#wtftm snippets

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Under new ownership. Coming soon. Grand opening next month. 

Adam walked closer and pulled a hand out of the warm refuge of his pocket to run a finger across the lettering [of the sign plastered].The ink was dry and the paper firm. A real thing then, he thought, and lifted his hand to shade his eyes, squinting, as he pressed his face against the glass. The inside looked just as it had a week ago - back when the original sign was still up: barren. Empty. Lonely. 

Whoever had purchased it had done it recently... and had done little else after that. The floors were dirty and the glass was dusty and the counter from the previous owner was still painted in rough, vegetable-like shapes and colors of their prominent, organic, selling points. The lights that hung from the ceiling were still the same, ancient chandeliers and the bulbs were broken. 

Adam took a breath as he took a step back and rubbed the cold from the glass from his nose with the back of his hand. It would make a good pizza place, really, he thought, turning on his heel to get back to his own, running, shop. Maybe he could make friends with the owner, too, like he had with Martin. The two of them - or even the three of them, if Martin gave up his stubborn attitude - could take their lunch breaks outside, enjoying the afternoon with the sunlight fully spread out across the street and a slice of hot, cheesy pizza in their hands. 

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The weekends were different. It was a time for errand running. For last minute gift shopping. For a quick treat after a week well spent. Adam would open early and flick the lights on in his shop to encourage the morning shoppers in through the doors. He was no Martin, who played to the workaholics demands with caffeine and chocolate pastries. He was no Devin, able to peer into a lesser man's wants and desires, coaxing them behind the drawn curtain to read their dreams of fame and fortune and love. He wasn't Sasha, either, loving the things she collected and demonstrating so to the others who enjoyed lost and broken things. 

Adam had other charms, he supposed. A nice smile. A welcoming scent. Still nothing as good as fresh coffee but the spice of a good flower or two was pleasant on its own. 

And, then there was....well, what was it?

"Is that shop still for sale?" Adam asked, leaning forward to peer down the line of stores. Martin's bakery led the front of the battalion, with Adam's flower shop taking up the next spot. Devin's metaphysical shop was next door and Sasha came up next. At the rear was a store that had been closed and empty for as long as Adam could remember. Brands had come and gone but the shoppers always went left, not right in through the doors, and whatever flavor of the week tried to settle into the little corner mall never stayed for long. 

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49 Fresh Paint

Adam wiped a hand across his brow and winced when he felt his skin grow sticky and damp. His shoulders stiffened at the laugh behind him. 

“Did you just wipe paint on your face?”

He didn’t turn around when he heard Bella return from the boutique’s back room. He twisted awkwardly, instead, to take the mug of coffee she’d disappeared to brew earlier. He didn’t answer, either, and gingerly shifted the mug to his paint free hand and lifted it to take a small sip. He wasn’t a coffee person, but he was the kind of person who found it difficult to turn down anything offered. If anything the smell of helped keep the odor of paint at bay. 

It was a good this store had opened at the very end of the strip. 

“It looks good,” Bella said, one hand on her hip as she surveyed the freshly painted white wall. Her feet stepped lightly through the plastic sheet that covered the floor to keep the new carpet from turning a similar color. It would stay there until the blue lines were added to the wall. 

“I should hope so,” Adam laughed, and she shot him a grin over her shoulder. 

“Thanks for the help. You did good work. If you ever get tired of flowers you should try interior decorating.”

He started to run an embarrassed hand through his hair and paused when he remembered the state of his forehead. He took another drink of coffee instead. “I only helped pick out the colors.”

“And painted the wall. And added decorations.” He followed the curve of her outstretched mug to blush at the vase of roses that now adorned the front counter of the store. 

“It’s just a welcome gift.”

She laughed. “Well let me know when you want to gift me something else. The registers are coming in tomorrow and I’ll need someone to help move the shelves away.”

[pencil-free]

Audience

“What about this one? And this one?”

Adam peeked over the growing bundle of stems in his hands to watch Dakota dart from one corner of the shop to the other. Daffodils and bluebells were joined with a loose wrapping of ivy, and Adam had to shuffle them all in his hold to accept Dakoto’s outstretched hand full of something yellow. 

“I’m not sure-” Adam began, and he trailed off when Dakota’s eyes lowered. They brightened in an instant. 

“You’re right. This definitely needs more red.”

“That wasn’t what I was going to say,” Adam sighed, more to himself than anyone else now that Dakota was, once again, on the other side of the store to sort through roses and carnations. “I’m sorry about this.” He turned to the customers who were, patiently, at the front of the store. Adam had just been about to ring them up before his...more lively regular made their appearance. 

“Don’t worry about it,” an ederly woman at the front of the line laughed. Behind her, a man in the suit didn’t look as happy to ease Adam’s concerns, but the woman gave them both a smile before turning it towards Dakota. “It’s nice to see such energy sometimes.”

Adam rubbed the back of his neck with a short laugh. He felt his face heat under her smile and brought the colorful arrangement to his face to hide it. 

[pencil-free]

Stars! ⭐️

It was later than usual when Adam locked the doors to the shop for the final time. He hadn’t expected the delivery to come so late, and he’d hate himself more in the morning at the sight of withered petals rather than some sore feet. But sore they were, still, and he lowered himself to the curb of the sidewalk to stretch his legs out, pointing his toes to the street. 

He lifted his chin. The streetlamps of the city where bright above his head and he had to squint to read the sign above the door behind him. The apartments above that were dark despite the hour. Either that, or the upstairs neighbors had finally bought the black out curtains he always heard them shouting about when he opened early in the morning. 

Adam had to get new curtain, too. Not as nice ones if they were going to meet their doom at his cat’s claws. He had to make time to trim them. And brush her fur. He sighed. How did he still have so much to do before he turned in the night?

An airplane rumbled overhead and Adam took it as his cue to get going, too. He watched the red blinking light far far away make its away across a cloudy sky. The lights blocked out most of the stars while the clouds blocked out the rest. He hoped it wouldn’t rain.