there was not much time, he helped me through the smoke, through the main door to where a fire crew was waiting along with Stevie, but no Charlie was in site. I asked the crew to go in and get my elderly friend out, who was still in the shop.
A worried Stevie asked me who was stuck in there, I told him it was Charlie ”Charlie’s in there , he woke me and helped me out” I said, to which he replied “I thinks you hit your head to hard in there, old Charlie’s been dead for over 50 years, owned this place when I was a lad”.
The fire crew searched and put out the fire, no one was inside, it was completely empty. A month later I was open again, this time with extra staff. I never did see my ghostly friend again but sometimes I’d go to visit him and tell him what was on my mind and what’s new with our business.
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