velvet crowbar

“I’m just saying,” Kaden defended with a shrug. He had half the mind to ignore the introduction since it was clear in Ben’s tone that it was just a joke, but he huffed out a sigh and answered “Kaden.” There was absolutely no way this guy was as friendly as he was trying to be. Sure Kaden had run into the occasional nice person, but none as persistent as some people happened to be lately; Ben included. Though much to Kaden’s dismay, his interest was peaked by the mention of a cat. Memories of the cat he used to have when he was a child flooded his mind, and his eyes glanced towards the taller man for a moment before returning his gaze to straight ahead. “If you want,” he answered with a forced dismissive shrug.

Ben smiled when it seemed like Kaden was somewhat interested in his cat. With a smile Ben pulled out his phone scrolling through his pictures looking for the perfect image of his cat. He finally landed on a picture of the white cat with brown spots sitting perfectly on his bed. The picture was taken during the day so the cat’s eyes were an intense blue in the sunlight. “Her name is Lolly.” Ben turned his phone towards Kaden so he could see. “I work so she can have nice things.”

“The body wants what it wants! And sometimes that is sunshine,” Darrius agreed with a smile, knowing that he loved the summertime, too. But he also was fond of every season in Maine, if he was being honest. “I was born in Chicago, raised there, too, so I’m just sort of used to this cold. But still, by the time spring rolls around, I’m ready for some warmth,” he lifted one shoulder. “Do you make an exception for a white Christmas, or do you still stick with wishing for warmth?”

“Chicago? Windy City right? Is it really that windy or did they just need a nickname?” Ben asked. He had never traveled too far outside of New England. He had been to New York City a few times, and Washington DC for a school field trip, but that was about it. Whenever he heard that someone came from far away to live in Maine he always had to ask a few questions. “I do enjoy a white Christmas, but as soon as New Years is done and over with I’m sick of the snow.”

“Guess so,” Kaden mumbled as he stuffed his phone in his pocket. He was about to continue to go on his way until Ben made his offer. Was there some sort of memo going around that Kaden missed that urged all of the residents of Merrock to pay for a stranger’s drink that week? Surely it couldn’t be that two completely different people decided to perform a random act of kindness, and to Kaden of all  people. “I’ll pay for my own,” he decided, turning to walk towards the shop with him. “Tossing money at strangers is kinda weird anyway. I mean, whatever happened to Hi, I’m so and so, what’s your name?” Was Kaden really the person to preach anything about socializing, though? That would be a resounding no. “I mean, I don’t care, I’m just saying. Do you think you need to buy friends, or?”

“Hey, don’t be a sourpuss and get appreciate the free coffee.” Ben shook his head with a laugh. God, this kid was edgy. “If you insist I introduce myself though, I’m Ben what’s your name?” He asked playfully mocking the younger boy. “You know maybe I’ll buy you a snack there too, just because I love being extra nice to strangers.” Ben nudged Kaden on the shoulder, he was clearly keeping himself entertained. “Do you wanna see pictures of my cat too? I think you could use some cute animal love in your life.”

Never walk and text at the same time: a lesson that Kaden has apparently failed to learn. It was a wonder the phone screen didn’t shatter as the device flew out of Kaden’s hands and landed on the pavement. “Shit,” he said in unison with the other, more concerned with picking his phone up than the slight discomfort in his shoulder from the collision with the other. “I’m fine,” he said, only after picking up his phone and seeing that everything seemed to still be in tact. Almost as though he was speaking on the phone’s behalf rather than his own. “And no, I wasn’t paying any attention… my bad… are you good?” It wasn’t often Kaden would take full ownership of a mistake, especially when the other person seemed so eager to do that for him… but in that instance, Kaden knew he should have just waited until he found a place to rest to respond to his brother.

“Yeah I’m good. It would take a lot to actually hurt me.” Ben gave the other a small chuckle. Ben’s pain tolerance was insanely high, probably due to the days where he used to think he was a MMA fighter. “Honestly, I wasn’t really paying attention either, so I guess we both need to work on that.” Ben’s mind was somewhere else before the collision. It was like he was on another planet. However, the crash brought him back almost instantly. “I’m getting coffee if you wanted to come with. My treat.”

As she gazed down at her tragically spilled coffee, Brooklyn felt an urge of annoyance wash over her. Of course, when the stranger spoke and offered to buy her another one, her flash of annoyance was suddenly gone and replaced with a small smile. “Hey, it’s okay. Accidents happen,” she said with a shrug. “I will however take you up on your offer for another coffee. Maybe a pastry too and we’ll call it even.”

Ben nodded in agreement. A pastry and coffee seemed fair to him. “Yeah, I can agree to that. I might have to get myself a pastry too.” Ben wasn’t originally planning to get anything to eat, but the mention of food made him hungry. Might as well treat himself while fulfilling his need for a snack.

Mandy was out and about for a walk with Gatsby. Yoga pants and an oversized sweatshirt were her best friend right about now. Of course her furry potato of a dog would want to stare at every plant they walked past. All she wanted was a latte. Looking at her phone to check a quick message from her mom, she failed to see the other person heading her way. “Oof!” she toppled back, and Gatsby decided to hop on top of her and start licking her face. “Totally, just fell on my tailbone and now I have dog drool all over me. Phone’s fine though,”

“Well at least everything’s okay.” Ben smiled at the dog. He loved animals, in fact he had a cat of his own, unfortunately she would never be interested in walks. She was an old lazy cat who preferred to sunbathe on the windowsill. “Dog drool can be kinda gross, I’m sorry I don’t have anything to wipe it with.” Ben patted down his pockets just to double check, but still nothing. 

“No harm, no foul,” Josie was quick to say. If she’d actually been hurt or her phone cracked she might have been a bit mouthier.  The fact that nothing was broken though meant that no one had to face her ire.  There would have been just as much to blame and it wouldn’t have made sense to pin all the blame on him anyways. “it’s definitely not cracked but you better get your mind out of whatever it’s fallen into,” she said giving her phone a once over and then pocketing it before gazing back at him. “I mean, I’m a much softer target than a bus.”  There was definitely truth in that. If he’s accidentally run out in front of traffic or something, it might be a touch harder to recover. “Should I stalk you to wherever you’re going in case 9-1-1 is needed?”

“Uh, sure. I don’t mind if you tag along.” Ben shrugged, he didn’t mind the company. He was naturally a pretty social guy. “I’m just headed to the cafe, and after that I’m not really sure where I’m gonna go.” Ben’s initial plan was just to grab an iced coffee and walk around town and just see where the journey takes him. That was something Ben loved to do when the weather was nice. It was a good way for him to take in the sights of the small town.

“Trust me, I get you,” Darrius agreed with a friendly smile, “once the sun comes out, all you want to do is soak it up, enjoy the warm weather a little bit.” And given how sometimes cold it could be in Maine, they had to take every little bit that they could get. “Are you the kind of person who loves it once it starts to get warm, then misses the cold when it gets hot, or pretty permanently team hot weather?”

“I love the warm weather. I was born in Maine so you’d think I’d get used to the cold, but I just never do.” The first cold day of winter always surprised Ben despite never leaving New England. He hated how when he stepped outside the cold would bite at his nose and cheeks. “I think winter may be my least favorite season.”

Brooklyn had just made a trip to the cafe to grab a coffee, before making her way back to her apartment building. She had the day off from work, but she had big plans to do a bit of spring cleaning around her place. The coffee was a vital part of her plan, since it put some pep in her step and motivated her to get going. Just as she made the turn towards her building, she collided with another person causing her coffee to fall from her hands and spill onto the sidewalk. “Ugh,”she groaned as she gazed down at her tragically spilled coffee. “I’m fine, but I can’t say the same for my coffee.”

“I’m truly sorry about the coffee.” Ben looked down at the coffee puddle on the sidewalk. “I’m going to the cafe anyways, let me buy you a new one.” Ben would’ve been pretty devastated if it were his coffee, it was the least he could do, or at least give her the cash to get a new one. Ben pulled his wallet out of back pocket grabbing a ten dollar bill from it. “I got cash too, if you want.” He held it out to her holding it between his index and middle finger.

April tended to fluctuate temperature wise but Josie wasn’t the sort of person to be bothered by the cooler days. She was almost always moving and that tended to keep her warm enough. A lot of times after client sessions at work, she’d actually seek out the cold.  She had a few hours until she had another client so she’d decided to pop out and get some air, maybe get something to drink.  She was doing just that when she felt the force of another body slamming into. She normally was far more observant but she’d been replying to a text.  The impact forced her phone to hit the ground.  She stirred to alertness, reaching  down to grab it and make sure it wasn’t broke.  “I’m alright,” she said. “Just wasn’t paying attention. You?”

“I’m good.” Ben assured. It would take a lot to do actual damage to him considering his scrappy past. “I wasn’t really paying attention either, I was kinda off in my own world I guess.” He shrugged his shoulders as he admitted this. He really needed to get some caffeine in his body, maybe that would bring him back into real life. “Your phone okay though?” Ben would’ve felt terrible if he had been at fault for cracking the girl’s screen. He knew that it was a pain in the ass to deal with. 

Darrius couldn’t wait until the weather changed for good; for the moment when he didn’t have to wear a heavy sweatshirt to leave the apartment to go to work, but come home in a t-shirt, wondering why he had thought it would be chilly. Not that it was particularly hot that day, but still. He was thinking about just that – the weather, the grass, the way that the trees were starting to blossom – when he felt someone bump into him, lowering his gaze from the treeline to the person in front of him with a laugh. “Hey, it’s okay, no broken bones here.”

“Good, I’m glad to hear it.” Ben laughed with the other man. “I wasn’t really paying attention, the nice weather has that affect on me.” Ben grew up in Maine but every year it seemed like a surprise when the weather finally got nice after months of what seems like a never ending winter. “Just happy to have some skin out.”

For the many years that Vivienne had grown up in this town, she knew that Spring in April was more like winter version lite in Maine. For her it wasn’t so much out of the ordinary and she rarely changed her clothing habits. Today Vivienne was out picking up the last few minutes things she needed to do before the weekend rolled around. Suddenly she was struck in the chest by someone much taller than her and she made a soft ‘oof’ noise before stumbling backwards, catching herself on the brick wall. “Shit.” she breathed, “Yeah, no, I’m good, don’t worry about it. Just be happy I was not wearing heels or you’d be carting my ass for a broken ankle.” 

Ben felt so bad for bumping into someone so tiny, and not moving fast enough to catch her. “Like you’re really okay? Don’t just say that to make me feel better.” Ben shot the girl a smile hoping to ease some of the tension. “Can I buy you a coffee to make up for it? I’m heading towards the cafe anyways.”

Ben felt the chill of the wind on his bare arms as soon as he stepped outside. It was finally the end of April. Spring was here and he was feeling a little bit more like himself. Although it wasn’t exactly the perfect day for a t-shirt Ben still decided he would wear one with his jeans today. He loved being able to show off the couple of tattoos he had on his arms. He started walking towards Cobblestone Cafe when he collided with the other person walking toward him. “Shit, my bad. You good?”