Dignified Minds, Tempted Hearts

2 - exploring town

After Harry has grabbed his favorite tote bag with his wallet, keys and phone in it, he steps foot outside.

There's a chilly breeze, but the slight touch of sun on his skin, which is fighting its way through the clouds, makes the atmosphere a lot more enjoyable.

Out of habit, he puts a pair of sunglasses on, but he leaves his cap inside the cabin.

Every time his vans set foot on the pavement, the crunch of cobblestones scratching each other can be heard and he moves his feet in beat with the song that is currently on his mind, humming along as he does so.

It's about a 10 minute walk to the centre of the village, so he decides to spend that time looking around, becoming accustomed to area and its people.

He spots two older women chattering away as they hang up their washing up outside in their garden, causing a smile to form on his face.

He can hear the sounds of younger kids running around the roads and about 10 seconds after, a small girl rushes past him to catch a butterfly that is faster than her.

Everyone seems so at peace and it's not something he is used to. In London or in the places he has performed, people were rushing to work or talking on the phone as he was strolling over the streets of the busy city centre. Here, everyone just seemed to be having a great time without any worries clouding their mind.

When he is about two minutes away from the heart of the village, he comes across a small supermarket. There are two crates with fresh vegetables and fruits stalled outside and Harry comes to an halt when he realizes that he doesn't have any ingredients for dinner yet.

The doorbell chimes as he steps foot into the store and a blonde haired girl greets him with a small wave from the counter. He waves back as he studies her. He guesses that she is about to finish high school soon and close to hitting the age of 18.

Seeing her have a side job reminds him of his childhood when he used to work in a bakery. Strangely, while most kids would be annoyed by the prospect of having to work, Harry actually enjoyed his job. He loved catching up with his colleges or with the customers that would stop by. It was just a chill and relaxing job.

He rummages through the store, settling on some pasta, fish and broccoli for dinner. He also steps outside to grab some cherries and a watermelon that are situated in front of the store, before going to the counter.

The girl immediately starts writing down the prices, biting her lip in concentration. She doesn't have any digital machine to help them. It didn't surprise Harry in the slightest.

"That will be 13 pounds 56 please." The blonde says with a sweet voice, looking at Harry with curious eyes.

Harry quickly starts rummaging through his bag, realizing that he wouldn't be able to use Apple Pay here. He finds a 10 and 5 pound note and hands it to her. "Here you go."

"Wait..." The girl trails off as she accepts the money, putting it into the register and then looking for the correct amount of change. "Aren't you new here in town? Everyone has been talking about it."

Harry awkwardly scratches the back of his head. "Yeah, that would be me."

The girl hums as she gives him back his change. "We don't see new people here often. I heard people say that you have a car?"

Harry nods as he puts his groceries in his tote bag. "Yeah... I'm guessing by your question that you don't?" He is scared that the question will come across as cocky, but luckily she doesn't seem to take it personally.

The cashier shakes her head. "Nah, my mom always tells me we don't need it. My brother has moved out and lives in a city now, so he does have a car, but my mom doesn't. She claims that all we need is in the village or we can take the bike to get it."

Harry chuckles awkwardly. "I take it that you don't agree?"

The girl shrugs. "It's whatever, I guess it's quite nice here." She pauses, tilting her head, studying Harry with a thoughtful expression. "My name is Lottie and you are?"

"Harry." Harry tells her, shaking her hand. "It's nice to meet some people here."

"I'm sure my mom would love to have you over for dinner!" She claps her hands in excitement. "I'll talk to her and will see what I can do." She promises. "I'm sure she'll come by your house and give you a welcome present anyway."

"That would be very kind of her." Harry says politely, swinging his full tote bag over his shoulder. He decides that he likes Lottie. It's nice to have a conversation with a genuine nice person that doesn't care about who he is. He hasn't experienced that in a while...

"Well, have a nice day and I'm sure I'll see you again soon!" Lottie says animatedly as Harry walks out of the store.

"I'm sure I'll be back soon. Have a nice day, Lottie!" He waves as he closes the store door behind him and blinks his eyes a few times as they adjust to the bright light outside.

The fresh scent of grass and trees also hits his nostrils and he breathes it in greedily. It will take some time to get used to this instead of the fumes he normally breathes in as he steps outside the door.

He walks back up the hill toward his cabin when suddenly a car drives past him. He moves his head to the side, his eyes glued to the vehicle as it rushes by up the hill a few houses away from his.

He wonders if he should maybe have bought something to give to the neighbors. Once Lottie mentioned that her mom might do that, it's the first thing that crossed Harry's mind.

He's not used to the way they live here, like the whole town is a big close knit family. It would never have crossed his mind that he would need to bake something or bring some flowers to his new neighbors and introduce himself.

He's sure it's not the most uncommon thing to do, but still, it's not in his system yet.

Once he reaches the cottage door, he quickly unlocks it to bring the groceries inside.

He spends the rest of the night cooking in his new kitchen, ending up with a nice and healthy plate full of pasta, and a wine he found in one of the cabinets to finish off the picture.

Then, he grabs one of his books that he has been dying to read and snuggles into one of the arm chairs in his living room with a steaming cup of tea on the table in front of him.

He lets himself get lost in the story as the fire place crackles softly. The only moment his eyes drift from the pages of the book, is when he takes a sip of tea.

Around 10 pm, he decides that it's time to go to bed so he moves up the stairs, brushes his teeth and does his skin care. He will shower in the morning, he decides.

As he gets under the covers, he thinks of his plans for the following day. He really wants to sit outside and finish the book he has now gotten quite invested in. Then, in the afternoon he wants to bake something to bring by his close neighbors.

A smile forms on his face as he thinks of the day that will follow, already looking forward to it.

He clicks off the light as he lets sleep overtake him.