Debbie all but threw her bag and groceries on the counter, her attention solely focused on her watch. "No, no, no." She tried to dry it as best she could in a towel as she made her way to her bathroom to use her blow dryer on it.

"Fuck. I can't believe this." She sat on her toilet holding it in her hands as if she just lost a part of herself. The fact that she had just met a very skilled watch repair person completely slipping from her mind in this moment of distress.

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After putting away her groceries and sitting on the couch with a beer she picked up her watch and looked it over again. She flipped it over and read the inscription

From D.O.

to D.O.

Her phone buzzed on the coffee table. She put her watch down carefully and with an effort reached for her phone without taking her legs off the couch.

Being in her line of work meant having to answer numbers she didn't know or respond to texts from unknown numbers. So it was completely normal for her to get calls and texts at odd hours from potential clients.

555-0514: I've been thinking… since your regular florist left town maybe I could fill that role now. I've already got you one sale.

Debbie smiled and began to type.

Debbie: Just because they bought the house doesn't mean it was because of the daisies.

555-0514: Oh, but it does. If not for that arrangement, I'm 90% sure they would've just walked out of that house immediately.

Debbie: You're awfully confident aren't you?

555-0514: Yeah, so? Confidence is sexy.

Debbie: Yeah, yeah.

555-0514: So you agree that I'm sexy.

Debbie smiled while rolling her eyes.

Debbie: Do you have a name? Or should I just call you 555-0514?

555-0514: Lou

Debbie: Is that short for something?

Lou: Maybe…

The light of the television reflected off the face of her watch and suddenly she had an idea.

Debbie: Do you remember my very nice watch?

Lou: Yes

Debbie: Well, today the clasp came loose and it flew off my hand into the ground then into a puddle and now it doesn't work anymore.

Debbie waited for a reply and didn't even realize she was holding her breath.

Lou: What are you doing right now?

Debbie: Nothing, just sitting. On my couch.

Lou: Come over and I'll take a look at it.

Debbie: Like, right now-now?

Lou: Yeah, you said you weren't doing anything.

Debbie: Alright. Ok. I'll leave now then.

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Debbie stood in front of the shop not knowing if she should knock since all the lights were out, so she texted Lou.

Debbie: I'm here. Outside the shop.

She looks into the store and sees a light go on in the back and then a light behind the display counter. She sees Lou walking toward the door.

Lou opens the door and sticks her head out. "Yeah? What'd you want?"

Debbie looks confused for a moment til Lou smiles and opens the door to let her in. Debbie follows Lou to the back room and sees a few work tables covered in tools.

Lou makes her way around the other side of the table Debbie is standing in front of and sits on a stool. "Go ahead, sit."

Debbie pulls up a stool and sits. She looks around for a bit and then finally her eyes rest on Lou. "Oh, right, the watch." She pulls it out of her bag and hands it over.

"How long have you had it?"

"Maybe, 20 years almost? Yeah about that long."

Lou flips it over and notices the inscription. "Who's D.O.?"

Debbie looks at her hands then back up at Lou. "Danny. He's my-" Debbie stopped herself and began again, "he was my brother."

Lou looks at her a moment and says nothing. She quietly starts to work on the watch.

"Was it recent?"

Debbie looks at Lou not fully understanding the question.

"Did your brother pass recently?"

Debbie nodded. "This past summer. It still doesn't completely feel real. I keep wanting to call or text him. After every sale I make I always call him to gloat. He used to do the same."

"He was a realtor, too?"

"Yeah, he got me into it. I don't love it as much as he did, but I'm good at it."

"I'm sorry. For your loss. It's tough losing someone special. The pain never really goes away, but you learn to live with it and… as time goes by life goes back to normal. Or as normal as it can be without them in it."

Debbie could sense that Lou was speaking from experience. "Was it recent?"

Without looking up she responded. "Nah, maybe two years now about."

"Was it your brother, too?"

"No, it was my mother."

"I'm sorry, too."

They both looked at each other quietly for a moment. Silently bonding in their loss of a loved one.

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Lou closed the watch back up and held it to her ear. Debbie perked up and waited for the diagnosis.

"The glass is still cracked, but it works again."

Debbie almost snatched it from her hand. "Oh my goodness, thank you so, so much!"

"I can fix the glass too, but I'll have to order the parts."

"Really? I mean, thank you. Again, you have no idea how much this means to me."

Lou smiled at Debbie's genuine happiness.

As she's admiring her brand new watch her stomach growls and Lou laughs.

"Did you eat a tiger for dinner?"

"I didn't anything at all for dinner."

Lou looks at her for a minute and stands up. "Come with me."

Not thinking twice about it Debbie follows her up the stairs in the back room.