Compassion and Oblivion

Chapter Six: Meet the Town (Part One)

After you and Sam finish your plates, you try to help Jodi with the dishes, but she refuses. "Go on, honey," she insists, "you've got lots of people who are looking forward to meeting you! I'll take care of these dishes in a jiff, don't you worry."

You thank her for the hundredth time for being so kind, and tell her you'll be by again soon to visit. "See ya later, Vincent! Be good for your momma, okay?"

"I will!" Vincent promises. "I'm always a good boy," he says proudly, earning a raised eyebrow from both Jodi and Sam. Judging by that reaction, he's just as rambunctious as any six year old. "Bye, Miss (Y/N)!"

You head out the front door, Sam close behind you. "So, where should we start?" you ask.

"Follow me, I've got a game plan."

You follow his lead, walking through their backyard once more, towards the small cluster of buildings on the north side of the square. You approach the door furthest left, the building a pale blue color with darker blue trim. The building appeared to be a townhouse, but there's a sign above the door that says Medical Clinic. Business hours are posted to the right of the door.

Inside the door is a small waiting room, complete with chairs, informational posters, and a reception counter. Behind the counter is a girl, her back turned to you as she organizes some documents in a filing cabinet. She must be really focused, because she doesn't seem to notice that you both walked in.

"Hey Maru. How's it going?" Sam says, grabbing her attention.

The girl jumps a little at the sound of his voice. "Oh, hey Sam!" she says, turning to look at him from over her shoulder, still fiddling with a small stack of papers. It doesn't seem like she saw you standing there, too. "One sec, let me get these last few papers in the right place."

She turns her attention back to her paperwork. Sam tells her to take her time and apologizes if he's intruding on her work. She assured him it's nothing too important.

The girl, Maru, is wearing a purple t-shirt covered by a white smock. Her straight, reddish-brown hair is cropped in a straight bob just above her shoulders. She's wearing burgundy browline glasses with gold accents that beautifully complimented her hair color. She doesn't have much makeup on, if any, and honestly she doesn't need it. She looks to be around eighteen.

Maru slips the last few pieces of paper into their destined file folders and closes the drawer. She turns around in her desk chair and faces you both, now noticing your presence. "Oh! Aren't you the one who just moved in? (Y/N), right?"

"Yep, I sure am," you reply with a smile, "and you're Robin's daughter? I just met her this morning, and she told me a lot about you. She's really proud of you and your brother."

Maru beams, clearly happy to receive the praise. "I am!" she says, reaching across the counter to shake your hand. "I'm Maru. I've been looking forward to meeting you!"

"It's nice to meet you too! Everyone has been so welcoming so far, it's been so refreshing."

Sam and Maru share a look for a split second. If you'd blinked, you'd have missed it. Maybe I shouldn't expect everyone in town to be this friendly? Sam did say there were a couple of sour sprouts.

"You know," Maru says, "with a small town like this, a new face can really altar the community dynamic. It's exciting!"

"Hopefully I continue to bring positive change to the community from here on out." you say with semi-confidence.

"No doubt, you're going to do great things here!" Sam boasts with enough confidence for the both of you. "Don't you think so, Maru?"

"I haven't known her as long as you have, but from what you've told me, I think (Y/N) will make an excellent addition to this town," she answers with a grin. "Oh! Let me go get the doc, he will want to meet you, too!"