"You still owe me."
Hank looked up and saw Grace stand right in front of him. She looked like someone you shouldn't argue with.
"For what?"
"For telling your grandmother that lie about the coat to Robert E."
Oh. That. Hank had almost forgotten about Grace's little lie in the midst of having to come clear, only to realize that his grandmother wasn't ashamed of him. For a moment he considered his options, he could tell her that the lie didn't matter after all. But then again; Grace didn't know that he was about to tell the truth. All of a sudden another memory sprang into his mind: The memory of how he'd backed down on the deal with Brian, about the horse, and how Loren, in order to twist his arms and force him to give the horse to the boy, had doubled the costs for everything in the store for him. Grace was a business-woman so Hank wouldn't be too surprised if she used similar methods.
"Right. What do you want? Not whiskey?"
"No. I want you to let me call you 'Hans' for a week."
Ouch! That was pretty much the last payment he'd expected. Truth was that even though he let his grandmother call him Hans, he hated that name.
"Actually," Grace continued, "I think everyone should be allowed to call you 'Hans'. And you won't punch anyone!"
Could it get any worse? He could already imagine Jake, and Loren for that matter, get a big laugh out of calling him 'Hans', and not being able to give them a, he was sure it would be, well deserved beating only made it worse. One glance up at Grace made him realize she wouldn't change her mind though.
"Fine."
"Thank you. Hans!"
Alright, now he just had to avoid Grace for a week. Couldn't be too hard; he could eat by himself, even though eating at the café was the best way for him to get a proper meal. It was Sunday the next day but he new no one would be surprised if he didn't show up for the service, in fact people mostly was surprised when he did show up.
His plan had one major flaw though; Grace. She had no intentions of avoiding him. Instead she at one point happily called him 'Hans' right in the middle of town, with everyone listening. From that moment on everyone knew of the deal he'd made with Grace. When he walked into the store Loren greeted him with a "What can I do for you, Hans?" Entering the barber-shop caused Jake to ask "Do you want the usual, Hans?" Yes, even Horace at one point asked if he should sign a telegram 'Hans Lawsenstrom'. People simply refused to call him Hank. Never in his life had he wanted a week to be over so much.
"Hey, Hans, can you help here for a moment?"
Hank cringed to hear the voice of Sully, perhaps the person in town he liked the least, calling him by his birth-name. He was just about to ignore his deal with Grace and punch the idiot when he remembered something; he wasn't the only one who called himself by someone else than his actual first name. Smiling he turned towards his nemesis.
"Sure. Byron."