Long Way From Home...

You know, when you think about it, it’s actually crazy that I’ve managed to survive this long in the city. I mean a country boy who’s never set foot out of his hometown, managing to survive the big bad city folk. Truly a wonder.

“Hey,” I call out as I swing open the door of a tattoo shop. The first of many on this street. “Y’all hiring?”

There’s a woman sitting in a chair, her back facing the tattoo artist closest to me. Her shirt is up to expose her back. I avert my eyes, of course. But I did notice the elaborate pattern that was being tattooed on her back before my eyes went to the ceiling. Looked like the guy was doing good work. There was another woman in a chair. One of the artists. She stared at me for a second, eyes wide. I knew I had taken her off guard, but which part of me exactly was always hard to tell. Could’ve been my outfit (nobody in the city wears overalls), my accent, or could’ve been my apparently unusually sunny demeanor. I’m a happy guy, what can I say?

“Uh...Tom, are we hiring?” She said after she was done eyeing me up and down.

“No.” He grunted. Either not phased by my presence or completely In The Zone, as they say.

She turned back at me and shrugged, “Guess we’re not hiring.”

“Shucks, well that’s okay. Y’all have a nice night. Fine work you’re doing there, Tom.” I said as I literally tipped my faded red baseball hat to him and turned around to leave. One down, probably about five or six more to go.

I hooked my thumbs into the straps of my overalls and walked out the door. A few steps to the right and I was opening another door. This shop seemed to be far more popular, as there were a few people waiting in chairs by the door and every artist seemed to be occupied. There was even a receptionist in this one. Or I think it was a receptionist. Could’ve just been whoever wasn’t busy. Which didn’t make much sense to me since there was people waiting.

“Hey ma’am, how ya doing?” I said once I made it to the desk. I tried to do it quietly since this didn’t seem like the kind of place you talked loud in, but I was always told I didn’t have much of an indoor voice. She frowned and recoiled away from me. I smiled apologetically, “I’m sorry, I forget you city girls don’t take kindly to being called ma’am. Look I don’t mean anything weird, just wondering if y’all was hiring.”

She stared blankly for a few moments. I counted four blinks. “Uh...wait here, I’ll ask.” She turned around and headed to the back of the shop. Once she disappeared behind a black curtain I leaned on the desk and started looking around. I looked at the art displayed in books not too far from the receptionist's desk. None of it looked like anything I couldn’t do. I looked around at the art framed on the walls, none of that looked too difficult either. That made me feel better. The work Tom was doing next door looked a bit more difficult.

“You the one looking for work?”

I bout had a heart attack hearing this woman behind me. I turned around and was faced with an amazon of a woman with long red hair. I put my hand on my chest and let out a breath, then I stuck my hand out and smiled big. “Yep, that’s me Sampson Menace. Nice to meet ya.”

“Wow...hell of a name. You make that up yourself?” She said through a breathy laugh as she shook my hand. Strong shake.

I shook my hand out as if she had hurt me, trying to make a little joke but she didn’t seem to get it. I shrugged. “Nope. I mean not me, my mama did. And my dad too I guess. I mean he didn’t really get much of a say in the last name. But I suppose he contributed, in his own way.”

She glanced at the receptionist who was laughing quietly at the desk. “If you wasted my lunch break, you’ll pay for it.” It seemed like a serious threat. The laughing stopped and suddenly she had a whole lot of papers to flip through. The woman looked back at me and narrowed her eyes. Sizing me up. I was used to it so I just hooked a thumb in my straps and stuck a hand in my pocket.

“I’ve got my portfolio in my phone if you’d like to see it. Now it’s probably not as extensive as you might be expecting, as this is my first time leaving home, but I think it’s fine work if I say so myself.”

“Wow, so you really talk like that all the time?” She said as she held her hand out.

“Like what?” I said with a grin as I pulled out my phone and opened my photo gallery to my work. I handed her my phone. “Nah I’m just kidding, I know what I sound like. Answer’s yes. Swipe to the left. If you see me smiling at the city limits you’ve gone too far.”

“Holy shit,” She said softly once she took the phone. I stuck my hands back in my pockets and started rocking on my heels. Shouldn’t take her long to look but I get bored easily. “You did all this? What the hell town are you from where they get work like this?”

“St. Agnes born and raised,” I said with an easy grin. I didn’t expect her to know it. Even though it was only 50 miles outside of the city, the people in St. Agnes enjoy certain protections and privacies. Not many people knew about it.

“Where’s that?” She said before holding a finger up to pause my reply. “Wait a minute...I think my cousin popped a tire there before. It’s like a little country town isn’t it? Looks like something out of one of those old western movies?”

“Yeah, I suppose it does kinda look like that,” I said as I looked up in thought. Thinking about my hometown always got me emotional so I tried not to do it too often. I sniffled a bit and nodded with a sigh, “Yup, like one of those western movies.”

“You okay?” She said slowly. She was looking at me strange so I figured I must’ve looked upset. I nodded and smiled.

“Yeah I’m fine. I’ve always been a crier. So, what do you think?” I said, motioning to the phone.

She swiped a few times back and forth and looked around at the shop. I could see her chewing on her bottom lip. I hate to see a lady distressed but this seemed like a good sign for me. “Shit, I mean we’re not really hiring. But I’d be stupid to let you walk out of here and work for someone else…” She sighed and walked towards the back of the shop again. I was about to say something about my phone before she tapped a man on the shoulder. He was tall and lanky looking. She bent down and said something in his ear. I can read lips but her mouth wasn’t facing me so I couldn’t catch it. But from the looks of it, whatever she said was pretty confusing for the guy. Cause he frowned up at her and made to argue but she swiped her hand across her neck. The universal sign for “Drop It.” She walked back to me and handed my phone. “Come back in the morning, should be a spot for you.”

I grinned wide and pumped my fist in the air. The “Yes!” I let out seemed to startle a few of the waiting customers and I smiled an apology. “Sorry, this is just my first job since I came to the city. Pretty excited bout it.” I looked back at the woman who was staring at me with her arms folded. She was looking at me in that way that I had gotten pretty familiar with since coming to the city. That “I don’t know what to make of you” look. I stuck my hand out for another shake. “Sorry, I never did ask your name.”

“Delilah.” She said softly. I laughed loud, my hand on my hip. Now what were the odds of that?