People are Strange, When you're a Stranger(Alex)

After a few inquiries at some of the shops, Alex found herself standing in front of a posh looking clothing store called Armani. Shaking her head in astonishment at the elaborate window display she entered the glass door and was immediately greeted by a well dressed man who introduced himself as George. Alex wasted no time in presenting her idea to the gentleman but felt certain that he wouldn’t be able to help her. However, George reassured her that although he preferred working with silk and polyester, he was well learned in manipulating leather also. Seeing the girl’s doubtful expression, he took her up to the second floor of his shop where his creations were in various stages of assembly.

Alex was startled to see so much activity in one room. Workers were at various tables laboring on projects that George had designed. Lining the length of one wall and stacked just as high were bolts of fabric in every color and pattern imaginable. Two large peg boards covered another wall where drawings and sketches were displayed. There were even two people who did nothing but try on the finished product. All the while there was the constant hum of sewing machines drowning out all other noise.

“This is very impressive, George, but I think I’ve come to the wrong place for what I need.” She looked apologetically at the man who was smiling like an idiot.

“Nonsense, my dear. I will simply get some measurements off of you and by tomorrow you will have a gun sling that fits you like a glove.” Not waiting for another objection, he picked up a yellow measuring tape and without warning draped it down the center of Alex’s back. The girl stiffened at the touch but held her tongue all the same. After a few minutes of measuring and scribbling on a paper, George felt satisfied with the information and escorted Alex back down into the shop.

“Come back tomorrow afternoon and I’ll have your leather holster ready for you to take home.” Giving her an encouraging smile he gently led her to the door and bid her good day.

A large clock in the window of Gabe’s Furniture told her that she still had three hours to go until her rendezvous with Will. Spotting a bench further down the street she decided to have a seat and observe the neighborhood for a bit. There seemed to be an endless array of motion in the town, it put her in mind of an ant hill. People and vehicles were always moving and everybody seemed to be in a hurry. Some of the people had the strangest behavior, like talking into a small rectangular device that they held up to their ear. It reminded her of a phone but quickly dismissed that idea as there were no wires attached to the palm sized object. Another curious thing was the black glasses everybody seemed to wear. “How can anybody see where they’re going?” she wondered. Despite the hectic pace, everybody seemed to know everybody, especially the store owners. If you wanted to know anything about anybody, you need only ask one of the shop owners. Alex felt sure that if she sneezed half the town would know about it by nightfall.

She wasn’t sure how long she had been sitting on the bench but the numbness of her rear and the hunger pains in her stomach told her it was time to get going. Within minutes she was standing in front of Al’s Diner. Not able to ignore her stomach any longer, she reluctantly went inside hoping to find something more edible than her last ‘meal’ here. Taking a seat at one of the window booths she waited for the sassy server to come and take her order. As luck would have it, Will arrived in time to help her pick out her food. Trusting his judgment she placed an order for vegetable soup and coffee.

“I’m sure Nelly will feed you more when you get back to the B & B but that’s the only non-greasy thing they have in here.” he said while running a hand through his brown curly hair. “I take it we need to stop by your room to get the guns . . .”

Alex nodded her head slowly while trying to concentrate on what he was saying. She didn’t know why but she found it awful hard to concentrate when she was around Will. Her behavior annoyed her to no end “it’s not like you’ve never been around men before, Alex” she silently chastised herself for such foolishness.

“Alex? Alex are you listening to me?” Will was starring at her with a confused look on his face.

“Umm, I’m sorry, Will. What were you saying?” Her face flushed with embarrassment and she fidgeted with the edge of the tablecloth. Before Will could say anything their food was brought out.

“Here ya go, you two. Will you be needin’ anything else right now?” The girl popped her gum loudly causing Alex to jump.

“No thank you, Susan, this will do just fine.” replied Will kindly.

Alex was thankful to have the food to look at instead of the handsome face before her, maybe now she could follow the conversation. Taking a sip of her soup, she was happy to find it to her liking.

“As I was saying,” began Will, “I thought we could go into the forest for you to practice.”

Alex’s head shot up so quickly that she forgot that she was about to take a bite, spilling soup down the front of her shirt. “No, we are not going into any forest.” She fought to control the panic in her voice while dabbing at the soup on her blouse.

“Come on, you don’t believe all that stuff about creatures in the forest, do you? That’s just something parents tell their kids to keep them out of the place.”

“No it’s not.” Putting down her spoon she looked the young man in the eye and firmly stated that they would not be going anywhere near the forest.

Seeing that the girl was dead set against this location Will racked his brain for another isolated spot. “I know, how about the beach. If we walk down a bit from the houses we’ll be pretty much left alone.”

“We’re not going toward the forest though, are we?” Alex asked nervously.

Smiling at seeing this vulnerable side of her again he reassured her that they were not going anywhere near the forest.

The popping of chewing gum announced their server’s arrival. “You two love birds doin’ alright? Need a touch up on the coffee?” she asked holding out a pot of hot coffee. Both Will and Alex declined kindly and Susan withdrew with a shrug of her shoulders.

“One of these days I’d like to eat someplace where they don’t chew that awful pink stuff.” Remarked Alex irritably.

Will burst out laughing, “I promise you, Alex Milds, that you will eat at a four star restaurant before the month is over.” Alex gave him a baffled look which only caused him to laugh harder. Wiping the tears from his eyes he announced that they should get going.