she must look really silly , standing in an aisle of port obello's hardware store . those big , yellow eyes gaze upon a literal wall of sandpaper packages , and she can feel her mind blanking out . wh .. which one is , uh ..
โ you need help , forest lady ? โ
a voice called from the front counter , snapping her out of her fog . the owner was old -- a little older than pepp , she wagered -- with a graying beard and suspenders . he smelled like his shop , like wood shavings and metal . and so she knew that this was the right place for ..
โ yeah . โ she looked back up at the display , at all the packets of sandpaper , all the little numbers that .. frankly she didn't understand a lick of . โ i'm trying to figure out which one've these to get . โ
โ well , how fine a grit do you need ? โ
โ g . uh . grit .. ? โ
the shop owner shook his head , emerging from his comfortable sitting spot behind the counter . he made his way over to the aisle , pointing with a meaty finger at one of the package's numbers .
โ the number's gonna tell you what the paper's grit is . the higher the number , the finer the grit , the smoother the finish . โ a pause . โ what're you workin' on ? โ
for a moment , she didn't want to say anything . she was still quiet when she pulled something out of her hoodie pocket ; circular , small , roughly carved . it looked like a very strange hex nut , or ..
the shop owner , too , seemed keen to say very little about it , specifically . โ my personal recommendation would be startin' with a 150 , then moving up to a 220 , 'n then a 400 . โ he plucked the three packages off of the wall , offering them to her . creecher pocketed her project again and took the sandpaper , nodding .
there was something oddly nostalgic to this . a faint glimmer of warmth from so many years ago . newer , eager eyes watching attentively as rough hands skillfully sheared away wood from wood , little bits and pieces and jagged edges , coaxing shapes from nothing . fields , she'd gotten softer , lately . it was still so weird , so different .
โ uh -- โ she perked up , causing the man to pause as he was turning to leave . โ .. i'm sure you're busy . but . could i .. tell you a little more about what i'm making ? maybe you could give me some suggestions . i've never worked on somethin' this small , before . โ
her question was met with a little smile .
โ fine . come pay for your sandpaper and i'll put a pot of coffee on . s'too late for many more customers , anyway . โ