Status: updates are kind of slow. sorry.
Hard Water
iv
Adam Johansson didn't believe in love at first sight, but his perception prevented him from feeling anything other than hate for that English tool with the floppy fringe and posh clothes. He could tell his girl was uncomfortable around him, just by looking at her-or maybe it was Adam who was uncomfortable-after all, she was something entirely different. He'd only ever seen white couples before, far and few between at that, and here was a white man with..well, what? Was she black? He'd never seen a black person before, although his parents had told him a long time ago about there being people of different colours that existed in the world. It was a lot to wrap his head around. Black people? With pitch-black skin, dark as the night sky in winter? He didn't know. She didn't look as he imagined when he imagined what a black person might look like; her skin was instead more of a dark caramel tone, complimented by her big, almost-black eyes and messy dark hair that fell in waves down her back. She was something else, all right. Adam didn't know what his reaction was meant to be.
When he thought of what he considered 'beautiful', he thought of Elly Garrison, barmaid at the Shark's Tail, with her pale, pale skin and long red hair. He pictured her as an angel. When he was younger and his mind was more restless, he'd lie awake at night, concocting various fantasies of him and her. Most of the time they weren't even dirty. In his mind, the furthest they ever went was kissing, and he was okay with that. Even in real life he would brave the cold and snow and trudge up the hill to her cottage where she lived with her father, who'd taken a liking to Adam, luckily for him. If it was warm-which was rare-they'd go down to the seafront, underneath the cliffs, and sit on the beach talking and watching the waves. Yeah, he'd been real romantic once upon a time. He smiled acidly at just the thought.
"Do you think we scared them off?" Seth's voice brought Adam away from his thoughts. He shrugged and muttered, "Nah. Doubt it."
"I fucking hope we did." Seth replied. He ran a hand through his coarse dark hair and pushed it out of his eyes, which were ringed with purple bags, only accentuated by the paleness of his skin. Adam didn't know how Seth stayed so pale, considering how they spent most of their time working on the deck of the boat in the sun together. He glanced down at his own tanned arms and took another swig of his beer. It was about six o'clock and they had retreated to the cabin on the lower deck after their work was finished. It was normal routine for them: they'd sit for about an hour, drinking beer, then head home for the night.
Seth glanced up at the clock. "I'm gonna hit the sack," he said to Adam, standing up. "It's an early one tomorrow. Lots of work to do." They climbed out of the boat, which had been tied up for the night, and headed up the main road as dusk was beginning to fall. As they walked, Adam couldn't get the couple from earlier out of his head, for reasons he wasn't even sure of himself. Something about them made him feel uneasy. Was he abusing her? It was possible, but in Adam's opinion the guy looked too much of a pussy. Still, it didn't take much psychological knowledge to know something was up, and years of sitting quietly and observing others had made Adam an expert on picking up subtle body language.
By the time he had arrived home it was dark, and he slipped inside his small, run-down house as quietly as possible and flicked the light switch. Nothing.
"Damn," Adam breathed. The power had gone out again, the second time this week. It was a common occurrence on the island; electricity was more of a luxury, much like running water, and the British government barely knew Fallegur existed. It seemed like his life would not be improving anytime soon. After rummaging around in the kitchen cupboards, he managed to find a gas lamp and lit it. The room was flooded with a low, soothing light and he carried the lamp into the small bedroom at the side of the house, where there was nothing but a bed pushed up against the peeling wall. He crossed the room, taking care not to make any noise and knelt beside the bed. The lamp brought little light to the room, but it was just enough for him to make out the peaceful face of a young child sleeping soundly, his breathing almost light enough not to be heard.
Adam reached out to gently stroke the child's hair out of his face, and smiled down at his son.
When he thought of what he considered 'beautiful', he thought of Elly Garrison, barmaid at the Shark's Tail, with her pale, pale skin and long red hair. He pictured her as an angel. When he was younger and his mind was more restless, he'd lie awake at night, concocting various fantasies of him and her. Most of the time they weren't even dirty. In his mind, the furthest they ever went was kissing, and he was okay with that. Even in real life he would brave the cold and snow and trudge up the hill to her cottage where she lived with her father, who'd taken a liking to Adam, luckily for him. If it was warm-which was rare-they'd go down to the seafront, underneath the cliffs, and sit on the beach talking and watching the waves. Yeah, he'd been real romantic once upon a time. He smiled acidly at just the thought.
"Do you think we scared them off?" Seth's voice brought Adam away from his thoughts. He shrugged and muttered, "Nah. Doubt it."
"I fucking hope we did." Seth replied. He ran a hand through his coarse dark hair and pushed it out of his eyes, which were ringed with purple bags, only accentuated by the paleness of his skin. Adam didn't know how Seth stayed so pale, considering how they spent most of their time working on the deck of the boat in the sun together. He glanced down at his own tanned arms and took another swig of his beer. It was about six o'clock and they had retreated to the cabin on the lower deck after their work was finished. It was normal routine for them: they'd sit for about an hour, drinking beer, then head home for the night.
Seth glanced up at the clock. "I'm gonna hit the sack," he said to Adam, standing up. "It's an early one tomorrow. Lots of work to do." They climbed out of the boat, which had been tied up for the night, and headed up the main road as dusk was beginning to fall. As they walked, Adam couldn't get the couple from earlier out of his head, for reasons he wasn't even sure of himself. Something about them made him feel uneasy. Was he abusing her? It was possible, but in Adam's opinion the guy looked too much of a pussy. Still, it didn't take much psychological knowledge to know something was up, and years of sitting quietly and observing others had made Adam an expert on picking up subtle body language.
By the time he had arrived home it was dark, and he slipped inside his small, run-down house as quietly as possible and flicked the light switch. Nothing.
"Damn," Adam breathed. The power had gone out again, the second time this week. It was a common occurrence on the island; electricity was more of a luxury, much like running water, and the British government barely knew Fallegur existed. It seemed like his life would not be improving anytime soon. After rummaging around in the kitchen cupboards, he managed to find a gas lamp and lit it. The room was flooded with a low, soothing light and he carried the lamp into the small bedroom at the side of the house, where there was nothing but a bed pushed up against the peeling wall. He crossed the room, taking care not to make any noise and knelt beside the bed. The lamp brought little light to the room, but it was just enough for him to make out the peaceful face of a young child sleeping soundly, his breathing almost light enough not to be heard.
Adam reached out to gently stroke the child's hair out of his face, and smiled down at his son.