Peter (Solitary):

"Watch your tongue." urged Peter as he passed through the narrow isles of the shop. Rose had obviously been muttering to herself the sweet nothings that hand blade saws love to hear. They were nothing particularly vulgar, but Peter, the shops owner tried to curb the habit of inanimate tool lust.

To Rose, however, this was no non moving non living object. This saw was a living breathing part of her life. Peter could tell by the way she looked at the shiny metal chrome handle. Didn't that saw once have a blade? The fact is, it did. Peter knew Rose had it. He let it slide.

"You know, if you really like the saw all that much, you can have it." Peter announced. He did this in a non-boastful way. He could cover the cost. Rose was unbelievably lovable. And Peter was wise to this. He didn't see exactly what James saw, but he could tell she could win her prize in a beauty contest. It wasn't so much her looks, Peter thought. It was her.

It was her.

Rose was stunned. Peter, the solitary man of the hardware shop suggested she should maybe just take it. In this situation, she would always purchase something small in order to draw attention from her stealing. Everyone noticed though. If it was mercy she wanted, it was mercy she got. And mercy she will continue to get.

Tack nails, gum, shoe polish were the accomplishes to her crimes. But no one who knew she did it thought it was a crime. It was her working her way out, with her God.

Peter, (Solitary) walked her up to the register in the corner of the room. He then placed the saw handle between too sheets of heavy packing paper. With red wrapping twine he tied the folded edges of the package. Solitary man was pretty old world in this sense. He treated every purchase like it was worth it's weight. He sent them off like first day of school children. With a mug of chicken broth.

With the package wrapped up, Rose remembered the blade in her inside coat pocket. She kept a light cloth in the pocket to prevent wear into the coat's lining. It was a nice coat. James noticed why she liked it. He kept it to himself. James liked to keep his thoughts hanging in his head like medallions. Like the collection Rose had. In that, he knew they were very similar.

With Solitary smiling brightly at Rose and the bound in red twine package, Rose swung out the door. She got something for free this time. The saw was given to her.