Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 22331 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 112(@200wpm)___ 89(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22331 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 112(@200wpm)___ 89(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
“Like so,” I say, before leaping onto the tree and shimmying up it enough to get hold of the branch. This is nothing compared to the training I went through to get certified.
Graham looks up at me, impressed, the kid does too.
“Here kitty, psh psh psh,” I repeat.
Curiosity gets the better of the cat and he approaches. I itch his ears and he comes close enough for me to scoop him up and start my descent. It’s a bit like sliding down a fire pole, except with way more bark.
“Spider!” Britney exclaims as I hand her the cat, who meows in response. “Thank you Mr. Guy, sir, whatever your name is.”
“Hank is fine.”
“Thank you, Mr. Hank!” She runs away, holding her cat tight, hopefully preventing it from running up any more trees in the future.
“Well then, I didn’t expect that,” Graham says. “The training cops get is mostly cardio and marksmanship. I would have climbed that tree if I knew it was that easy.”
I laugh. “I’m not throwing you any shade, Graham. Different skill sets is all. Doubt you gotta chase any crooks up trees. Not exactly the best getaway plan for them.”
“I’ll be sure to call you in if any of them do flee up a tree.” He strokes his chin. “Perhaps that’s where a cat burglar would go.”
“If I wasn’t in such a good mood, Graham, I think I’d risk being arrested for assaulting an officer over that pun. And I don’t think the jury would convict me either.”
“Fair, it’s so awful that I think I’d testify against myself.” He smiles. “But with Lucy getting older, I gotta get into the dad joke mindset. It’s easier said than done.”
“If you’re already making jokes like that, I have complete faith in your ability to master the dad joke, Graham.”
“What about you? My sister drive you seven kinds of crazy yet? I can’t imagine being married to either of my sisters, just being related to them is bad enough.”
“I can’t imagine not being married to her,” I say. “Only kind of crazy I am is crazy for her. And I think you can appreciate that kind of crazy with Tallie, no?”
He nods. “I’m absolutely insane about her, yes. Still, you married into our crazy family. And so did Tallie. Can’t believe either of you would willingly do that.”
“Never been happier, Graham. And I’m sure Tallie’s never been happier either.”
He nods. “I damn sure hope so. Her happiness is my one wish in life. Lucy’s too.”
“Take it easy man, I gotta get to the hardware store.”
“Keep on keepin’ on, Hank.”
It’s nice meeting familiar faces and having chats out of the blue. I really did miss that.
Over at Bartlett’s hardware store, I throw him a greeting, and go about my business. I pick up three smoke alarms, and bring them up to the counter.
“More fire safety, huh?” Bart says as he rings up my order.
“Can’t believe it took me until the other day to realize the alarms in the old shoe store didn’t work. They were some really old ones too, from the seventies.”
Bart grimaces. “They might be older than my Dad.”
“Last thing I want is for Fig to get her dream shop going, only to have the fire marshal come into town and shut her down for improper safety procedures.”
“Aren’t you the new fire marshal?”
I shake my head. “I’m just the inspector, and I’m still training too. I’m sure they’re going to send someone to check in on whether I’m doing a good enough job, so I’m being particular about everything.”
He shrugs. “Better that than everything burning down.”
I raise an eyebrow with a smirk. “Have you checked your smoke detectors recently, Bart?”
He gives me a cheeky salute. “Yes, I check yearly, Smokey. I know only I can prevent hardware store fires.”
“Just making sure. You know, I think Fig would like it if I were more like Smokey. The shirtless and hairy parts at least, I don’t know how she feels about hats.”
“I’d rather not think of what my sister wants in a man, thank you very much.”
I pay for my stuff, and wish Bartlett a good day, then head to my final stop before I go home for the evening.
Fig’s Fashion and Function.
My sweetheart’s new dream shop. Custom orders and tailoring, along with plenty of original designs for sale. She’s young enough to keep up with the youth, and is planning on trying to appeal to the young people of Home, with the idea that even the slightly older people want to be cool, so they’ll come to her shop too. Then she’ll win them over and make them loyal customers for life.
Fig surprised me with her little cunning business plan. Her head’s not completely up in the clouds with this, and she’s determined to succeed. As much as I want to support her, at the end of the day, fashion isn’t something I think about, so that’s all on her.