Smile Awhile

As his train approached the scenic small town, the rain had not only stopped, but the dark clouds that accompanied him from his own city vanished. When he alighted from his carriage the skies were blue with a few puffy white clouds and the pavement was dry.

Everyone who left the train with him was enthusiastically smiling. It was easy to see why; everyone but him was greeted and hugged by a spouse, parent, child or lover. People were right…smiles were contagious.

Though the buildings of the town weren’t new by any means, they not only were clean…they were pristine. The same could be said of the motor vehicles and everyone’s clothes.

His tea addiction took over and led him into an attractive café. The music was cheerful, everyone in the café was happy, but his waitress was radiant.

‘Have you tried our Roquefort soufflé?’

‘I haven’t had a Roquefort soufflé before!’

‘Then you came to the right place.’

‘I have. They must be good by the way you’re smiling.’

‘They are, but I’ve just received photographs of my new grandchild.’

All babies looked alike to him, but he shared her joy as she showed him on her phone.

After finishing his Roquefort soufflé, he set off on the reason he came to the town, his second-hand shopping. He found not one, but three things that he had been unsuccessfully seeking for a long time. Inside all the shops he visited, the staff were smiling; and they shared their smartphone images of weddings and parties with him. What a town!

He stopped in front of a bulletin board advertising,

URGENT! HELP WANTED! MUST FILL CITY COUNCIL POSITIONS IMMEDIATELY!

He had lost his own job and had been sending out his curricula vitae for months without a single reply. A friend cynically but perhaps accurately told him,

‘The only people they want are 18-year-olds with 20 years’ experience.’

The city council building was across the street from the bulletin board. He thought to himself,

Why not put yourself forward when asking for copies of the job description and application forms?

The smiling receptionist directed him to the proper office.

Looking up from her desk, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life looked over her spectacles and gave him an enticing smile,

‘You’re here about the vacant positions.’

He was glad she didn’t say ‘What can I do for you?’, as something tasteless may have slipped out of his mouth.

‘Yes, I am. I’d like to pick up the job description and application forms, but is there anyone in-the-know I can see about the positions to ask some questions?’

She rose from her desk, dressed simply in a white blouse and black skirt but provocatively as both garments were either form-fitting or sprayed on her.

Though she knocked, she entered the office before being told to enter.

‘He followed me home; can we keep him?’

The man behind the desk wore the town’s smile as he rose, enthusiastically greeted him and bade him to sit.

‘Tea?’

‘Yes, please, black, no sugar.’

He sold himself to the man behind the desk as he never sold himself, or anything else before. By the time the tea was brought in by the administrative assistant, who now wore no spectacles, bright red lipstick, and had some top buttons on her blouse undone, he had the job and a handshake. He had done the same occupation that he was chosen for, but never for a salary that high.

They discussed the requirement that all town employees had to reside in the town, because it was thought a council employee couldn’t genuinely represent the town if he or she didn’t live there. He agreed and was given some addresses to inspect; both apartments and houses were easily affordable.

His new employer finished by gleefully showing shots on his phone of his recent successful fishing holiday. Fish were like babies to him, but he feigned enthusiasm.

He had always heard the expression ‘so fast it made my head swim’, but now he felt it…

‘Oops…’

The administrative assistant bumped into him and apologised, but she had placed something in his chest pocket. Outside the door he looked…it was her name, telephone number, a plea to call her, and it was signed by a heart.

‘Oh, I forgot something…’

He turned to see the man who had hired him open the door.

‘I’d like to recommend our park as a place to sit to relax after lunch. It has wonderful views and an incredible atmosphere.’

Behind his back, the administrative assistant smiled, thrust out her chest and mouthed ‘I love you’.

* * *

The admin assistant had ‘coincidentally’ come to the same restaurant, and they lunched together…and arranged a further assignation…She also suggested visiting the park.

Relaxing in the park after his splendid lunch was a suggestion that he was glad he accepted. There was a wonderous view of the forested hills and the park’s flower garden was in bloom.

‘May I join you?’

The smiling man in the black suit with the bright red tie and carnation sat down before he could answer. He was of an indeterminate age and held a bag that he reached inside to feed the birds. Those that came down to eat were birds of prey, for he was throwing them fresh red chunks of raw meat.

‘Things have really happened quickly for you…are you looking forward to staying?’

‘I am…it is like everything is suddenly happening…Mister…?’

‘I’m the facilitator.’

They shook hands.

‘You’re a facilitator for the council?’

‘I facilitate everything and everyone in town. You’ll be viewing some accommodation this afternoon as you’re starting employment soon, and you’re also starting…’

The facilitator produced a glowing white handkerchief and rubbed his face showing him the admin assistant’s lipstick.

‘You might say I am the council…to get to the point as they say, among other things you’ll have to sign these documents; you might as well have a look at them before you find a place to stay…’

He was used to employment contracts and gleaned the usual conditions, but,

‘My soul?’

‘Call us eccentric, but it’s something that we have to have before you settle in. You might say we like you to put your soul in your work for us,’

‘You didn’t ask for my heart as well?’

‘We just go for the necessities. You don’t have to believe it; you can just sign to make things run smoothly.’

‘Obviously you believe it…’

‘As you’ve noticed, we’ve kept our 19th Century buildings and, the traditional wording of the contract is also from then…everyone accepts our ways. Surely you don’t believe we want your literal soul?’

‘Then why would you want a signature?’

‘You’ve seen how wonderful things are here, and how everything’s come together for you…as it has for everyone else. Just sign and it’s all yours.’

‘What’s all mine?’

‘Happiness.’

‘Yes, as Saint Bernard of Clairvaux supposedly said, the road here is paved with good intentions, and yes, everyone’s happy here…but how long does it last?’

‘Until they die.’

‘Forever?’

‘Until they die.’

‘Then what?’

‘Are you joking with me? Once your life is over, it’s over…the end of the line…finito, Benito.’

‘Will they be happy in heaven?’

For the first time he didn’t see a smile in town…

‘You don’t believe in heaven, do you?’, the facilitator sneered.

‘Yet you believe in a soul…’

‘You’ve lost your job, no one’s going to hire anyone your age except me. It’s a lot better here than your overpriced apartment that…’

The facilitator gave him a description so accurate that he felt he must have visited his unit and talked to his neighbours.

He laughed at the facilitator,

‘You’re 12 Angry Men rolled up into one!’

‘Then get your smart arse back on that train and don’t pollute our town again!’

‘The job is off?’

‘OFF!!!’

‘Who was it who said, “if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is”, was that you?’

‘PISS OFF!’

‘I’ll give you your due, you don’t waste words’, he rose leaving the facilitator feeding his birds of prey, ‘Oh, wait a moment. Something I’ve always wanted to know…’

The facilitator ceased feeding and gave him a questioning look.

‘Where do you tell people to go?’

‘The train…leaves in less than an hour! Be on it! Get outta my town, before sundown!’

‘Yup…Ah reckon this town ain’t big enough for the two of us’, he said in his Gary Cooper imitation.

He tripped and nearly fell on the facilitator,

‘Oh, pardon me! I’m clumsy.’

The facilitator showed surprise, then warmly laughed,

‘What a pleasure it is for someone to blame themselves for their transgressions rather than me! If I didn’t really exist, they would create me for just that very reason!’

* * *

He made his way back to the office to see his ex-employer who confirmed the fact; he looked sad explaining the communication he had only just received saying that the council had overspent and there was an indefinite hiring freeze. The admin assistant looked at him as if he were something unpleasant, squishy and foul smelling that she had stepped in.

He boarded the return train.

‘Ticket please?’

He displayed his rail pass to the smiling woman who looked like anything but a railway employee,

‘I haven’t seen you on this train before.’

‘We do all the lines…you just haven’t noticed…”Things won are done, joy's soul lies in the doing”…William Shakespeare.’

‘I hope Shakey can find me a job.’

‘That’s up to you, never give up…you didn’t…the others did.’

‘So, you know…’

She nodded,

‘Stand straight, walk proud, have a little faith.", said Garth Brooks. Eleanor Roosevelt said, “If you lose faith, you lose all."’

He put his wallet with his rail pass back in his trouser back pocket. When he looked up, she had vanished…

FIN

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