𝙃𝙀𝘼𝙑𝙀𝙉𝙇𝙔 𝘽𝙊𝘿𝙔 | 𝙅. 𝙃𝘼𝙇𝙀

11| Good Ole' Baseball

Orion's mother had asked him if he could help her at the shop in the early morning, and that's exactly what he is doing now. The boy is behind the counter, sitting on a stool, waiting for customers to enter. His mother had quickly left him in charge of the store while she ran a few errands around Port Angeles.

Orion didn't mind taking care of the shop while she was gone; it allowed him to finally play music he liked in the store. The shop is odd; in Orion's opinion, the store is marketed as an antique store, but once you enter, there are plenty of smaller sections in the store that offer more; they even had a section where they sold flowers.

Orion's attention was drawn to the sound of the bell that rang when the store's door was opened. He looks up, expecting to see his mother, but is surprised when he is met with Charlie Swan instead.

"Charlie, what are you doing here?" questions Orion. He noticed that the man was probably expecting to see his mother instead of him.

Charlie clears his throat. 'Hey there, kid, I was just looking for your mom," he says, his eyes looking around the shop. "I wanted to ask her something," he mutters, his right hand scratching the back of his head.

"You just missed her," he offers a sorry look. "She went to run some errands. I'll tell her you stopped by." Orion informed him, noticing how Charlie deflates a bit once he finds out his mom isn't around.

"Thank you," the older man tells him. "I'm going to look around the store now." He backs away from the counter and slowly starts going through the items in the shop.

Orion thinks back to Charlie, saying that he wanted to ask his mom a question. Orion hopes that the older man's question might have something to do with asking her out. Rye truly only wants his mom to be happy, and he's never seen her be this giddy with anyone since his father passed.

Orion understands that most kids are weirded out by their parents dating someone new, but in the short time he has known Charlie, he knows he is a good man. Speaking of the man, Orion notices him browsing the flowers.

"My mom's favorite flowers are orchids, in case you were wondering," he hinted, laughing as the man gave him an embarrassed look. Orion sees him drop the daisies he had in hand and reach for the orchids instead.

Charlie walks back over to the counter and places the flowers on the table. "That'll be it," he said sheepishly. Orion tells the man the cost, and with that, he starts heading out of the store, telling the boy a quick 'goodbye' before he leaves.

"Bye, and good luck!" he beamed, watching as he went out the door. Just as the man left, he heard a door shut clothes from the backroom. He turns around to see his mother walk through, arms filled with brown paper bags.

"Jeez, Mom, what did you go and buy?" he jokes, helping her set the bags down on the counter.

"Just the essentials," she replied. "Was everything okay while I was gone?" she asks, plopping herself down on the stool that Orion was once sitting on.

"It was fine," he mumbled, popping one of the lollipops that were displayed on the counter into his mouth. "By the way, Charlie stopped by asking for you," he mentions nonchalantly before going into the backroom to put some items away. He tries to keep his laughter in as his mother freaks out, frantically asking why the man is looking for her.