Muxx walked down the street until a swinging shop sign beckoned to him. Bex’s Bicycles. “Aha! Muxx, my man, you are a genius. Who needs a car anyway?”
The girl behind the counter jumped up, startled by the ringing doorbell. “I’m sorry, sir. How may I help you?” She smiled and looked at him over the rim of her oversized glasses.
“I’d like to buy a bike. Whatever you have in stock. I need to have it as soon as possible.”
“Well, sir, we do sell off older showroom models and the occasional secondhand, but I must say, this is sort of unusual. Most people want to test a bicycle first. Make sure the size and feel are right.”
“Bikes come in different sizes?” Muxx could hear the bird mocking him through the open window. “I’m sorry. I need really a bike. Do you have anything I could just buy right away?”
She typed something into the laptop sitting on the counter, hummed a little tune while the ancient looking device processed her query and smiled up at him when it finally showed her some results. “We actually have two bikes in stock but they're both mountain bikes. If that isn't an issue, we can have one ready for you in fifteen minutes.”
Photo credit: Hans Braxmeier via Pixabay
“If it has wheels, handlebars and brakes, I'll take it.”
Thirty minutes later, Muxx climbed onto his brand new bike and wobbled towards home. Standing up. Apparently, comfort was not a priority when designing mountain bike saddles.
Three days later, Muxx stood and stared at his bike. “Now what do I do?” His shoulders fell in disappointment. He’d thought of ways to get past most of the problems the dry spell caused. Replacing his car with the bike solved his mobility problems. He was worried about hygiene but the plumbing could deliver water faster than the spell could absorb it. Just when it felt like he could get his life back on track, it threw him a sucker punch.
The problem in front of him right now was too much for him to handle. His bike had a flat tire. He had no pump and no clue how to use one if he did. He walked back over to Bex’s Bicycles, praying for it to be open. He heard the mocking twitter of a bird and rolled his eyes.
Fifteen minutes later, the ringing of the the doorbell was like music to his ears. The girl behind the counter looked up from her book and smiled when she recognised him. “Oh, hi. It’s you again. How is the bike working out for you?”
“Just fine until this morning. I have a flat tire and no pump. This may sound kind of silly, but I wouldn’t even know how to use one. I haven’t owned a bike in over ten years, and, uhm… Valves and stuff looked different back then.” He could feel his cheeks heating up and he couldn’t look her in the eyes, so he focused on the tattoo curling up from underneath her shirt collar instead. “I’m sorry, I didn’t even catch your name last time...”
“I’m Annie. Nice to meet you.”
“Hi Annie. It’s nice to meet you too. I’m Peter. I thought your name would be Bex or something. Annie is a nice name too, though.” He grinned at her.
“Rebecca is actually my aunt. I just moved to town, and she offered me this job until I find my way but I really like working here. Well, Peter, let’s see about getting you back in the saddle. I hope you don’t mind my asking, but if you haven’t been on a bike for so long, why now?” She picked out a pocket sized pump. “This will fit in your backpack. And you’d better get some spare tires too.”
“Oh, that’s a great idea. I, ah, I decided to get a bike so I wouldn’t need my car anymore. Carbon footprints and all that.”
Thunder rumbled in the distance. “Be honest with the girl, Peter.” Her voice, as always, sounded very close by.
“Sssshhhh.” Peter winced. Hopefully, he could manage to not look too much like a madman.
Annie looked up in confusion.
Goddessdamnit! “That wasn’t meant for you, Annie, I’m sorry. I’ve just been feeling out of sorts today.” He smiled at her and tried to look as sane as possible.
She looked up at him, pushed her glasses back up in an adorable gesture, and smiled. Her grey eyes looked even bigger behind those glasses, making him forget all about his self-pity. Muxx swallowed a lump in his throat. Again he had a hard time holding her gaze and his eyes wandered back down to the tattoo. The tip of a feather drifted up from her collarbone.
Thunder rumbled in the distance. Muxx shrugged and looked up. Hopefully she wouldn’t think he was a creep now. “Uhm… Could you show me how this thing works? It’s so tiny, I’m afraid I’d break it.”
“I figured as much.” Her glasses had slid down her nose again and she pushed them up before accepting the pump from him and following him out to his bike.
Muxx rode his bike to the grocery store and considered what items would fit in his backpack. Space was not the only thing limiting his grocery time. As he walked through the soft drinks aisle, he could see the levels in the bottles slowly begin to drop. Hurry up and get out of here, man. As he speedwalked through the store, his mind kept returning to the feather disappearing underneath Annie’s collar. Get a grip, Muxx. She’s not your type. Besides, she deserves a nice guy. Not a player, like you.
Thunder rumbled.
Muxx looked up. “Would you mind your own business?” He gave an apologetic shrug and smile towards the lady staring at him. “Hi, uhm, sorry.” He quickly made his way to the checkout line.
Continued in Dry Spell, Part 3
I sincerely hope you enjoyed the second instalment. Goddess knows I did. ;-)
Again, my most sincere thanks to the members of the MSP PALnet Fiction Workshop. If this story is any good at all, it is a result of your help and encouragement. Love you all.
Group hug!