A Clean Break
âYouâre good. Youâre good,â Tex reassured himself half-heartedly, as he stood staring into the window of the Grimm fairytale-esque antique shop. Shrewd observers walking past might have noticed him slowly, and almost imperceptibly, flexing his right arm in a way he would have considered flattering⊠on a good day. If it werenât inanimate by design, the reflective surface of the window would have cringed at this tepid display of vanity. Windows, after all, are famously transparent that way.
âYouâre good!â Tex exclaimed again, smiling weakly before sighing and continuing down the side street of Cyreus Cove. He heaved his rucksack over his shoulder, allowing some of his equipment to clink together. He never saw or heard the shop-keeper and her incredulous customer, neither of whom bothered to stifle their giggles after he disappeared from view. If he had, the little inspiration Tex had garnered from the mismatched footstools and yellowing lampshades in the shop might have dissipated like a grain of salt in the ocean. He was beginning again here, after all. He smiled cheerfully at some passerby, hefting his rucksack again loudly. Nestled in one of the protruding straps was a hammer, the handle of which he felt tap reassuringly against the small of his back. Shrewd observers (which are always in abundance in small towns like these) might have noticed that the eye-catching piece of hardware had clearly never been used more than two or three times.
As he approached the sunlit town square, he spied a notice board outside what looked like a school or administration building. It was perfect for what he had planned. New start, he repeated to himself internally. New job. New life. New start. With cheerful determination, Tex headed in that direction, unslinging his bag as he did so. There were a few people milling about, most people minding their own business. An exception to the rule was a velveteen Labrador, who took an immediate interest in Tex as he approached. Tex felt his knees bend instinctively, but caught himself before stretching his hand out. New start! New start, he reminded himself.
He pulled a flyer out of his bag, a ream of which he had wedged between the legs of his tripod. There was a lot of carefully selected, yet oddly mismatched, font splattered haphazardly on the page. In massive bold letters in the centre, however, were the words âModels wanted!â The tavern owner, a robustly cheerful woman with a terrifying booming voice had allowed him to use her photocopier. Admittedly, he was only supposed to make one photocopy, and that was supposed to be of his contractâŠbut what she didnât know surely wouldnât hurt her.
Putting a nail between his teeth, he placed the flyer on the board, twisting it to try and make sure it was parallel. The process took a few minutes and the dog continued to circle his legs as he did so. When he was finally satisfied, Tex pulled the iron nail from his mouth and placed the point on the flyer. With a grin of satisfaction, he pulled the hammer back and drove it into the nail head.
CRACK
The people passing stopped talking for a moment to stare at Tex, who had frozen in front of the notice board. A knife-like slit had been driven from the point he had hammered the nail in. He willed himself not to blush, aware of how easily the gill-like markings on his neck might give him away if he did. Luckily, no one seemed to make too big a deal of it. Yet, as he quickly packed up his things and hurried away, he distinctly heard an incredulous voice behind him ask âWhat did you think the drawing pins were for?â
âWho's a good boy huh? It's you! Yes it is, yes it is!â
Crouched down with one knee in the mud, Emmet ruffled the labradorâs face. It had a goofy smile and it's tongue flapped around with every jump. His heart had melted at the sight of the dog and he couldnât help but make strange faces and talk to it. The labrador hopped around excitedly and lent further into the ear scratches. Emmett chuckled and gave the dog one last ruffle before standing up.
âOkay so where might your owner beâŠâ he looked around the town square. There were a few owners with dogs going for a walk and a lot more people wandering the shopping streets lining the central park. His eyes search for anyone that might be looking for the dog but everyone seemed engaged already, whether with a friend or phone. The labrador circled Emmett before suddenly bolting out of the park. Emmett jumped from surprise but soon smiled. It seemed like the dog recognised its owner.
Emmett continued his exploratory walk around town. He and Ashlynn had already been here for a week; they had seen all the obvious tourist spots and now were taking it easy, trying to take in the atmosphere more than the location. He took in a deep breath of salty air and sighed in contentment as he exhaled. Even the air was different than the air he knew before. It felt easier to breathe here compared to New York. He hummed to himself as he walked along the shopping streets, enjoying the bustle of daily life around him. He felt a calming distance from it, being on holiday and all, and appreciated all the little things people do everyday. Buying presents for friends, deciding what to have for dinner, where to have that party. It felt foreign in some way.
He continued walking down the streets in quiet reverie, keeping an eye out for any interesting coffee shops and antique stores, when-
CRACK!
Emmett yelped at the sudden sound. He spun around to see a rather muscled man holding a hammer against a poster on the notice board. It seemed he was a little too forceful hammering the nail into the board. Emmett didnât even think people still used hammers and nail for putting up notices. He was about to walk away, like he would've done on any ordinary day, but he stopped himself. Today he was on holiday and holiday Emmett engaged with the community.
âWhy don't you use one of these pins? I think that's why they put them here,â he said with a smile. He stepped over to the board and waved a hand toward the collection of free pins stuck into the corner. Something batted at his legs and he looked down to see the labrador from earlier. âOh hey you!â he said to the dog, bending down to give it a pat on the back. âGreat dog you've got here. He's incredibly friendly.â
