Hey guys! This is a little one shot I wrote for my older sister, its very short, but I thought I would put it up here all the same.
Arthur shed his jacket, and along with it felt as if he were also shedding his last defensive layer of propriety that kept him separated from the people surrounding him. It was a personal betrayal. He could still vividly recall the promise he made to himself in his snug London apartment, that he would come here, and do what he had to, but he would not do it the way they did. He would not be like them.
And yet, here he sat, in a carriage sweltering under a hot sun, removing his jack and rolling up his sleeves, showing his elbows in a most ungentlemanly fashion. He had vowed when he decided to go out into the great American west that although he was in those same rough circumstances, he would adapt differently and somehow maintain his deportment and all manner of decorum.
The town was small, and housed only cavitations' bare minimum to meet the qualifications as such. He had traveled here from London at the request of a cousin, who had property which urgently needed to be maintained and for a healthy sum, asked Arthur to do it. He had hesitantly agreed.
His carriage stopped in front of the sheriff's office, his first destination upon reaching the town.
A large man slept in a rocking chair on the shaded from porch. Arthur approached him, but he didn't wake. He sighed and went inside the building instead. Upon entering he saw the sheriff's large desk, behind which sat a bright eyed boy.
"Howdy stranger." He said lazily, and looked Arthur over with some interest. The two were silent for a little while, staring at each other like to animals that meet in the wild, but have no life or death business with each other, merely curiosity.
At some point the sleeping sheriff must have woken, because at that point he entered. He surveyed Arthur with some bleary apprehension, like perhaps trying to identify whether or not he owed him money. Then he caught sight of the boy, sitting behind his desk, presumably in his seat.
"Out of my chair Alfred, before I tan your hide!" the boy leapt gracefully from it, but stayed close by it, not really moving far.
Then the fat man turned his attention back to Arthur.
"Who're you?"
"Arthur Kirkland. Pleasure to meet you." And he held out his hand, which the sheriff shook, friendly as you please.
"Oh, we've been expecting you. Gimme a minute." And he disappeared into a back room.
As soon as he was gone the boy was back in his chair.
Arthur couldn't think fast enough to be able to bite his tongue.
"Aren't you afraid of getting your hide tanned?" Whatever that meant.
"Naw, he'd have to be able to catch me first." He replied impishly, the joke clearly being that the older fat man wasn't able to catch much.
Arthur marveled at his cheek.
Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it. I wish I could write more for it some time, and maybe I will... but in the mean time I have other things to work on I guess, so this is all there is.