God's Chosen Son

“And what the hell am I supposed to do with this?”

“Toss it, stick it on your car, donate it. It’s a free bumper sticker man, you think I give a shit what the customer does with it?”

“For you, too.” From what she’s heard, he doesn’t seem to miss home. He didn’t go into any detail about any place else, either. “Maybe you just haven’t found the right spot yet.”

Abel shrugged, “Not quite sure what that looks like, Figure this place is good enough.” He exhaled slowly, “It’s quite, not too much traffic, never been one to dream that there’s a perfect place out there for me.”

“No. No place interestin’.” Where she has been, where she is from, it’s all gone. Sam is caught between being curious and not caring.

He doesn’t pry to much, in his experience there isn’t much use to it. “Suppose there’s always time to change that,” he responded slowly, nodding into the plausibility he would never consider. 

She doesn’t pay much mind to the cigarette he flicks away. “Guess so, a while. Think four months.”

He nodded slowly, his calloused fingers flipping a lighter in his pocket, always on the edge of igniting it. “Anywhere interesting before that?”

“Uh-huh, yeah. I like it here. Sorta can’t imagine bein’ anywhere else.”

Abel tilted his head to the side, shoving his hands in his pockets as his cigarette butt hit the snow, “You been here long then?”

“A lotta people like settlin’ here.” It’s been the case for most of the people she’s met. “Just somethin’ about this small town, or what?”

“It’s quite,” he said quickly, decisively almost, “People like to settle in ease, can’t quite settle in cities.” Abel rocked back and fourth for a moment, “You settlin’ with th’ masses?”

Sam nods, curious about specifics as always, though not pressed enough to pry. “How much have you seen?”

“Enough,” he responded slowly, “After a while everything began to look the same, thought I should settle for a bit.”

“That why you moved away?” She doesn’t expect any seriously honest answers - it’s the first thing in her head, so it’s the first thing she asks.

Abel nodded, skipping over the fact of the matter, “wanted to get away from family, had to see most of the world.” Of course stints in prison and the years prior slipped his tongue, leaving a more approachable narrative.

“Really?” Sam doesn’t know how harsh the winters were, but without heaters she figures it must have been pretty cold. “Sounds chilly. Where’d you live?”

Abel glanced ahead, the frosted surroundings calling back to midwestern winters. “Iowa,” he responded slowly, “Nowhere terribly exciting.”

“Spent a lotta time in cold places?” That’s what makes the most sense, in her head. 

“You could say that,” he mused, nodding slowly, “Long winters without many modern heaters,” he mulled, not delving to deep into his childhood.

“I like the cold.” It doesn’t have much of an effect on her. 

Abel shrugged, “I’m indifferent towards it,” he supposed that growing up in it hadn’t given him a chance to protest it too much.

“Think it’s just too cold for a lotta people these days.”

Abel cocked his head to the side, “And you?”

“Scout!      Shit…” And with a shake of her head, she’s jogging behind the runaway German Shepherd puppy, only stopping when she gets close enough to scoop him up from jumping around the feet of a stranger. “M’sorry about that. Little guy’s kind of’a rascal    an’ a fast one at that.”

Abel twisted his attention towards the puppy pouncing towards him, stumbling back against the memory of the old german shepherd that had wandered into his childhood home so many years ago. He shook his head slowly, turning his head towards the girl in front of him. “S’okay,” he responded slowly, tilting his head towards the small dog, “No harm done.”

“Cars? Is that what you do for work?”

Abel nodded slowly, “for now, decent pay and minimal customer work seems to be a good niche for me.”

“Just walkin’. Think it’s nice out here.” It’s a lie and the truth.

Abel glanced around, “I s’pose so,” he commented slowly, “think I needed to get away from cars...machinery.”

“No, I don’t think you’re followin’ me. Just before I saw you I thought someone might’a been.”

Abel nodded, raising his eyebrows, “What are you doing all the way out here?”