Post by Stormm on Sept 10, 2018 21:55:46 GMT -5
Savanna was perfect; too perfect.
It was small by coastal standards, tiny even, but in the humble Midwest, it was average sized, especially for Kansas. The people were always smiling and waving. Its skies bluer, and grass greener.
Even the day-to-day in the suburbs of larger cities, you know, that perfect life bullshit that people eat up, paled in comparison to the quaint little town.
Nothing that perfect is.
Mayor Ambrose Brewer, the pudgy, red-haired, perpetual bachelor that he was, embodied everything that it was to be a Savannan. Nice, even when he shouldn’t have been. Smiling, even when there was no reason to. Welcoming, even towards those that didn’t deserve it. Squeaky-clean on the surface, covering up all the dirt that lie beneath.
Some would say that “good old” Ambrose hadn’t been mayor long enough, while others couldn’t remember a time where he wasn’t. In fact, Justin could remember a time as a child, visiting family in town, when Ambrose, with far less rusty looking fire engine red hair, and much smaller sideburns, was in his first term. Savanna had adopted new rules after his eight years were up, simply so he could keep running the show.
Mister Brewer was all too modest on the outside towards the whole town, whose people continued to vote for him every four years, most of the time, running unopposed. But what nobody would see is how much he enjoyed the power, and he fed off of Savanna’s need for him.
That kind of long-lasting trust and power could be misused by the wrong people, but to Savanna, Ambrose had done no wrong… As far as they knew.
Much like most days the sun was shining, and Mayor Brewer was smiling. New people had come to town, and as was customary to a man who made the town his life, he was showing them around.
Justin had been there on numerous occasions, even though Ambrose didn’t recognize him from past trips, a celebrity coming to town was cause for celebration. Lindsay, on the other hand, was seeing the fairy tale hamlet for the first time.
After visiting with an aunt, from his mother’s side, the married couple, and their two little ones, had stopped into Kay’s for a quick bite to eat before heading back to Kansas City when Ambrose spotted them. Pleasantries and handshakes were exchanged, and “no” had not been taken for an answer when offering the personal tour of town. The Mayor wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to try and prove just how important he thought he was.
Justin and Lindsay begrudgingly accepted, and after getting Joey, Remi, and themselves fed, were off. Each with a child in tow, they followed the waddling ginger through town.
Past The Book Nook.
Through the park.
A lap around the city center.
Being forced to sit on the benches in the gazebo.
Listening to the story of why the gazebo was built.
Into and out of The Flat Top Inn.
Back past Kay’s Diner.
Past where the sidewalk turned to grass, just enough, to point out the Big Blue Drive-In. Did you know they’re having their last double-feature of the season on Friday?
Back past Kay’s Diner.
Back through the park.
All the way, waving.
All the way, smiling.
Flashing lights outside of the Methodist Church, however, had cause a stir, and grabbed the attention of what seemed like the entire town. Most people wondered if the lights on their emergency vehicles even worked, as little as they were needed. You know “good old” Ambrose was not going to pass up the opportunity to find out what was going on. There were two women in town ready to have children after all, perhaps the glorious day had added another future brain-washed individual to the town roster.
“Sinners! All of you, sinners!” The pastor, being escorted away from the church, which was covered in spray painted obscenities, was irate. “Hell awaits!” Ambrose excused himself from the tour for a moment. “Let God into you, sinners! Praise him, and repent! Salvation awaits!” Shuffling off to asses the situation, and provide damage control.
Wide-eyed, Lindsay looked at Justin, with Joey in her arms. Tickling Remi’s side, and smiling at her giggle, Justin shrugged his shoulders back at her.
They were in no hurry.
But things started to feel familiar to him, all too familiar. He couldn’t quite put his fingers on it.
As the drama continued, a young teenage male emerged from the church, looking physically abused, and the pastor began barking commands at him. “Take care of this filth, would you?” The boy seemed unimpressed with the commands, but seemed to obey them nevertheless. Why, was unclear.
A second young man from the crowd nervously looked around and hesitantly switched from being an onlooker to a participant, as he helped the other begin to scrub away at the side of the church.
Ambrose returned to the Michaels, looking over his shoulder the whole way. An ominous trio in the distance, looking on from the other side of the church, seemed to have spooked him in some way. A large, beastly man, another toying with a pocket watch, and the third, dressed in all black, stood side-by-side, their gaze affixed to the mayor.
“Is everything okay?” Lindsay questioned.
He nodded, and the magnificent monstrosities that were his sideburns jiggled. “Oh yes, dear, thank you very much.” He looked back over his right shoulder. “The new pastor must be one of those jokesters from Silent Grove, they are always over here with their hijinx!” Then over his left. “Lyle has everything under control over there.”
Turning back towards the police officer who was pushing the mad man of the lord into his cruiser, Mayor Brewer motions with a thumbs up before switching to a thumbs down. Lyle does not answer with either, but instead plays a few quick notes on his air guitar after shutting the door. Making his way towards them, Ambrose waves him on, not wanting the situation to be explained to outsiders.
The crowd dispersed.
Smiles returned to faces.
Savanna was back to normal as quickly as it had fallen to chaos.
“You’re hairy!” Little Remi points towards Ambrose’s sideburns, and despite their best efforts not to, Justin and Lindsay erupt. Even the mayor is broken out of his stupor, if only for a moment.
“So, you were saying something about Stone Pointe?” Justin does his best to pull the derailing train back onto the tracks.
Shaking the nonsense out of his head, Ambrose’s attention is back on the Michaels. “Yes. Yes, of course.” One last quick glance over his shoulders. “But surely a couple of your stature have better things to do than listen to an aging fat man ramble on.” An obvious attempt at receiving flattering comments in response to his staged negativity, neither Justin nor Lindsay oblige.
“I’m sure the kids are ready to be home, so getting on the road is a good idea at this point, right babe?” Lindsay asked, even though it was an all too easy excuse to blame the children for getting the hell out of there.
“That’s probably a good idea, and we’ve got things to do there still today. So, next time?” Justin turns his attention from his wife back to Ambrose, knowing the only thing he really had to do was hit the gym, and run the ring a bit to work off the diner food, and his aunt’s terrible cooking. After all, the match he was in later that week didn’t require much training, as it would surely succumb to cluster-fuckery that only a match of that nature could.
The smile on his face grows to fill what seems like the entire space between his chops, and Ambrose extended his right hand. “Next time then.” Shaking both Justin and Lindsay’s hands, and tousling the kid’s hair, Ambrose peeked over his shoulders one last time, but the three men that had him all out of sorts were gone. “It was so nice to meet you all, and hopefully this little faux pas won’t discourage you from doing business in town again.”
Before Justin could correct the man, and tell him why they were in Savanna, for the third time since shaking hands the first time, Lindsay gave him a look, as if to say that it wasn’t worth it. “Well, until then.” Justin shook the man’s hand one last time, and they parted ways.
Back through the park.
Past Kay’s Diner.
To their car.
And out of there!
The whole time, Justin reflecting on every one of his past visits, and trying to figure out why it felt so different, yet so familiar.
It was small by coastal standards, tiny even, but in the humble Midwest, it was average sized, especially for Kansas. The people were always smiling and waving. Its skies bluer, and grass greener.
Even the day-to-day in the suburbs of larger cities, you know, that perfect life bullshit that people eat up, paled in comparison to the quaint little town.
Nothing that perfect is.
Mayor Ambrose Brewer, the pudgy, red-haired, perpetual bachelor that he was, embodied everything that it was to be a Savannan. Nice, even when he shouldn’t have been. Smiling, even when there was no reason to. Welcoming, even towards those that didn’t deserve it. Squeaky-clean on the surface, covering up all the dirt that lie beneath.
Some would say that “good old” Ambrose hadn’t been mayor long enough, while others couldn’t remember a time where he wasn’t. In fact, Justin could remember a time as a child, visiting family in town, when Ambrose, with far less rusty looking fire engine red hair, and much smaller sideburns, was in his first term. Savanna had adopted new rules after his eight years were up, simply so he could keep running the show.
Mister Brewer was all too modest on the outside towards the whole town, whose people continued to vote for him every four years, most of the time, running unopposed. But what nobody would see is how much he enjoyed the power, and he fed off of Savanna’s need for him.
That kind of long-lasting trust and power could be misused by the wrong people, but to Savanna, Ambrose had done no wrong… As far as they knew.
Much like most days the sun was shining, and Mayor Brewer was smiling. New people had come to town, and as was customary to a man who made the town his life, he was showing them around.
Justin had been there on numerous occasions, even though Ambrose didn’t recognize him from past trips, a celebrity coming to town was cause for celebration. Lindsay, on the other hand, was seeing the fairy tale hamlet for the first time.
After visiting with an aunt, from his mother’s side, the married couple, and their two little ones, had stopped into Kay’s for a quick bite to eat before heading back to Kansas City when Ambrose spotted them. Pleasantries and handshakes were exchanged, and “no” had not been taken for an answer when offering the personal tour of town. The Mayor wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to try and prove just how important he thought he was.
Justin and Lindsay begrudgingly accepted, and after getting Joey, Remi, and themselves fed, were off. Each with a child in tow, they followed the waddling ginger through town.
Past The Book Nook.
Through the park.
A lap around the city center.
Being forced to sit on the benches in the gazebo.
Listening to the story of why the gazebo was built.
Into and out of The Flat Top Inn.
Back past Kay’s Diner.
Past where the sidewalk turned to grass, just enough, to point out the Big Blue Drive-In. Did you know they’re having their last double-feature of the season on Friday?
Back past Kay’s Diner.
Back through the park.
All the way, waving.
All the way, smiling.
Flashing lights outside of the Methodist Church, however, had cause a stir, and grabbed the attention of what seemed like the entire town. Most people wondered if the lights on their emergency vehicles even worked, as little as they were needed. You know “good old” Ambrose was not going to pass up the opportunity to find out what was going on. There were two women in town ready to have children after all, perhaps the glorious day had added another future brain-washed individual to the town roster.
“Sinners! All of you, sinners!” The pastor, being escorted away from the church, which was covered in spray painted obscenities, was irate. “Hell awaits!” Ambrose excused himself from the tour for a moment. “Let God into you, sinners! Praise him, and repent! Salvation awaits!” Shuffling off to asses the situation, and provide damage control.
Wide-eyed, Lindsay looked at Justin, with Joey in her arms. Tickling Remi’s side, and smiling at her giggle, Justin shrugged his shoulders back at her.
They were in no hurry.
But things started to feel familiar to him, all too familiar. He couldn’t quite put his fingers on it.
As the drama continued, a young teenage male emerged from the church, looking physically abused, and the pastor began barking commands at him. “Take care of this filth, would you?” The boy seemed unimpressed with the commands, but seemed to obey them nevertheless. Why, was unclear.
A second young man from the crowd nervously looked around and hesitantly switched from being an onlooker to a participant, as he helped the other begin to scrub away at the side of the church.
Ambrose returned to the Michaels, looking over his shoulder the whole way. An ominous trio in the distance, looking on from the other side of the church, seemed to have spooked him in some way. A large, beastly man, another toying with a pocket watch, and the third, dressed in all black, stood side-by-side, their gaze affixed to the mayor.
“Is everything okay?” Lindsay questioned.
He nodded, and the magnificent monstrosities that were his sideburns jiggled. “Oh yes, dear, thank you very much.” He looked back over his right shoulder. “The new pastor must be one of those jokesters from Silent Grove, they are always over here with their hijinx!” Then over his left. “Lyle has everything under control over there.”
Turning back towards the police officer who was pushing the mad man of the lord into his cruiser, Mayor Brewer motions with a thumbs up before switching to a thumbs down. Lyle does not answer with either, but instead plays a few quick notes on his air guitar after shutting the door. Making his way towards them, Ambrose waves him on, not wanting the situation to be explained to outsiders.
The crowd dispersed.
Smiles returned to faces.
Savanna was back to normal as quickly as it had fallen to chaos.
“You’re hairy!” Little Remi points towards Ambrose’s sideburns, and despite their best efforts not to, Justin and Lindsay erupt. Even the mayor is broken out of his stupor, if only for a moment.
“So, you were saying something about Stone Pointe?” Justin does his best to pull the derailing train back onto the tracks.
Shaking the nonsense out of his head, Ambrose’s attention is back on the Michaels. “Yes. Yes, of course.” One last quick glance over his shoulders. “But surely a couple of your stature have better things to do than listen to an aging fat man ramble on.” An obvious attempt at receiving flattering comments in response to his staged negativity, neither Justin nor Lindsay oblige.
“I’m sure the kids are ready to be home, so getting on the road is a good idea at this point, right babe?” Lindsay asked, even though it was an all too easy excuse to blame the children for getting the hell out of there.
“That’s probably a good idea, and we’ve got things to do there still today. So, next time?” Justin turns his attention from his wife back to Ambrose, knowing the only thing he really had to do was hit the gym, and run the ring a bit to work off the diner food, and his aunt’s terrible cooking. After all, the match he was in later that week didn’t require much training, as it would surely succumb to cluster-fuckery that only a match of that nature could.
The smile on his face grows to fill what seems like the entire space between his chops, and Ambrose extended his right hand. “Next time then.” Shaking both Justin and Lindsay’s hands, and tousling the kid’s hair, Ambrose peeked over his shoulders one last time, but the three men that had him all out of sorts were gone. “It was so nice to meet you all, and hopefully this little faux pas won’t discourage you from doing business in town again.”
Before Justin could correct the man, and tell him why they were in Savanna, for the third time since shaking hands the first time, Lindsay gave him a look, as if to say that it wasn’t worth it. “Well, until then.” Justin shook the man’s hand one last time, and they parted ways.
Back through the park.
Past Kay’s Diner.
To their car.
And out of there!
The whole time, Justin reflecting on every one of his past visits, and trying to figure out why it felt so different, yet so familiar.
