Rest of the day

The rest of the day goes slower. Much slower. But in a good way.

Sam asks for fewer boxes and seems to be taking more time with each file. At one point she stands up and stretches, walking around the table for a few minutes. The pace just seems more relaxed.

After a few hours, Sam closes her laptop, letting out a deep sigh. "Ethan?"

"Yeah?" Ethan is a few feet away, on the step ladder putting away a box.

"That's enough for today," she stands, scratching her head, "Good work."

Stepping off the ladder, Ethan walks over. The day's work was, admittedly, not so bad, although now he thinks he might need to lay off manual labor for a while. He's not sure how much more he can take.

Reaching into her pocket, Sam pulls out a few twenties. "So," she holds them out, "I don't suppose I can convince you to help again tomorrow?"

Taking the money, Ethan shakes his head. "Maybe not tomorrow," he stuffs the money in his pocket, "It's kinda-"

"Exhausting," Sam sighs, "Trust me. I know." Together the two of them start walking, making their way out of the room. "Although, maybe I should put this project on hold... With fair preparations, I'm falling behind on other things."

As they walk up the stairs, Ethan thinks about that. "What do you even do? Like, what's your job?"

Frowning, Sam eyes Ethan. "You don't know?"

"Not really..." Ethan thinks about it more as they walk through the library proper. "Are you like, a town manager or something?"

"Or something," Sam walks outside, breathing deeply, "Well. thank you for your help today. I suppose I'll see you around."

"Yeah, thank you for the opportunity," Ethan pats his pocket, "And the money."

Sam smirks, the two of them making their way onto the sidewalk. "Have a good night then."

"Goodnight." Taking a second, Ethan thinks that he should head to the bar. He did say he would go, and standing up Charlie doesn't seem like a good idea. Starting towards the direction of the bar, he notices Sam starting to move in the same direction.

"Sorry," she shifts on the sidewalk, "Don't you live-" she starts to point in the other direction.

"Oh, yeah, I, um," he points in the direction they both started to walk. "I'm meeting Charlie at the bar."

"Ah..." Sam raises a brow, "So you get paid and immediately go to the bar to spend it?"

"Um... I mean," Ethan didn't think of it like that. "Kinda?"

Scoffing, Sam shakes her head. "Wow. Well, maybe I shouldn't be throwing stones..." she shrugs, "I'm heading that way myself. Walk with me?"

Before Ethan can agree or not, Sam starts walking.

Despite her pace, Ethan catches up quickly.