Walking to the Gallows {DESMOND}

[Antosha K. Vikenti]

Four years.
It had been four long years since the day he lost one sun only to see another peek on the horizon.
Four years to build an immunity to the burns.
Four years to learn the pull of the tides.
So why, in all those four years, had he not found a way to say one single word? No.
No. No. No. No. It was a simple enough word that he had learned to say to everyone. To everyone else, Antosha had no problem saying the word “No”. Yet, when a pair of stonewash blue eyes turned on him, he found himself powerless to say such a simple word. It was a physical impossibility for him to tell her “No” whenever she asked him for something.

Which explained where he was at this current point of time- staring at a sort of surf shop while the ocean crashed relentlessly into the beach. Ashley had explained to him the existence of this…. perverted version of a shop with the usual gusto that made it hard for Antosha to understand. However, the gist had gotten through and when Ant woke up this morning to have an excited Yumi on his chest demanding she go to the beach to be a mermaid, Ant had kindly remembered this shop so he could buy her something to swim in.

A tug on his hand reminded him that this was really happening, he was going to be forced into the water with her. They’d probably both end up drowning and it’d be entirely his fault. Antosha let out a rather deep sigh and pushed open the door to the surf shop, letting go of Yumi’s hand so she could go running into the place. He wasn’t afraid of anything going wrong- if Ashley was safe here then there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that Yumi wouldn’t be- and took his time crossing the threshold, the door shutting behind him. His eyes scanned the area, frowning some when he saw only surfboards in his immediate vision. Further inspection didn’t reveal much more, so with a quiet clap he walked over to the counter to find someone that would work here. He towered over the four year old at his side and he tried to arrange him features into something that didn’t show just how much he didn’t want to do this.

“Where you keep girl swim things?” he asked in his usual deep voice, letting a smile pull on his face.

[Desmond Lloyd Rees]

Ding.

Desmond glanced up from his inventory paperwork on the counter when he heard the overhead bell that was rigged up to the door go off. He easily put on a smile as he looked up and saw the small girl running into the shop, excited for whatever adventure she was on to for the day. “Afternoon,” he called to them before glancing back down at the papers wanting to get all the most tedious work out of the way as early as possible. Des generally would leave his customers to their business unless they particularly seemed to want conversation or they seemed completely clueless. He knew better than to breathe down peoples necks, particularly in his line of business, but he assumed this guy was an actual customer since he had a kid with him; Des would refuse to sell to him otherwise.

However, when the man approached the counter and Des could feel him looming over, he glanced up with a friendly smile. He was able to tell that this guy was on edge about something, so Des tried to stay relaxed. It was much easier to do so when Antosha asked where the swimwear for little girls was. Des moved around the counter to lead the way with a spring in his step, “Ah, it’s right over here.”

He stopped in front of the display with kids swimwear, all bathing suits were stored in drawers underneath the display. “Do you have any other questions? Or is there anything else I can help you with? There are some really great choices here...we even have the full bodysuits for kids if you’re interested, they’re a bit pricier, but worth it if she’s real serious about being in the water. Otherwise, just about anything will do,” he explained trying to be helpful.

Then he smiled down at Yumi, “See anything you like?”

[Antosha K. Vikenti]

As Antosha stood at the counter he couldn’t help, even when he knew he was about to die, but to look the male in front of him up and down. If he was going to die here by the oceans hand, then he damn well was going to make sure the last few things he saw wasn't a slutty girl. Or a girl in general- Yumi not counting. The smile he saw on the male’s face helped eased his fears for the time being and a relax posture seemed to take over the earlier tension. Antosha nodded once, almost to himself, as the male walked around the store counter to lead him towards the brightly colored swimwear for children.

He followed the male easily, glancing around with a curious sort of frown- caused by the desire to know what’s going on and the knowledge all of this would be leading to him getting in the water. All around him was a rainbow that made him want to crawl under the covers and hide. Melodramatics aside, though, he had to admit it wasn't as bad as he thought it was going to be. At least Yumi was looking around with her wide eyes that always led to him spending more money than he really wanted. So she had to be happy with them being here otherwise he wouldn't have even considered walking to his death peacefully.

As they finally rounded on the kids swimwear Antosha felt himself blinking the stars out of his eyes from the variety of colors. There was neon green padded suits, slim cut ones, ruffled. Easy enough to say that he was absolutely lost when it came to which one would be the safest. But, like the male could read his mind, the owner was already offering his assistance. Antosha nodded his head once before beginning to talk. ”Da. I want… Which suit safest?” he asked, motioning to the display. Yumi, however, wasn't paying a bit of attention as she tried to reach up to grab a pale purple swimsuit that had a ruffled skirt bottom. When the man did direct a question at her she looked up quickly, eyes wide like she’d been caught in the cookie jar.

[Desmond Lloyd Rees]

Des smiled at the girl, he liked kids and he especially liked the idea of them wanting to be active at the beach at such a young age. It took him back to his own days of learning how to surf and when everything seemed so new. Then he looked back up to the girl’s father, his smile still lingering. It was also good to see a caring father, someone who was so concerned for their child’s safety that they asked such a ridiculous question as which bathing suit was the safest. It was the parents like these that he sometimes was able to tack on a few extra items for the safety of the child to make the bill higher; something that was sometimes impossible to do with experienced surfers and beachgoers.

”Safest?” Des repeated, gesturing to the full body wetsuits which were priced as the most expensive. Plus, when you sold one for a child, it was almost certain that they would be back within the next year to buy one in a bigger size. ”These keep your temperature better regulated and helps to keep things that are meant to be in the ocean, and some things that aren’t supposed to be in the ocean, in the ocean and off your body. They’re what I use and what I would recommend if you’re going to be coming back to the beach a lot.

After his little spiel, he took a moment to stay quiet and let the man mull over his options before opening his mouth again, ”Also, if you’re interested, we sell inflatable floaties, life jackets, intertubes...all of which will help keep her safe if she’s not an experienced swimmer. Then of course, we have beach toys, wakeboards, really anything she’s interested in, I get her started out with.” Hoping that sheer amount of information she’d just given them wasn’t too much to take in, he offered another comforting smile to let them know that he was really there to help and in no hurry to get them out of his store.