Coward is a Strong Word

It was 7 o'clock on a Tuesday morning, the alarm clock on Tom's bedside table began to ring at just the right decibel level to wake him up, but not so high that it might hurt his ear drums. As Tom reached over to turn the alarm off, his wife next to him, Sue, began to stir and come awake. There was an absolute abundance of sunlight pouring in from their second-floor bedroom, illuminating the nicely kept bedroom. Tom and Sue both rolled onto their sides and faced each other and smiled, Tom gave Sue a very modest kiss on the cheek and climbed out of bed. He told his wife that he was going to have a shower and as he made his way over to their ensuite he closed the curtains, so only a sliver of light entered the room.

In the Smith household only non-scented, paraben free soaps could be found, as a coworker at Sue's school told her that harsh soaps could lead to irritated skin and open the door for a plethora of nasty skin abnormalities. When Tom had finished rinsing off the last of the milky white body wash, that did not smell of anything, and did not bubble, he turned the water off and carefully went directly from shower to bathmat. After Tom was sufficiently dried off, he walked back into his bedroom to pick out his clothes. Sue had already left and made the bed. Tom opened his closet and took out a white dress-shirt, black slacks, and a pair of white socks. Tom looked at himself in his bedroom mirror, making sure nothing was askew with his outfit. The sliver of sunlight caught his eye, and he made his way back to the bathroom. After brushing his teeth for exactly two minutes, he walked to his bathroom cabinet and took out a bottle of 100+ SPF sunscreen and began applying generous amounts to his face and any area of his body that was not completely covered by his clothes – his neck, back of hands, even his ankles, incase he found himself sitting outside on a park bench where his slacks could easily roll up and accidentally expose a portion of unprotected skin.

He met Sue downstairs in their kitchen. She had already begun making breakfast and there was already a cup of coffee waiting for Tom at the dining room table. At the table also sat their 11-year-old daughter, Jane. Tom smiled at his wife and kissed his daughter on the top of her head gingerly, as to not rub off any sunscreen. He sat down at the table and asked Jane how she had slept, and Jane replied by saying "perfectly, I got a full ten hours, the ideal amount for my age range!", her father was proud.

Sue brought over breakfast to the table, it consisted of wheat toast, a small bowl of fruit, and a big glass of skim milk. When Tom had finished the last of his breakfast, he gave his wife and daughter one last kiss before heading off to work. Tom drove a white station wagon, voted one of the safest at the turn of the decade. Before starting the engine, he put on his thick black sunglasses, he adjusted his seat making sure there was just a slight bend in his knees when touching his foot to the pedals, assuring that his rearview mirror was perfectly aligned with his rear windshield, and that his seatbelt was securely fastened. He cautiously backed out of their driveway and began driving towards the bank where he worked, with his hands precisely at the ten and two o'clock positions. As Tom was driving down his block, he barely even noticed that one of the neighbouring houses had a "sold" instead of a "for sale" sign picketed into the front lawn, too busy focusing on the road in front of him.

Tom turned onto Main Street, the road where his bank stood. Once on Main Street Tom stopped at no less than eight crosswalks and patiently and happily waited for each by-stander to look left, right, left, right, left, and right before they were satisfied that it was safe for them to cross the street. When Tom reached the parking lot to his bank he parked at the very far back, making sure he was not parking beside any other parked cars, as to avoid any potential mishaps.

Tom's workday was like any other, customers came in to withdraw money from their accounts, he helped them, always making sure he was placing the customers money on the counter rather than directly into their hand. At the end of the day, he walked back towards the his vehicle, maneuvering through the parking lot, on full alert for any cars that might begin backing up. When he returned home, dinner was already waiting for him on the dining room table, along with his wife and his daughter. He smiled at them and gave both a kiss, but before he sat down for dinner, he went to the bathroom and washed his hands for no less than 20 seconds. The hand soap also had no scent, however, Sue made sure it was still up to par with the American Medical Association in terms of killing germs. He sat down, and in front of him laid a large green salad and an unseasoned chicken breast on top, it looked delicious. He asked Sue how her day was at the elementary school. She had explained that today was busier than usual, Tom raised his eyebrows, somewhat worried at the phrase "than usual". She had said that she had a phone call today from a family that was moving to town soon and that their daughter would be enrolled in her class. Tom had remembered, at that moment, the "sold" sign just down the street from them. Sue was excited for a new family to be joining their small town, she smiled towards Jane and said, "their daughter is the same age as you, maybe you'll become best friends!". Jane giggled but Tom's eyebrows were still slightly raised.

The next morning Tom awoke early, however, this time it was not to the perfect volume of his bedside alarm clock it was to ear-piercing music. Both him and Sue sat up in an instant, looking in the direction of their front window that was spilling the early morning sunrise into their room. Tom raced downstairs, and put on the highest boots he could find, a winter jacket and a scarf, not having enough time to put on an ounce of sunblock. He stepped through his front door and the music was even louder, Tom tried blocking out as much as he could by placing his hands over his ears. With his elbows out and his hands on his head he began walking down his street to the source of the sound. Along the way, he noticed several other families standing outside their houses wearing similar garments and their hands also glued to their heads looking down the street. The horrendous sound was coming from a bright orange van in front of the house that until this morning had been completely vacant. There was a man carrying boxes towards the house, he wore a black leather coat, with blue jeans that were ripped in places and a grey V-neck shirt that exposed a large portion of his chest. Tom could not equally believe his ears or his eyes, the man wasn't even wearing sunglasses! Appearing at the front door was a woman, presumably the man's wife, and at her side was a little girl that looked to be about the same age as Jane. The wife wore blue jean shorts and a tank top and as the man handed her the box, they shared a kiss on the lips. Tom did not know what to do, he had never seen so much recklessness in his entire life. Finally, he released the seal around his ears and waved to get the man's attention and motioned for him to turn off the music blaring from the van. The man gave Tom a large smile and walked back to the van and turned down the music. He walked right up to Tom and said, "Sorry about that, my name is Atticus" and put out his open hand. Tom was still stunned, and he just starred at the open palm, and just simply said "Tom". Atticus slowly recoiled his hand, clearly confused at this interaction, and said enthusiastically "nice to meet you, that is my wife Birdie and my daughter Luna", he pointed toward the front door and both his wife and daughter gave big smiles and waved. Tom gave a mediocre wave and hazelly said "I have to go to work now" and he turned away and began walking back home. Atticus replied, "I'll see you around, neighbour!"

When Tom got home, his wife was in the kitchen making breakfast and Jane was in the living room finishing up her homework. Sue asked what that was all about, and Tom explained everything. What the noise was, where the noise was coming from, what the people were wearing, what their names were". Sue looked shocked, but not as shocked as Tom, he could not believe these people were not only now living in his town but down the street from him. He worried what kind of impact this would have on him, his family, his daughter? He got ready for work trying not to think of the events of this morning. Dressed in his white shirt and black slacks in his station wagon with copious amounts of sunscreen on his face Tom made his way to the bank. Thankfully the family seemed to not be home, the van was gone, and the house seemed empty. Maybe they decided to not live here after all? Tom turned on Main Street, carefully observing if there were any pedestrians waiting at the many crosswalks along the road. Tom had almost reached the bank when out of nowhere he had to slam on his brakes, making the car halt at an instant. A good fifty meters in front of him, not at a crosswalk, stood the man in ripped jeans and a leather jacket. He waved and J-walked across the street, barely glancing at the opposite direction. Once Atticus was safely on the other side of the road Tom, with his mouth still open in disbelief and shaking his head, drove into the back of the parking lot and parked his car. Tom tried keeping his mind on his work, but he was in a complete daze, how could someone like that end up in a town like this?

At dinner that evening, still trying to take his mind off things, he asked Sue about her day. Apparently, Birdie dropped by the school today with Luna, and stayed for the day so Sue and Birdie could get acquainted, and Luna could meet some of her classmates. Tom looked at her with questioning eyes, Sue cleared her throat and said, "well I don't necessarily understand their fashion choices, but they seem nice". For Sue niceness could make up for a lot of other things, Tom did not feel the same. He then asked how Jane's day was, hoping to steer the conversation away from their new neighbours. Jane said that she had a normal day, she had math in the morning, then English, and then played outside at recess. Tom almost chocked on his boiled potatoes; Sue had a worried look on her face. Tom asked what she was doing outside, that she always stayed inside and read at recess time. Jane said that Luna wanted to show her a new game, she calls it "dodgeball". At that instance Tom gave his daughter a small smile, and calmly got up, reached for the phone, and began dialling. Sue also got up and asked, "who are you calling?", Tom replied, "I am calling the head of our block watch to have an emergency block meeting tonight". Sue sighed and asked, "is that really necessary, they are nice people", Tom did not answer, as he was sure this was the only appropriate option.

About an hour later Tom and Sue dropped Jane off at their sitters across the street and began driving towards city hall, Sue still felt like this whole meeting was completely unnecessary, Tom disagreed, he said "not when it comes to the safety of my daughter". There were about 15 people in total that showed up, and at 8 o'clock the head of the block watch motioned for Tom to take the podium, as he was the one who called the meeting. Tom said: "I have called this meeting to talk of the newcomers, the ones with eccentric names, inappropriate clothing, and a complete disregard for safety". A murmur erupted throughout the room, Tom continued, "these people hold a great risk to us, to our community and our children! We need to take the necessary precautions." There was a silence, someone in the back eventually broke the silence and said, "no one appreciates safety and cautiousness more than me, but we can't just force these people to leave!". Other people in the audience began agreeing with what the person had just said and Tom loudly said, "these people do not belong in our town!". At that moment the door to the community hall opened and, in the doorway, stood Atticus and Birdie with a look of confusion on their face, the room was piercingly quiet. Atticus walked slowly towards the podium and said "Tom, are you talking about us?". Tom looked around the room, not able to speak or look at the family that stood before him, out of the corner of his eye he saw Sue shake her head and put a hand to her forehead. Atticus looked around the room and the people that had gathered here to listen to why his family didn't belong here. He said "I don't understand, just because we listen to music and don't wear clothing that covers our entire bodies, and we don't use crosswalks on roads that have next to zero traffic? You are just a bunch of cowards." Someone in the audience quietly said, "coward is a strong word...". Atticus shook his head and said, "if we are this unwelcome, we'll just leave then." He and Birdie left the hall.

Tom and Sue drove home in silence, as they passed Atticus and Birdies house, they noticed that the van was being reloaded with boxes. When they entered their house Tom said, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have loss my temper and I feel bad about what I said in front of them, but I am not wrong!". Sue looked up at him for the first time since the meeting, she had a look of fury in her eye. In a stern voice Sue said "there is a lot more to someone than how they dress, or what their names are, or how careful they are, Tom! Those people are nice, and kind, and friendly, and raised a good daughter, that means so much more about a person and you told them to leave!" It looked like Sue was going to continue but instead she shook her head and began walking back out the front door. Tom said, "where are you going?", she quickly turned around and fiercely said "to go pick up our daughter and bring her over to Atticus and Birdie's to play with Luna, and so I can apologize and convince them to stay!" She walked across the street and picked up Jane and headed down the block. Tom rushed after them, Sue reached the front door first, Birdie was standing there, Tom couldn't hear what they were saying but Birdie moved aside and kindly motioned towards Jane something behind her, most likely where she could find Luna to play, she also called for Atticus. Atticus came through the front door, and Birdie and Sue went inside the house, Sue giving Tom a menacing look before the door closed. They stood there in silence for a minute and eventually Tom rolled his eyes and said, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said what I said" and after another pause, he said quietly "please don't leave." Atticus still stood there in silence, looking at Tom, eventually saying "why did you say that? We haven't done anything to you, we haven't hurt you!" Tom realized that Atticus was right, after all the precautions he takes, he was the one who ended up hurting someone. Tom nodded and said, "you are right, I am just protective over my town, my family, but I took it too far, I am sorry, I am really sorry, please don't leave... neighbours?" and Tom put out his hand. Atticus broke into a smile and pushed Tom's hand away and brought him in for a tight hug and said, "more like friends!"

Several months had gone by since the night of the block meeting. Tom, Sue, and Jane, on a weekly basis, went over to Atticus and Birdie's for Summer night BBQs and had become quite close friends. Atticus even convinced Tom to start wearing short sleeve T-shirts and shorts, but he still wore a lot of SPF. Things in their small town had changed quite a bit over the past few months, people began loosening up, wearing comfortable clothes, listening to fun music, and making new friends. One of the biggest changes was that now if you were to drive by the elementary school at recess or down main street, where people are going about their lives, you could now hear people laughing, instead of everyone worrying about every little thing, they were having fun again, it was something that had been missing from their town but they were glad to now have.

The End