Читать книгу The Remnants - W. P. Osborn - Страница 8

It was nearly noon and Danny was already looking out for Phil. It had become routine now, the two young hellions would meet behind the tack shed where they’d stretch out and share the parcel of grub that Phil’s mother had packed for them both. Elsie’s Saturday lunch was another small gift Danny had come to treasure, genuine homemade tongue and cheese sandwiches, a bruised apple and an occasional chunk of cherry pie made the day. The lunch tasted of nothing special, even for Danny, but the mere fact that someone had taken the time to prepare it just for them made it scrumptious.

The morning had brought a new challenge to the crew on the docks. For the first time they had heaved a load onto one of the new mechanical lorries. Dan was surprised at how little it held, compared to a standard draught wagon. He figured it was less than half the load. He was amazed by all the noise and smoke it created, huffing and chugging into the back lot and scarring all the horses. One teamster nearly had a runaway on his hands as the two horses closest to the truck reared in terror. It took six men to calm them. The driver wore goggles and heavy gauntlets, a costume that looked entirely too ephemeral for the gang on the docks but John Alton, the driver, pleaded that his master, Lord Knowles had insisted he wear them. He’d declared they were ‘a signature of the latest transport for a new century.’

Danny was sweeping up the last of the straw packing left from a wooden crate of a porcelain tea service that Mrs. Jameson had just unpacked and had placed on a shelf behind the glass counter. He looked up briefly just as two young women entered the store. He stopped instantly and without risking a breath and starred at them directly, the broom handle welded to his hands. One of the two, the redhead turned and glanced briefly toward him and for a second he thought she’d smiled, barely. Danny froze in his tracks and stared down to the floor forcing every muscle to continue to sweep. Carrying a small box of ribbon, Dorothy Jameson sauntered up behind him and whispered, “Finish that up quickly and go about your business.” She placed the box on the counter and approached the two girls with a casual smile, “Good morning ladies. May I be of some assistance?”

Even though there was not a speck of dust within ten feet of where he stood Danny continued to sweep on. He lifted his eyes for a brief glimpse of the conversation to his right and inhaled more details of the pair. They were very pretty, tall and thin. The brunette wore blue and the redhead, yellow. She had large green eyes and had a smattering of freckles on the tip of her nose. She turned toward him and his eyes darted back to the safety of the floorboards. He knew from their accents they were working class, probably in-service. They were pleasant and bright. They carried no airs and were very polite to Mrs. Jameson, addressing her by name. He could tell that she appreciated their manners. No surprise since she had easily recognized the redhead, Miss Quayle from the church choir.

He had just bent down to retrieve his pail and dustpan when he heard a soft tapping on the front window. “Hey, Danny Boy,” Phil called peeking around the frame and holding up a small canvass bag, “let’s go eat.” Dan stood and tried in vain to cover Mrs. Jameson’s view, he jerked his head twice to the left and whispered, “Gimme two minutes,” but it was already too late. Mrs. Jameson marched up and spoke directly to him in a hushed but very controlled voice. Her stare was enough to stop a loaded wagon dead in its tracks. “Please take that out and tell your friend to disappear immediately,” she then wheeled effortlessly and whisked back to her customers who both glanced at him with easy smiles. In an instant Danny was striding past the two girls toward the back door. As he passed he wheeled to steal one final glance directly into the soft green eyes of his lovely redhead. She blushed slightly and again offered a hint of a smile, this time it was unmistaken. He grinned and disappeared behind the door.

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