[ltr]Curry and Heyes entered the Watkins General Store in the small town of Watkins Circle, Colorado. Curry headed for the rack of clothes in the back of the store, searching for a new light blue long sleeved shirt.
He smiled watching the small boy standing on his toes trying to reach a carved ship a shelf beyond his reach.
“May I help you get that down?” Curry asked smiling at the seven-year-old.
“Yes, please. I just want to see it, though, not buy it.”
Curry picked up the sailing ship that had been carved from a nice softwood and admired the detail.
Crouching down, he handed the ship to the boy who took it carefully with awe in his eyes.
“Pretty nice ship,” said Curry.
“My pa carved it, see his initials on the bottom, TTS. My initials are the same.”
Curry turned the ship over and saw the small delicate initials carved near the back of the hull.
“TTS?”
“Timothy Thomas Silvers.” [/ltr]
[ltr]“Did your pa make you one like it too?”
“No, my pa’s dead. Killed in a buggy accident three month ago, my ma too.”
Looking at the price, Curry, flush from a recent robbery, knew he could easily afford it.
“How about I buy it for you as a present?” Curry asked gently. Timmy’s eyes shone in wonder as he carefully cradled the ship in his hands.
He smiled sadly at Curry as he handed the ship back to Curry. “No, thank you. She’d just sell it again.” His voice was so soft Curry had to lean in to hear it.
“Who’d sell it?”
“My Aunt Anita, she sold all my pa’s wood things. Says kids are expensive to raise and she don’t have the money. But it’s okay, I can come here and see it every day until somebody buys it. Except sometimes it is hard for me to come all the way back in this corner to see it.” He smiled the smile of trusting youth. “Would you put it back for me, please?”
Reverently, Curry replaced the ship on the shelf. [/ltr]
[ltr]“Thank you, Mister.” the boy said. “Gotta go Aunt Anita is waiting in the diner. She’s a waitress there.”
As Curry picked out his new shirt, gun oil and ammo, he kept looking back to see the ship. At the counter, he put down his items and asked for bag of peppermints. Then, again, he looked back at the ship.
“This everything?” the clerk asked Curry gathering his items into a pile.
“That ship back there, the carved one?”
“Beautiful, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, I know a boy who would love that ship, but I can’t take it with me right now.” Curry explained. “If I buy it, would you keep it here, maybe in your front window, a ship like that should be seen. I’ll pay you double, and I’ll pay someone to come in and dust and clean it weekly until I could come back and get it. That okay?” Curry finished, pleased with his plan.
“Double pay you say? Yes, yes that will be fine.”
Curry walked down the street to the diner and found Timmy, sitting at a back table working on homework.
“Timmy?”
“Yes, sir, oh you’re the man from the store.”
“Timmy, may I ask a favor, course I’ll pay you for it.”
“Yes, sir?”
“I bought that ship we were looking at, “Curry saw the boy struggle to hold back tears so hurried on to explain. “I can’t take it with me just yet and I wanna pay you to go clean and dust it every week.”
Timmy’s tears evaporated before they fell and he looked Curry in the eye. Curry noticed one of the waitresses standing nearby, just close enough to hear.
“Every week I can go hold it?”
“More if you think it might be dusty and need cleaning. It will be in the window so you can reach it without an adult to help you. Can you do that?”
“Yes, sir, I can do that!”
“Now it will probably be a long while before I come back this way to pick it up. Is this your Aunt Anita?” Curry asked gesturing to the waitress to come over.
“Yes,” answered Timmy going around the table to get a hug from his aunt.
Curry smiled as he saw the genuine love and affection between the two. “I am going to give your aunt the money I’m paying you so she can buy you whatever you need as you grow, like maybe a new pair of shoes. Now I’m counting on you to keep my ship neat and clean, Timmy.”
Curry jammed some bills into Aunt Anita’s hand and left quickly before she could count it. Heyes had his horse and was waiting in front of the diner. “What took you this time a damsel in distress?” he asked teasing his cousin.
Timmy came out of the diner and was waving goodbye. Curry waved back, smiling.
“Should have known,” laughed Heyes, “If not a lady in distress, then a kid.”[/ltr]
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