Tim & Chuck

CH 2. Connections

After all, this was New York.

Living in Carroll Gardens, New York was certainly the adjustment curve for Tim for two reasons.

The first reason being that he was born and raised in a mansion. This meant acres of rolling landscape, an attached four-door garage, and several thousand square feet of house to contend with in three different stories. While the smaller space of his new home was definitely different for Tim, he found that he actually quite liked the smaller space. It provided a sense of normality and besides, he didn't love the idea of cleaning tons of space that he didn't need.

The second reason was the proximity he had to his new neighbors. Sure, he had lived in the same house as three other humans for the first twenty-two years of his life, and indeed experienced the very up-close-and-personal living situation that comes along with being a campus college student dweller. But when it came to neighbors in an actual neighborhood, Tim was very used to needing to walk close to a half mile before he arrived at the property of his next door neighbor in North Carolina.

So when he walked out of his house and was greeted by another person who was doing the same thing no more than 30 feet from him, it made him blink for a second.

"Hey you must be the new guy. I saw all of the moving trucks yesterday but you looked very busy so I figured I would wait to bother you." An elderly man had emerged from the townhouse to Tim's right and now stood leaning against Tim's front gate, a warm smile gracing his weathered face. Tim had decided to take Chuck for an exploratory walk and had only been outside for barely ten seconds before he encountered his second neighbor.

"Yes sir, that would be me. My name is Tim." He said, smiling back and offering his hand for the man to shake.

"Samuel Perkins. The pleasure is all mine, son. Good strong grip you got there. And who might this be?" Mr. Perkins gestured to Chuck who was currently straining his nose through the metal bars of the gate to sniff at the old man's trousers.

Tim grinned and gave the leash a slight tug. "This is Chuck. He's...curious. But he loves 'w-a-l-k-s', so I figured we could take a look around the area."

"Ah I see. You will find that there is no better neighborhood than ours. There is a small park up thataways that I'm sure Chuck will like. I go up there to play chess with anyone who is willing to play with me. But if you are looking for food, there is a small plaza down the other way. Lots of great little eateries and things down there."

Tim hummed in interest and opened the gate, allowing an eager Chuck to squeeze through. "That sounds great, I will have to check it out. Thank you!"

"Anytime my boy. I will see you around; let me know if you need anything." Mr. Perkins smiled and raised his hand in a farewell as he turned back to his own home.

Despite the heat, it proved to be refreshing walking weather in Tim's little slice of New York as a breeze wafted in from the East River. Chuck strained at the leash excitedly sniffing every weed and sidewalk crack, nonverbally communicating to his master that he was enjoying his new surroundings.

Tim smiled to himself. He never painted himself as the adventurous type but he was really coming to enjoy the ever-changing skylines and architectural elements of his surroundings. Vibrant kaleidoscopes were created from the glass surfaces of the buildings he passed, prominent building after prominent building standing steadfastly in endless succession. The scents of New York were different too.

Tim and Chuck rounded a corner, unconsciously following the smell of street cuisine and hot dog stands. Hot, fresh food meshed together in the air, combining with the muggy aura and the concrete smell of new construction going on in the roads.