AllFreeNovel
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Kind of like Thor I think
(Liam)
I sat at the counter beside Mike who was wearin’ his state park uniform, tryin’ tae get Posy tae notice his attentions. He was older, boring, except he liked football and so I dinna mind showin’ up at the Surplus tae talk the games, and I kent he was always there on Saturdays.
Today though he and I were watchin’ Posy sell camping supplies tae Woodshee.
Mike shook his head, “She is a beauty, what does a woman like that want tae go by herself intae the woods for?”
I said, “I daena ken, why do women do anything? I canna figure it.” She was looking at a bedroll.
“She goin’ in the woods dressed like that? She gonna have bugs in her craw.”
“I daena ken, she might hae better sense, but I think she believes if she wants tae do it she can accomplish it. M’mum calls it blue sky thinking, it inna promising as a survival mechanism.”
“Yep, I think I need to mount a rescue and she ain’t even hiking yet.”
She was nodding at something Posy recommended and put it intae the pile, a large pile — too large for the pack she was planning tae carry. “Tis a great deal of gear, is it nae?”
He shook his head. “It ain’t enough, she needs a light too, and a pot, she ain’t even got the food yet—”
Blakely nodded and Posy put some freeze-dried food packets on the pile. Mike said, “Ah, yep, now she’s got the food, good, Posy knows what she’s doing.”
“Tis unclear whether LA kens what she’s doin’, is it dangerous?”
Mike said, “What, to hike? Hell yeah it’s dangerous! I mean, I’m a ranger, I’m the one who gets called if something goes wrong, but... shit can always go wrong. Just the other day, young man, walking on a ravine, leaned over and—”
I groaned, “Daena say it, Mike, I daena want tae hear it. The world is full of enough darkness without dwellin’ on all the ways a man can fuck up and die when he should ken better tae live. That is why I daena go — it sounds awful.”
Mike patted me on a shoulder. “I know, you’ve had a shit year, sorry Liam.”
Blakely and Posy walked up carrying armfuls and dropped them on the counter with a heavy thud. I said, “Tis nae goin’ tae fit.”
“Of course it is, it’s camping equipment, I need it to go camping. It will fit.”
“Not going tae and I can see from here tis too heavy for yer back.”
She rolled her eyes. “Have you ever gone on a hike?”
I shook my head. “I parked once at the football club and it was near 3 km tae the arena, I had tae stop tae rest twice.”
She laughed.
Posy started to calculate how much Blakely owed, and asked, “So why you visiting today, Mike?”
Mike said, “You know I like to come by on Saturdays. I brought you a new piece I made.”
He placed a small cube on the counter beside her, a black beetle trapped inside clear resin. He was always trapping flowers, or seeds, or insects inside resin and passing them out around town, but Posy was his favorite person so she had most of them.
“It’s lovely! Let me add it to the shelf.”
“I like your eye makeup today, Posy.”
“Thank you, I was taking a tutorial, and thought I would try it for work.” She batted her eyes so much I thought she might hae something stuck in there.
Mike looked away nervously.
I glanced at Woodshee. She was looking from Posy to Mike and down at the resin-trapped beetle. The bug was up on its back legs as if it were rearing back in horror.
