2019-05-13 - On The Bay

It's a brisk spring morning on Gray Harbor, and Tobin is out on the smaller of the two touring vessels that are docked alongside the small shed that serves as a ticket booth. It seems that one of the hour-long short sightseeing tours is about to get underway, and a young woman in a t-shirt that reads Gray Harbor Boat Tours on it is preparing to cast off. There are a few folks on the boat, just a handful of tourists, but it's early -- preseason really, which starts around Memorial Day.

The man approaching at speed to the dock is not a tourist, and would be familiar to a number of locals, although not usually with much pleasure. He's wearing faded jeans, muddy work boots, and a gray cable-knit sweater that has a couple of mothholes showing glimpses of a white undershirt beneath. Bright side (arguably) is that he has money for a ticket, folded in his hand as he strides towards the boat. "Is there room?" No 'hi', or 'nice day' or even 'am I too late'. He stares at the young woman, and then at Tobin, as if daring them to say there isn't.

Hannah has time to kill and is out a-wandering. She might be counted as a tourist; she is definitely not a familiar face. Except perhaps to Alexander who is now sort of blocking her path to get closer to the water. But she'll wait, huddled in her jacket, until he's out of the way.

"Of course," the young woman, whose nametag reads "Dawn" says as she reaches into a small pouch at her waist, taking out a ticket and tearing off the end, tucking it away in a separate pocket. She takes Alexander's money and hands him the ticket with a smile, nodding toward the small ramp that leads up onto the boat. Looking over at Hannah she asks, "Are you coming along as well?" Warm, and friendly, there doesn't seem to be any pressure there either way.

Tobin lifts a hand to wave to Alexander in greeting when he comes aboard. He recognizes the man. Tobin's lived his whole life in Gray Harbor, and has seen most folk, at least in passing, even if he doesn't know them by name. "Make yourself comfortable. We'll be heading out in just a minute."

Alexander hesitates. He didn't seem to look at Hannah at all as he rudely got in her way, but he opens his wallet, pulls out another fee for a second ticket, and shoves it at poor Dawn. Now he looks back at Hannah, huddled in her jacket. "It's educational, Miss Butler. Especially for a newcomer to the town. Education can save your life." He doesn't wait to see if she actually uses the ticket that's theoretically been bought for her, but makes his way onto the boat, giving Tobin a curt nod. "Mister Gilford. It's a nice day. You seem to be doing well." Look at that. He hasn't started ranting about microtrackers or repillians, yet. Maybe this is a good day.

Hannah hesitates, weight back on her heels, when Dawn asks her if she's coming along. Her dark eyes cut to the open water and back again. But now Alexander's gone and bought her a ticket and she shrugs and steps onto the boat murmuring, "Why the hell not." There's a polite smile to Dawn and Tobin as she picks a seat and settles in.

"Mr. Clayton," Tobin returns with a grin, finding the formality of address amusing, but going along with it easily enough. Once everyone is aboard, Dawn moves to untie them and pull back the ramp from the boat, more fully onto the dock so that they can pull away. Tobin has noe of the other employees actually piloting the boat today, so he can stay out on the deck with the passengers, the microphone in his hand allowing his voice to carry through the speakers so that he can be heard. "Good morning, folks! We're going to get underway now for our one hour cruise along beautiful Gray Harbor. The weather is pretty good today, so maybe we'll see some interesting sea birds, and have a clear view of the coast." He clicks off the mic and then says to Hannah, "Welcome to Gray Harbor. New in town?"

Alexander bares his teeth at Tobin in return. It's probably supposed to be a smile. He braces himself in his seat as the boat pulls away from the dock, and as they pass a small sandbar, points out to no one in particular, "In the eighteen nineties, it's rumored that the Barton gang attempted to establish an offshoot smuggling post here. The papers noted that they found their three 'ambassadors' chopped into very precise six-inch pieces all around that sandbar." Then he quiets, and turns to regard Hannah, staring at her as Tobin asks the question.

Hannah watches the water contemplatively as the boat pulls out, until Tobin addresses her. She perks a low-key but actual smile at him. "Yeah, third day here. Hannah Butler. Thank you." Alexander gets a faintly pained look for his contribution to the narrative.

"We're fortunate today folks," Tobin says to those who are immediately nearby, "Mr. Clayton is a wealth of information on some more colorful stories." A couple of tourists nearby who heard the comments about the sandbar lean in a little closer, to catch tidbits. This may be one of the few times that others are actually welcoming of Alexander's interjections. "Tobin Gilford, nice to meet you." He's quiet for a bit as they pull away from the dock, only turning the mic on once or twice to point out a couple of landmarks that he'll talk about more when they get closer. Leaning comfortably up against one of the benches he says, "What brings you to Gray Harbor?" Then he asks Alexander, "How've you been?"

"There are also fish," Alexander mutters to Hannah, catching the pained look. "If you find fish interesting." His shoulders square a little at Tobin's easy acceptance of his penchant for bloody history, though, and he almost looks normal as he pipes up a couple of times with the kind of local history that makes a couple of tourist cover their childrens' ears, but does fascinate a few, as well. He quiets when Tobin speaks, and gives Hannah an interested look at the question. "Gray Harbor isn't really a place many people move to by choice. And I'm fine, Mister Gilford. Normal. Yes. You?"

"Fish are...nice," Hannah says equivocally and lets Alexander work his little crowd in peace while Tobin does his own routine. When he's off the mic again she glances sidelong at Alexander and nods, though the reply is directed at Tobin. "I'm here for work."

Tobin chuckles, "Fish are delicious." Though part of his little schpiel is about the local wildlife and conservation efforts. He has a couple of funny stories of his own, the sort that are a bit more G-rated than Alexander's, but he makes no move to prevent Alex from telling his stories, either. The passengers who are interested linger. Those who aren't drift to the inside cabin or elsewhere where they can hear the regular tour without the embellishments. "Doing well enough. Shaking the rust off after a quiet winter. Getting back into the swing of things."

"Miss Butler works with computers. I assume she's competent," is Alexander's unasked for contribution. "And fish are delicious." Aside from the occasional historical aside to those who show interest, he mostly attends to the conversation between Hannah and Tobin, his hands restlessly rubbing against his jeans. "I'm glad business is picking up, Mister Gilford. Maybe you should add a murder tour in the evenings. There are plenty to discuss." His eyes stutter back towards Hannah after the suggestion. "Do you like it here?" It sounds more like an interrogation question than small talk.

Hannah just smiles politely, leaving the question of her competence unanswered. She pulls the edges of her jacket around herself a little more closely but shows no sign of retreating inside. "There does seem to be a market for it," she notes, with a very slight tip of the head towards Alexander's new fan club. The question sort of takes her aback and she replies, without putting much thought into it, "I don't know."

Tobin looks thoughtful for a moment and then nods, "Probably could. I beit it would be popular, particularly around Halloween." He grins then and asks, "You looking for a gig?" He chuckles at Alexander's question of Hannah and says, "Well, given she's only been here for three days, she probably hasn't experienced enough of the town yet." He then looks over to Hannah and says, "There are some great places that you should check out. Then there's always the less than great places.. like anywhere." He fishes a business card out of his pocket and scribbles down the name of a few local businesses -- a mix of eateries and other things. He passes this over to her.

"No." It's flat, to Tobin. But after a moment, Alexander adds, "I could write a script. I have a lecture from a class I teach sometimes. Could cut it down, take out the boring bits about socioeconomic pressures and cultural anxiety." He snorts a little at the interplay. "It's not a town that tends to improve on long exposure, Mister Gilford." To Hannah, he adds, "Don't wander until you know the roads. They don't always lead where they did."

"I really haven't," Hannah replies with wry humor, and accepts the card, looking over the list and then tucking it away in her jacket pocket. "Thank you. I'll be sure to try these out. Mostly I've just been binging Netflix and eating hot pockets." She can't quite hide the astonishment of Alexander teaching, but she manages not to say anything about it. Instead, for his advice, "Thank you. I'll keep that in mind."

Tobin chuckles a little bit at Alexander's deadpan response, but he does say, "If you have a script, I'd definitely take a look at it." He nods to Hannah and says, "Nothing wrong with Netflix and hot pockets. But, in the event that you do want to escape the house, those are some options." Though to Alexander, he says, "I've lived here my whole life," with a shrug of his shoulders. He smiles faintly, though, as there's definitely been some downsides to that. The disappearance of his mother being one of them. He picks up the mic again and goes on to point out some of the bits of scenery as they pass, and then clicks it off once more.

Alexander's mouth twitches upwards. Although a small smile, it's a far more genuine one than most of his attempts at it. "If there is any place where being a freak is considered a mild hiring bonus, it's community college faculty, Miss Butler. And I teach online. There's less-" he pauses, and seems to forget he was even speaking for a moment, his gaze fixed on two tour-goers like they might have said something. They didn't. And eventually he finishes, "It's easier. Online." He nods to Tobin. "I'll send you an e-mail." There's a peculiar emphasis to it, as if he wants to prove that he, too, can use the technology of the modern era. Then he falls silent, apparently content to enjoy the rest of the tour.