What Remains (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 22

It was the beginning of December, which meant that the cold was slowly taking over and the weather had gotten less sunny. Though there wouldn't be snow. The first time Carter had ever witnessed snow was when he was in Minnesota. After he heard that his father got switched back to the office in Hayland, Carter knew that his last winter in Minnesota, would be his last time seeing snow in a very long time.

Instead of snow, there was rain. Most tourists visiting Port Hayland would say that it wasn't cold there at all during the winter, but for the inhabitants, the temperature during winter was considered cold for them.

As the water was falling from the heaven, hitting down on the pavements like a shower, Carter ran over the splashes and looked for shelter. It had started to come down while he was walking back home from the bus stop after school had ended. He eventually had to run into one of the shops he wa passing in order to keep himself from getting completely soaked. He had gotten soaked too many times already within two months. Though he wasn't complaining the last two times it happened. He ran a hand through his wet hair and was glad that only his shoulders had gotten wet. Carter looked around in the shop he had ran into and then noticed that it was the glass work shop he once bought a glass butterfly for Josh from. It hadn't changed at all, apart from some of the merchandise, of course. He walked around and looked at all the glass figurines displayed on the shelves. They all sparkled in the light of the lamps on the ceilings and Carter thought they all looked beautiful.

"Good afternoon," he then heard. He looked up to see that it was the shopkeeper who had greeted him. As Carter looked, he saw that it was Paul Richerson, the same shopkeeper from before Carter had moved away. He looked up at the man, who was standing behind the counter, and noticed that his brown hair was starting to get grey at the roots of his hairline. "Wait a minute..." he proceeded to speak. "...Is that you, Carter?"

"In the flesh," Carter smiled, glad that he was still recognizable after five years.

"My God, you had moved away, right? I didn't know you were back!" Paul said and pushed off the counter to walk closer to the boy. "My God, you've grown!"

"I didn't think you'd still work here, honestly, but I'm glad you still do," Carter said. He had always liked Paul. Before he moved away, he'd always greet him when he walked back from school, and he had even given him discount when he had bought the glass butterfly for Josh. Speaking about the butterfly, he wondered if Josh still had it.

"Does Stacey still work here?" Carter asked. Stacey was Paul's assistant before he had moved away, and he remembered how she always messed up the receipts and sometimes broke one of the glass figurines by accidentally dropping it when placing it on the shelve. Carter had always known that she most likely wouldn't have worked there for a long time.

"No, Stacey found another job that suited her better two years ago. I don't get that many customers so I can manage on my own, though a new assistant would come in handy. I'm not as young as I used to be and my eyesight has is getting worse and worse by the year it seems," Paul answered, looking at one of the glass figurines.

Carter looked around a bit. The shop's interior hadn't changed from what he could remember. It was a shame that Stacy had found another job, though. She had always been nice to him and she kept the shop lively. He then turned back to paul and chewed the inside of this cheek. 'You know..." he said, "I'm kind of looking for a part-time job," he said. This was a fact; Carter had figured it was about time to find a job here. He used to work in a supermarket back in Minnesota, though he'd like to try something else out as well. Plus, he knew Paul well so he'd be on good terms with his boss.

"You'd like to work here?" Paul asked, blinking at the younger boy. "Well, if you're sure then of course I'd love to hire you. I can't promise that it will pay well, but I could use all the help I can get," he said.