It had been a rather shit day today, practically thunder storming while Willa had been working an Auggie was in school. So when the skies parted just an hour after the school day had let out, the young mother had to take her son to the park. It was a warm day, with the sun still high in the sky, but the previous storm had left a nice breeze in the air that made it practically perfect to play outside in. So once Auggie had finished his school work, Willa agreed to spend an hour or so outside, watching him run around on one of the first, nice spring nights the town had seen. Hearing the faint, yet knowing jingle of the impending ice cream truck, the brunette saw numerous children perk up in excitement. Sighing, she looked through her purse for a few dollars and only found a twenty. Turning to the person next to her, she gave them a soft smile. “Can you break a twenty? They always get mad when I try to pay for a dollar spongebob popsicle with anything larger than a five.”
PATIENCE WAS NEVER A VIRTUE heather possessed, which would explain why waiting even five minutes for her driver to pick her up did not sit well with her. there was a reason she had a schedule planned down to the minute; it was exactly to avoid waiting around. she was on her phone trying to steer clear of any interaction when she heard the request from a stranger.“ i thought i already gave sufficient reminders that if they can’t run their businesses right, including the simplest task of providing change, they shouldn’t even bother having a business at all. seriously, a town of idiots sometimes, ” heather said, mostly to herself before turning to face the woman beside her and flashing a smile, tight-lipped and wide and never fully reaching her eyes. “ forget breaking a twenty; it’s on me. on top of that, i’ll add in a soft word to the mr. ice cream truck so they won’t get mad at you anymore. ” heather extended her hand for a shake about to introduce herself, “ chandler. congresswoman heather chandler. ” a perfectly shaped brow quirked up as she asked, “ you’re new here, aren’t you ? ” heather took pride in how much she knew her constitutents, and it didn’t take much for her to recognize the the brunette was not a native to shermer, or illinois for that matter. when the kids in line started to dissipate, heather turned to the truck and ordered the spongebob popsicle for the woman. she leaned almost conspiciously closer to the man in the truck, her voice suddenly inaudible to the others leaving only the subtle look of terror on the vendor’s face, indicative of their conversation. she paid and slid a couple of banknotes in the tip jar before facing the other woman again with the same pinched smile on her face. “ shermer’s a good town — sometimes a stubborn pain in the ass, but they all just need a little push. ”















