Who: Frank Hardy and Tinkerbell When: August 30, after These Texts Where: Fix-It Shop What: Fixing Frank’s Watch Rating/Warnings: Low/None Status: Complete when posted
Belle was in the shop with her noise-reduction headphones on. She bopped along to the music instead of watching the front door. After texting with Frank and making plans for him to come in and get his watch band, she’d put on some music and started work on a music box. A customer had brought the thing in--had it gone through the washing machine, or something? Jesus, it was torn up--and Belle was busy cleaning pieces, replacing ones that wouldn’t work, and putting the thing back together.
She didn’t hear the door chime as it opened, but caught the movement out of the corner of her eye. A smile broke across her lips as she set down her screwdriver. “Hey!” She said it a little louder than necessary. The music coming through her headphones was really loud.
The line at Starbucks had been longer than Frank had anticipated. Or at least it had felt longer than it needed to be. Even though he knew his watch was in his pocket and not on his wrist, force of habit kept directing his eyes to the spot where the watch should have been. Eventually he managed to brave the line and the wait, taking his prize of two coffee concoctions two stores over to the small repair shop.
“Anyone here?” Frank called as he entered the small store. He spotted the repair woman - Belle - bobbing her head behind the counter. The loud greeting did not surprise him, considering he could hear the music clearly even though she was still wearing the headphones. “Those are some sweet sounds.” He called loudly, hoping she heard him.
“Hi, Frank!” Belle’s voice was still raised over the music pounding in her ears. Would it be rude to wait until the end of her song to turn it off? But then she caught sight of the Starbucks in his hands and pulled her headphones down from her ears to hang around her neck. He could likely clearly hear Walk the Moon’s Shut Up and Dance coming from them.
“I know, right?” She grinned, still speaking in that louder-than-necessary voice. Then she seemed to figure out that she didn’t need to yell anymore, and cleared her throat. Not quite embarrassed, Belle was still smiling brightly. “Did you bring me a coffee??”
“Hi, Belle!” Frank gave her a knowing smile as she continued to wear the headphones even after he had arrived. Sometimes it was easier to maintain a working groove if you, well, grooved. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” He vaguely recognized the song on her headphones. Maybe it had been on the radio recently? After the Dreams began, he found himself listening to a wider variety of music and he tried to keep up with at least a handful of the songs on the top 40 station Songs were wonderful vehicles for social references and public opinions, after all.
“Yep. One grande vanilla soy latte.” Frank confirmed, handing her one of the cups (that strangely had her name on it) and setting his down on the counter. He gave her a shrug and a smile. “The barista seemed to know exactly who it was for the moment I gave him the order. I take it you’re a regular customer over there?”
Belle took her headphones off and turned the music off, but her eyes never left the coffee cup that Frank was holding. With a bright grin and a twinkle in her eye, she accepted the cup. “I think you’re my favorite customer ever.” And then she went a little pink. “Yeah, well, I do go there a lot.” She was only a little embarrassed about that fact. “Thank you for this,” she lifted the to-go cup. “It’s a life saver.”
After taking a quick sip, her eyes went slightly wide as she remembered. “Oh! The band! You’re actually here for a reason!” And then she set the cup down to grab the box from a back shelf. “It’s here, and it looks just like your old band.”
“Ever? I think that’s the coffee talking.” Frank smiled, sipping his own coffee. He had tried to be a bit ‘fancier’ this time, ordering an americano instead of a regular cup of coffee. So far, it had a nice kick to it. He didn’t know how many other customers had brought Belle coffee, but he doubted he was the first nor the last. “That makes sense, considering how close it is. Sometimes, coffee is all about location.”
The smile widened to a grin as Belle remembered the watch strap. “I’d like to say we’re all here for a reason, but yes. I did come to hopefully put humpty dumpty back together again.” Setting his cup down on the counter, Frank pulled out the handkerchief that currently housed the fixed watch face. He had managed to find a new battery amongst the bits and bobs on his work desk, so it was now happily ticking away as if nothing had happened in the first place.
Actually, the only other people who had brought Belle coffee were coworkers. She’d never had a customer bring her a latte like this--it was quite a treat! And hey, he’d offered the first time. This time was just special. She went for her cup again once the box was on the counter in front of him. “I do spend quite a few lunch breaks wandering down there to pick up a latte. Some of my shorter breaks, too. Sometimes I phone in my order so I can jog down there and get it in five minutes.”
She raised an eyebrow at his words. “...we’re all here for a reason?” Of course, something like that went right over Belle’s head. She helped to open the box and then grabbed a couple of tiny tools so she could put the band on the sides of the watch face. “You put the battery in,” she said, pleased and impressed. Then she snapped the band into place and held the watch out to him. It looked practically brand new.
“Oh! That’s right! I’ve read about that feature.” Frank subscribed to a number of tech-savvy magazines and he had read an article early last year about the testing stages of the app. He remembered being disappointed that they had chosen the opposite side of the country for their launch. It was probably for the best, as he usually preferred making his own coffee.
“I managed, somehow.” Frank watched as quickly reassembled the watch. It was a sight to see. Not one wasted movement even though the tools were miniature. He took the watch back and immediately replaced it on his wrist. It felt like forever since the timepiece had weighed down his hand. As if straightening something that had gone caddywhompus in the last few days. “It fits great! Thank you, Belle.” Frank looked back up at her with a grin. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. “You don’t happen to work on radios too, do you?”
The watch looked good on Frank’s wrist--as if it was home now after a long absence--and Belle could appreciate the beauty and familiarity of it. She thought it really helped to complete the look. It was a look she found she really liked. More than she probably should have.
“Well, that all depends on the type of radio. HAM? Satellite? Shortwave? AM or FM?” Talking about radios was something Belle could do. It was part of her business, something she fiddled with in her free time, too. “Why do you ask?”
“Crystal, actually.” Frank dug into his back pocket to pull out his wallet. It was amazing that Belle had managed to find something so similar to his old one. Luck was definitely on his side. It had actually been his last trip to the fix-it shop that had given him the idea of building his own radio. Well, that and the plastic explosives still stowed in his bedroom closet.
“I started tinkering with putting one together a few days ago, but I’m having a bit of trouble with the variable capacitor.” Actually, he had plans to make a pair of them, but that could come later. “Although, it’s not much more than a bundle of wires wrapped around a bottle right now.” Frank admitted, a bit sheepishly.
“Wow, you’re going old school.” Belle said, looking absolutely impressed. She processed the transaction for the watch band, and gave Frank his total. It was a very conservative fee. Just the cost of the band, really. She didn’t need to charge labor for simply clipping the thing into place. “I can take a look at it, if you want? I mean, I’m not sure how much of an expert I am on variable capacitors, but I can jiggle a spring or two and see if I can get the thing to work.” She gave him a bright smile. Hey, talking about radios with Belle was like speaking her native language.
“That’d be great! I’d really appreciate a second set of eyes. Or hands. Or both!” Frank brightened. It was rare for him to be able to talk about electronics without boring the other person. Even more rare for that person to actually understand what he was talking about. Most of the time his friends would smile and let him rattle off in electronics jargon until he got it out of his system. Even the ones who were interested in what he was talking about usually had little to contribute beyond vague encouragements. It was refreshing. “Are you free sometime this weekend? The rig is a bit too awkward to bring into the store, but I guess I can try...” Blueprints of carrying trays and stabilizing supports filled his head and Frank stroked his chin, deep in thought. That might work…
“I’ve got a family thing on Saturday, but I can do Sunday?” Belle offered, giving him a warm smile. “I know sometimes these things are hard to move around. If you want to meet here and just go over plans, we can do that. Or I can come see it where you’ve got it set up?” Any other person might have been a little less willing to go to some strange man’s house, but Belle didn’t see that as a problem. Maybe she thought she knew him well enough (through their few interactions) to know that he was safe. Or maybe she felt she was strong enough to handle herself. Or maybe she was just stupid and ran over to visit whoever invited her.
“Sunday sounds great.” Frank said, returning the smile. It had not occurred to him that it would be strange for him to invite a woman to his place. His mind had already turned back to his design and the various things needed to get the pair of radios working. “Are you working on Sunday? I can create some blueprints and bring them around.” Blueprints would definitely be easier to carry around. It was a great idea, actually. Why hadn’t he thought of it sooner? He was certain at least a few of the problems he was having could be solved simply by putting the design to paper.
“Oh. No. I’m not working on Sunday.” Belle replied. She went a little pink. “Maybe just… text me your address? I’ll swing by your place on Sunday, and we can look at it together then.” Belle had no idea that that might have been a strange thing to tell someone. She sort of invited herself over to his place, even though they barely knew one another. And she wasn’t experienced enough socially to understand how weird it was.
“I can’t wait to see your design.” She added, grinning.
“That sounds like a much better plan. Sometimes a blueprint just isn’t enough, you know?” Frank relaxed a bit. Blueprints were always better when there was a finished product that worked to go along with it. Plus, sweeps were coming up again and he didn’t have much time to spare between finding new stories, trying to keep the stories he found, and watching out for any Dream bombs that potentially might show up on his kitchen counter. Hopefully without exploding this time.
“I’ll be working from home all day, so just text me a warning when you’re free?” The apartment he shared with his brother was usually presentable to guests, but it always paid to do a quick spot-clean just in case. Plus, he was known for getting too immersed in his work and might not hear her knock unless he was expecting it.
“That sounds great.” Belle said. She really couldn’t wait for Sunday now. It was so great to meet someone who invented things like she did.