Eleven

Hudson

We decided to start at the tool section—which was basically a peg board covered in hooks—and eliminate anything that wasn't needed and organize it so it was easier to see what we had.

"We should organize it by tool type. It's just one big mess the way it is now," Jack said.

"Good idea," I said and for the next thirty minutes we worked on it until an old man walked into the store.

"Jack, I need your help," he said but when I looked at Jack he rolled his eyes.

"What can I do for you . . . Mr. Atkins," he said and shot me a look.

I immediately recognized Mr. Atkins, he was old when I lived here, but now he was ancient. He shuffled inside and took a seat at the chair that was always there and let out a slow breath. "Well, I've been looking for the little doodad that goes on the end of a doorstop. That little rubber piece came off mine and it's marking up my door." He drew in a deep breath and let it out before looking around. "Oh, are those pastries?"

Jack shot me another look and I knew if I didn't step in and deal with him it might not end well for anyone. "Yes, sir, let me get you one," I said and took the whole box over to him with a stack of paper towels. "Which one do you want?"

"That one there would be nice," he said, and took a bite as soon as I handed it to him. "Oh, these are nice, are they from the bakery across the street?"

"Yes, Don't Go Bakin' My Heart," I said and smiled at the name.

"Oh yes, very clever name," Mr. Atkins said.

"Now what was the doodad you said you needed?" I asked.

"Here you go, Mr. Atkins," Jack said and handed him a whole new doorstop. "They don't sell just the end piece."

"Oh, that's it then. Thank you so much, Jack, you're always so helpful." He didn't make any move to get up or look at what Jack had given him as he sat there nibbling at the pastry he'd chosen. "You know when I was a kid, they didn't have things like that to stop a door from hitting against the wall—" He then proceeded to tell us the history of the doorstop for the next twenty minutes and Jack looked like he'd rather chew his leg off than listen to one more story.

"We're going to be cleaning up but you're welcome to stay," I said and then an idea hit me. "Hey, it's a nice day out, how about we put the chair out front and you can enjoy the day while people watching."

"That sounds really nice, and I need to pay you for the doodad," he said and shuffled over to the cash register. Jack rang him up and the two of us put the chair out front along with a box he could use for a table, and we got busy cleaning. The tool section was done in no time, and we started a box of odds and ends that were still good, but that we didn't need. I glanced out the front window at where Mr. Atkins sat happy as a clam watching cars drive by and talking to anyone who walked past.

"I can't believe that worked," Jack whispered to me.

"I think he's lonely. Maybe we can buy a couple of those big rocking chairs for people like him that just want to hang out."

Jack didn't say anything, just gave me a look that made me want to do whatever I could to make him look at me like that again. "I think that would be really nice, and I never thought about him being lonely. He used to have a friend that he walked around with but I'm not sure what happened to him."

A memory hit me of two men walking all over town every day of the week. Looking happy as could be just walking around and chatting, always just the two of them. "Do you know if he has any family?"

"I'm not sure. Anytime I see him he's alone." Jack looked toward the front of the store where we could still see him sitting there. "We should get those rocking chairs."

I grinned at him and walked over to the fishing section. "This area was always a huge mess. No matter how many ways we tried to organize it, customers needed to dig through too much shit to find what they needed. It doesn't look like it's changed. Any ideas?"

Jack stood next to me with his hands on his hips and the two of us stared at the area he'd been tidying up yesterday when I came in. "I've seen fishing pole holder displays where they're standing up so they're easy to see but they're not falling all over the place like they are with this." He shook the rack that wasn't really a rack at all, more like a metal basket with space enough for the bottoms to poke through.

"Why don't you see if you can find one and we'll either ask the vendor if he can get us one or we can buy one. Either way something needs to change."

"And how about something like a big toolbox with lots of drawers. We can put a sample lure on the front of the drawer, so they know what's in it. Then I won't have to reorganize it every fucking time someone is looking for a specific lure."

"That's a good idea," Mr. Atkins said from the door. "Don and I used to go fish at the lake every weekend and he had a big storage cabinet where he kept all our supplies. It was always neat as a pin." He had a far off look in his eyes and a fond smile.

"That's right, I knew I remembered you walking around town with someone else when I was a kid," I said and pointed at him. "Don Barwell."

"Yes, my Don," he said.

"We're going to get a couple of rocking chairs to go out front so anytime you want to stop by and sit, you'll be welcome," I said and didn't look at Jack because I knew the look that was on his face, and I struggled to not show my own pity and shock.

"That would be really nice, thank you." He left then and Jack and I both stared at the door for a moment before looking at each other.

"I had no idea," Jack said. "I just thought he was an annoying old man."

"Sometimes there's more to a person than what you see on the outside," I said, and thought of all the times I'd judged someone the same way he had. "We'll make sure he has a place to rest." I wasn't sure why it mattered to me, but it did, and a chair wasn't too much to ask to make an old man happy. We all needed a little more happiness. I glanced at Jack and wondered if he had someone special or if he was alone too, and then I thought of all the times love had gone wrong for me, and wondered why the hell I was even thinking about it. But a memory of two men strolling down the street and the way they smiled at each other gave me hope, and ignited a fire in me I hadn't had for years.