InsaneJournal

Who: Frank Hardy and Tinkerbell
When: Late August
Where: JJ’s Custom Repair
What: Random Encounter
Rating/Warnings: Low/None
Status: Complete when posted!


Belle was behind the register at the shop. She was trusted to close out the shop on days when there wasn’t a whole lot of work to do. Most of their tickets had been resolved, and the ones that hadn’t were waiting on parts. An order was coming in tomorrow. Belle just had to wait until closing time to keep the shop open, just in case anyone walked in with something they needed fixed.

Reel Big Fish was playing over the speakers in the small shop. Belle was bopping her head back and forth as she worked on some tiny gears in her hands. She wore a set of glasses that magnified the gears, and she used a very, very small screwdriver.

It had been a longer day at work than Frank had anticipated, so he was glad to see that the repair shop he had scouted online was indeed still open, if not bustling. That was probably for the best, all things considered. He didn’t think anyone would be able to tell that the damage done to his watch had come from a bomb explosion and he really would like to have his watch back. It had been a graduation gift from Callie but he could not get himself to give it up. Besides, it was a nice watch. He had attempted to reconstruct what he could, but some parts simply were beyond his meager knowledge of how clocks worked.

Therefore, he needed help. Hopefully he could find some here, or at the very least be pointed in the right direction. He opened the door, eyes taking in the various wonders of gears and electronics. I wonder if they have interfaces for modems from the 1980s... “Hello?” Frank called at the figure at the register. The music funneled down from the speakers made him smile in sudden nostalgia for beaten up bicycles and tree forts.

It wasn’t that loud. The music. It was loud enough to be heard, possibly slightly louder than elevator music tended to be. But it wasn’t blasting, or anything. Belle liked to be able to hear herself think while she worked, even though she liked the music as a distraction. At the sound of the voice she looked up from her gears, her eyes magnified in an odd way. But then she lifted the specs to expose her face, and there was a smear of grease on her cheek.

“Hello?” The girl behind the register said. She waited for a long moment, as if waiting for him to speak, before she realized she had another line in this play. “Oh. Can I help you?”

Frank grinned at the giant eyes that seemed to blink at him from behind the magnification spectacles. He imagined that was what Maurice probably looked just like that when blinking up at Belle. Except this inventor did not have grey hair and a Santa belly. I’ve been watching too many Disney movies. He thought ruefully.

He walked up to the counter and pulled a folded handkerchief from his jacket pocket. “Sorry for interrupting. I’m afraid I’m having a bit of trouble fixing my watch. It looks like a few of the gears were broken in the...well, when it fell.” Setting the bundle on the counter, he carefully unwrapped the cloth to reveal the broken timepiece. The glass was cracked, but the frame was still intact. A variety of small gears, whole and broken, also littered about. “I was hoping you could help me out, or at least tell me what I’m doing wrong.” Frank gave her a bit of a self-defeating smile to let her know that he had tried his best but was more than ready to admit his failure to a professional.

Belle took the glasses from her head and set them aside. She was staring up at the man who’d entered the shop with great interest. He had a very nice smile. When he came closer to the counter where she was working, Belle put her own things aside and cleared space for his… was that a handkerchief? …seriously? Who had an actual, cloth handkerchief anymore? Totally old-timey. But kinda interesting, anyway. Endearing, perhaps? She sat up and leaned forward to take a look at the broken watch.

“Jesus,” she whispered, bringing a delicate and talented hand forward to start sorting through the pieces. “What happened to this thing?”

“It fell out the window. I think it might’ve landed on a grill on the way down.” Frank shrugged his shoulders and gave her a sheepish look. That was his story and he was sticking to it. Telling someone that he had been in an explosion recently brought a whole different set of questions than a careless moment and some charcoal. He had cleaned the sear marks that he could find, but that did not mean they were all gone. “It was a long day.” That was putting it mildly. At least he had managed to convince his boss that he could write his typical fluff piece from home.

He waited a few moments, letting her get a better look at the damage. “So, Doc. Do you think she’s going to make it?” Frank joked, but he truly was hoping that something could be done about the time piece. Some things were just more difficult to give up than others.

“Yeah, I’ll bet,” Belle said, frowning as she turned over the main piece. “Welp, you’re gonna need more than a handful of replacement parts, and this glass is completely gone. I’m sure we can find you a comparable band, too, as this one needs some serious mending. Might just be easier to replace it than to try and fix it.” She glanced up at him with a grin on her face. “But I think she’ll pull through.”

Then, without asking permission or waiting for more info, Tink bounced over to the wall. It was covered in shelves, and on those shelves were drawers and boxes, a lot of them with open tops. She gave a gentle hmm and pressed her tongue between her lips as she started to grab pieces out of the boxes. Seriously, the place was stacked. It looked almost like the nut and bolt aisle at a big, chain, home improvement store. And Belle knew it like the back of her hand.

She came back to the counter a moment later, and set all the pieces down. “You already did some repair work here, I see. But these pieces are gonna bend now they’ve been compromised.”

News of just how bad the watch was made Frank’s face drop a bit. He had hoped to at least keep the band, but he could see her point. That she had hope of the watch’s survival, however, made him brighten a bit in return. “Thank goodness!” Regardless of how many pieces it was still in, the important part was that it could be repaired. He was sure glad that it was not entirely unsalvageable.

Curiousity got the better of him and he practically was on his tip-toes to see exactly what the woman was doing behind the counter, making mental notes at which things she chose and which she discarded. His heels settled back to the floor as she returned. “I think tried would be the better word. Unfortunately, my knowledge is more centered around computers than clocks.” Frank lamented. Although, considering the newest set of Dream gifts, learning more about timepieces - specifically ones that could be used as timers for explosives - would probably be a good idea.

Reaching for one of the pieces she indicated, Frank gave her an inquisitive look. “Is that because they were exposed to heat? Did it affect the hardening of the metals?”

“Heat will do it. Make the metals brittle? But see these here? They’ve been bent. I can see how you flattened them out again, but the bending has made them weak.” Belle explained, motioning toward the pieces with her tiny screwdriver. She really was in her element when she was repairing tiny things like this. Belle didn’t want to just fix it without showing him what she was doing, as he obviously had interest in this.

“Here. This piece goes here. And we’ve got a new piece of glass for the front, and here…” She started to show him which pieces went where, explaining carefully and showing him what she was doing. Soon she grabbed his hand and passed over the screwdriver so he could start doing the repairs as she gave him instructions.

“Interesting.” And it was true, Frank was fascinated. He was glad that she was taking the time to explain and show him what she was doing. Most of the time, people would find a way to wave him away and tell him to come back later. Contrary to what his brother might think, he did not have an eidetic memory, but he did have a very intricate memory palace, and this particular lesson was getting filed away very carefully. One never knew what information would be useful when pursuing a story.

Frank would have been surprised that she had handed over the screwdriver if he had not been so immersed in the lesson. Perhaps later he still would be, but right now he concentrated on following her instructions. Every now and then he paused and asked a follow up question - whether the glass was treated with a special coating and what kinds of seals were used to make watches waterproof. Soon enough the watch face was looking, well, not brand new, but definitely in one piece. “You’re really good at this.” He commented. “Teaching, I mean. Although, I suppose you couldn’t really teach me how to do this if you didn’t know what you were doing.” Frank laughed a bit at his own sheepishness.

Belle was pretty good about answering his questions to the best of her ability. She was patient and explained things thoroughly, and though she wasn’t all that personable, this was one of those times where they didn’t need to joke and laugh through it. Belle showed him what needed to be done, and they did it together. It worked out really well for everyone. She felt accomplished when they’d finished.

“What? Really?” Belle smiled a bright smile. “Thank you! I never imagined I’d be good at that sort of thing. Teaching, I mean. I’m not really great at explaining myself.” She shrugged her shoulders and started to put her tools away. “But I think that’s about as much as I can do for your time piece.”

“I think you did just fine. I would have goofed it up for sure if I had tried to finish fixing it on my own.” Frank was amazed that the watch looked as good as it did. Just a few modifications and replacement parts and it was ticking away once again. The band was still a bust, but that was easy enough to find on the internet.

Handing her back the tools he had used, Frank piled the broken and warped parts back into his handkerchief. Both the watch and handkerchief were then quickly pocketed. “So, how much do I owe you?”

“You’re welcome! It’s the least I can do. Though, I suppose that sort of behavior might put us out of business eventually. I mean, you’re a natural. Practically knew what to do before I told you.” She turned to the computer on the front desk that worked as their cash register as well as everything else, and punched a few things in.

“It’ll be twelve sixteen all together.” She said, turning her eyes back to look at him. And then a smile came across her lips at the sight. He was handsome. She couldn’t help but notice, couldn’t help but enjoy it. It was fun to look at him. “I just charged you for the parts today. I’m sorry I couldn’t do more.”

“I’m used to working with electronics. I was actually rather surprised to see how much can cross over.” Frank felt his ears heat a bit at the praise. It had been a long time since he had been able to talk shop about all things mechanical and even longer since he had been given lessons that had not come from Google or YouTube. It was nice. “I really appreciated the lesson. Maybe you can offer classes to make up for some of that lost income.” His eyes twinkled playfully.

Pulling out his wallet, Frank handed her a $20 bill to pay for the parts. The amount had seemed a bit low at first - that was less than he would have expected to pay in Bayport, much less in Orange County! His suspicions were confirmed a moment later. “I feel like I should pay you for the lesson as well as the parts. Or at least let me buy you a cup of coffee.”

Belle went into the register and came up with his change. She passed it all over with a strip of receipt. “You don’t need to pay anything more than I charged, silly.” She gave him a bright smile as she passed over his change. “Oh!” The idea of coffee was absolutely thrilling. Belle had worked a long shift, and had another hour? Maybe more before she was off work.

“There’s a Starbucks two doors down. I like my lattes with extra vanilla. And soy milk.” She closed the register, then leaned against the counter, eyes twinkling at him.

Frank barked a small laugh as he placed the change in his wallet. That had not been exactly what he had been thinking of, but it worked. Not very many people were willing to drink coffee this late at night. Sure, he did, but he was also constantly on a deadline. Fluff pieces may not be the most exciting stories, but they were often due at a moment’s notice in order to fill in any spaces left on the website or newscast.

“I guess I’ll be right back.” Frank gave her a smile before turning to head out to the Starbucks she had indicated. It never failed to amaze him how the store always seemed to be busy, even at odd hours of the evening. A few minutes later he was on his way back through the entrance of the small repair shop, two cups in hand. “One grande vanilla soy latte, extra vanilla.” Frank said by way of greeting, placing the drink on the counter.

The magnifying glasses were back on by the time Frank came back into the shop. When Belle looked up and over at him holding the coffee, she thought he looked even more handsome than before. It made her a little flustered.

“You’re welcome!” She said, then tinged pink. “I mean, thank you!” She could try and use the excuse that she’d been staring hard at the pocketwatch in her hands, and was distracted by it. After setting the contraption down, she reached for the coffee. “Wasn’t much of a line there, huh?”

“It wasn’t bad at all.” Frank found that the charm of the glasses only increased with each viewing. It was refreshing to find someone as interested in her work as this woman seemed to be. Especially at a little shop in a mall. He was a firm believer in loving one’s job, regardless of where or what it was, but it was the fact that she was embarrassed more about the word slip than the glasses made him look twice.

Frank looked around the shop, looking at the various wares displayed in the cases. “Come to think of it, would you have or be able to order a similar band as the one on my watch?” She had said the band was beyond repair and it would be rather convenient to be able to come back to the same place to finish fixing the watch. Heck, he might even be able to get another lesson from the clerk in return for another cup of coffee.

“Oh! Yes, absolutely.” Tink moved from her stool over to the counter, and ducked down underneath it. There she fished around for a catalog, and bumped her head on the underside of the counter on her way up. It wasn’t that bad, but it smarted. She rubbed the back of her head as she stood up, and spread out the catalog on the counter in front of her. “Here.”

There was a whole section of watch bands. Some looked a whole lot like the one he’d had before. “I can get any of these… they just take a couple days to deliver. This one looks just like your old one,” She motioned to one of the leather straps.

“Are you alright?” Frank looked worried for a moment when he heard the sound of her head hitting the bottom of the counter. “That sounded like it hurt.” She seemed to be okay, however, when she finally reappeared with the catalogue.

“That one would be perfect!” Frank nodded at the picture she was pointing to. “I don’t mind waiting for it. Especially since it’s such a close match to the one that was ruined.” The same, but different. Just like him and his Dream self. The thought made him smile.

“Yeah, yeah, I hit my head there all the freaking time.” She explained, rubbing her hand over the back of her head once more. It smarted a bit, but Belle was made of stronger stuff than that. “No worries.” She waved it off.

“Awesome, then.” Belle grabbed an order form, and filled out the name of the watch band, and the item number from the catalog, then gave it to him to fill out the rest. “Here, name and phone number? I can call or text when it’s in.”

“The same spot? Maybe you should put a cushion there.” Frank was only half-teasing. He understood that sometimes a bit of help was needed when certain injuries were repeated often enough. A softer edge to a low shelf, a pair of slippers to stave off the worst toe stubs, or perhaps limiting oneself to cooking only with a two and a half inch egg pan in order to save the others from certain destruction.

“Text, please. I’ve got an odd schedule and my boss frowns upon personal calls.” Frank took the form and filled his relevant information. “You said it would come in a few days?”

“Yup.” Tink waited for Frank to finish up with the paper, then made a note to text and not call. That was better for her, anyway. She was awkward over the phone. She was awkward over text, too, but at least she didn’t have to hear her own voice quiver and pause. “I’ll put in the order today. This company’s really great. We’ve got a list of other things to order, too, and when we spend a certain amount they overnight ship. Or two day. Depending.” She gave Frank a smile. “So you’ll have your watch back sooner rather than later.”

“Thanks!” Frank said as he handed back the form. His trip to get help repairing his watch had gone even better than he had hoped. “I really appreciate everything you’ve done tonight. Oh! I’m Frank, by the way.” He held out his hand to her in greeting.

“Belle,” Belle said, reaching out her hand to shake his. It was small and smooth, a little cool to the touch. She had a firm grip, though, and wasn’t shy in her handshake. “And it’s really no problem. That’s why they pay me.” She said it without an inch of humor in the statement. She was happy to help, really, not just because it was her job. “It’s nice to meet you, Frank. I’ll let you know when your band is in.”