Snap! Riley Tags Charlie

[Riley Adams]

True to his word to Elaine, Riley had pulled out his old SLR from the box under his bed and tried to get some snapshots of the apartment just to get him reacquainted with his old love.

It had been awhile since he'd held on to the old piece of his history. It was old and only accepted film rolls, which was developed in the dark room Michael had built for him in what used to be the guest room. The guest room which was supposed to be for their adopted child. A smile carved its way on to his face before he continued with his snapshots of the apartment.

Getting tired of the static scenery, he grabbed as many film rolls from the dark roomand moved out of the apartment and drove about the small town to find a perfect spot.

Finding it at the lake, where there were a few families and the 'staying fit' types around, Riley parked his truck and slipped one roll of film into the camera and started to snap away, unaware of his surroundings for the moment.

[Charlie Davis]

It was such a nice day out. And if there was anything that could rouse Charlie from sleep anywhere near a reasonable hour (read: noon) on a Saturday, it was sunshine and nice weather. So, Charlie rolled out of bed, threw on some jeans and glanced down at Wayne, who was still snoring at the foot of his bed. Snorting quietly, he nudged the dog with his foot.

“C’mon Wayne.” He mumbled sleepily, yawning midway through his words, “Up and at ‘em. It’s actually nice out.” When the Harlequin Great Dane paid no mind to him, Charlie slouched out of the bedroom, trying very half-heartedly to smooth back his sleep-rumpled hair. Oh well. Hair was hair. Munching on some Cheerios from the box, Charlie hunted about for his shoes then peeked back into the bedroom, grinning as he saw Wayne still asleep.

“Wayne!” Charlie called, startling the dog, who glared at him, affronted, “Up, you lazy mutt. It’s time to go on a walk.” In true canine fashion, when Wayne heard the word “walk”, he perked up, all injury or sleepiness forgotten. Laughing, Charlie allowed Wayne to scramble off his bed before clipping the dog leash and putting the cereal box away.

It was nice. The sun was shining not too hot, and there was a slight breeze that reminded him of San Francisco. He felt a little twinge of nostalgia and it made him smile as he walked towards the lake, with Wayne sniffing everything in sight. After a while, he let Wayne off the leash and flopped himself onto a particularly welcoming patch of grass. This was great. But while Charlie was relaxing, Wayne had other plans. Sniffling along the grass, the large dog spotted a tall man holding and using a peculiar device. Curious and friendly as only dogs (and Charlie, probably) could be, Wayne thought it would be an excellent idea to trot over to the man and start snuffling at his elbow, giving a mellow little “Wuff!” as greeting.

Charlie, fortunately, heard his dog and poked his head up to see Wayne accosting some poor fellow with a camera. Leaping up, Charlie jogged over to the pair, an apology already on his lips. “Oh, man, I’m so sorry—Wayne, back off you big lug—he’s a really low-key dog, he’s just—Wayne!—a little curious.” Charlie tugged on Wayne’s collar and pulled him back. Shooting the man a sheepish grin, he stuck out his free hand, “Charlie Davis. I’m new in town, so my dog feels the need to make great first impressions for me.”

[Riley Adams]

He had gotten in a few good shots but he was nearing the end of his film roll so he looked around for a place to sit so he could change the roll but the benches were occupied so he just decided to stay where he was and took his last shot so the film could roll back into the cartridge.

But even before he could exchange the used up roll of film for a new one, he was suddenly accosted by a spotted Great Dane. He almost lost balance but a quick grip on the branch of a tree just above him helped him keep his balance enough to keep his wits about him as the owner of the dog came bounding up to him and the dog.

The dog kept trying to sniff Riley's camera, making the man laugh and get down on his knees to scratch behind the dog's ears. The apology was waved away nonchalantly before it turned into a handshake. Riley looked up at the kind face and grinned. "Riley Adams," he gave a laugh at Charlie's attempt at humor.

"He made an excellent first impression for you, don't worry." Riley looked back down at the dog, Wayne and gave him a little scratch. "Nice choice of name. Wayne. Why Wayne?" Riley asked with a little chuckle.

[Charlie Davis]

“Riley Adams, nice to meet you.” Charlie said enthusiastically, shaking the other guy’s hand. Man, he was tall. He huffed out a laugh, “Oh good. I gotta be honest, I figured it’d be just my luck to have my dog accost some dog-hater and then I’d really be busted.” He ran a hand through his mussed brown hair and grinned lopsidedly.

“Oh, he’s named after John Wayne.” Charlie explained with a sheepish grin, “He’s my favorite actor. Been since I was a kid. He does Westerns.” Charlie added on the off chance that this Riley fellow didn’t know John Wayne. Which would of course necessitate some manner of intervention sometime. But then, Charlie had literally just met the guy. No need to scare him off already.

“So…” Charlie gestured at the camera, “You’re a photographer? I hope Wayne didn’t mess up your equipment.” He gave his dog a reproachful glance, which was ignored by the Great Dane in favor of sniffing Riley’s shoes. “He likes you.” Charlie commented wryly, “This of course means that he will follow you around. Sorry.”

[Riley Adams]

Charlie's enthusiasm bowled Riley over. Wayne's presence seemed to calm Riley down considerably, surprisingly as he circled around the landscaper. Riley laughed at Charlie's statement. "I could never hate any kind of animals. Especially not ones whose names come from a legend." He said, adding the last bit after Charlie explained the origins of the dog's name.

Riley decided to just sit on the ground next to the Great Dane who had started to inspect him. Charlie's question brought a smile and a quick shake of the head. "No...this is just a hobby of mine." The biological manipulator explained, letting Wayne sniff his hand. "Oh no, Wayne didn't mess anything up. I was only reloading a roll of film into the camera. Which I should do now before it gets over exposed."

He fumbled quickly through the process and pressed on the shutter button a few times to get it rolling. A laugh escaped the older man's lips at Charlie's comment. "I take that as a compliment." He shrugged. "Am I stopping you from anything? I was thinking of having a rest here anyway if you'd like to join me?" Riley looked up at the still standing man with an open smile.

[Charlie Davis]

Charlie beamed at Riley, “I’m glad. Wayne’s a friendly boy, he’s just a little overly friendly.” He patted Wayne on the side and the dog looked up at him briefly before settling down on the grass between them. “I guess that puts people off sometimes. But I guess he gets that from me.” He gave Riley a lopsided grin, watching for signs that the taller man wanted him to go away. He was always bad at picking those up.

“Oh man, that’s cool.” Charlie looked suitably impressed that photography was just a hobby for Riley. “Man, all my hobbies include like… sports.” He shrugged, not believing that sports required all that much work. At least not if you wanted to play casually like Charlie did. “I’d love to see them sometimes.” It didn’t occur to him that he was basically inviting himself places that he really had no business to. Charlie could be a little inadvertently rude like that.

“Sure.” He grinned at the invitation and flopped down almost bonelessly onto the grass. “How long you been doing this hobby? And, if you don’t mind me asking,” Charlie tilted his head questioningly, “What do you do, if you aren’t a photographer?”

[Riley Adams]

"Well, beats having a dog who won't even roll over for a bone." Riley shrugged, letting Wayne climb all over him. Good thing the film rolls were well kept away. The camera was pulled up and Riley pressed the shutter button, capturing Wayne on film. Charlie's self-deprecating comment was met with a shake of the head. "I doubt people here find that off-putting. Dogs are meant to be friendly. Aren't you, Wayne?" His reply was a few good licks from the Great Dane.

"Oh, I..." Riley gave Charlie a quick shake of the head once more. "I just picked it up again today so there's really nothing to show." He said embarrassedly. When was the last time he had taken photos? Was it before Michael got truly sick? Man, that was a long time ago. "But if you want, I could show you some stuff I did for my company." Riley offered. It was mostly pictures he took of his finished work, nothing too showy.

Riley scooted aside to make room for Charlie and pondered on the question. Touchy subject but it had been awhile. He should be over it by now. It wasn't a big deal. "I've only really picked it up again after ten years, like I said before." He shrugged lightly. "And I'm a landscaper. I...do lawns." Riley chuckled as he made Wayne sit. Wayne responded with a head tilt to which Riley couldn't help but laugh at. He quickly took a picture of Wayne, adjusting the zoom and setting of the camera before capturing the dog on film.

Suddenly realising what he was doing, he turned to Charlie with a guilty look on his face. "I'm sorry...I didn't ask your permission before taking a picture of Wayne...you don't mind do you?"

[Charlie Davis]

Charlie laughed, “Yeah, that’s not Wayne. He’ll do just about anything for a treat. Including roll all over strangers.” He sighed as his dog snuffled at Riley’s legs, “Really, if he’s being too distracting, lemme know. I have a tennis ball that will keep him away for a while.” Charlie leaned back, enjoying the sunshine, “Man, but it is really nice out. I’m glad to see the sun. We had a really dark couple months, didn’t we?”

“That’s cool.” Charlie shrugged easily, “Any reason why you wanted to pick it back up, or did you just miss it?” He looked interested when Riley offered to show him pictures he did for his company, “Hey, that would be pretty cool. Yeah, I’d love too.” He liked learning about other people. Other people were so interesting.

“Wow landscaper.” Charlie nodded, grinning, “And… you said it was your own company? Impressive.” And it was. Charlie could never imagine running his own business. That would just be crazy.

Charlie laughed as Wayne tilted his head in questioning and Riley snapped a picture, “What, are you kidding me? He loves it! He’s a total ham.” He scratched behind the dog’s ears, which resulted in Wayne stepping all over him, “Oof! He’s also a great big lug. All right, boy.” Charlie pulled out a tennis ball from his pocket and sent it flying. With a happy bark, Wayne took off.

“Now that I’ve got rid of the attention hound,” Charlie grinned, “How long have you been in Pilot Ridge? I just got here so I don’t really know anyone.”

[Riley Adams]

"Good on him, being such a good dog." Riley laughed before shaking his head at Charlie's question about the dog. "He is not a distraction at all. I love him. Yes I do." The landscape artist brought his face close to Wayne's, letting him lick a good portion of it. "I'll let you know when he's becoming a distraction."

"I, well my friend was talking about how we need to...grab moments while they lasted. I figured since I already had this lying around, I might as well just use it right?" Riley picked at the camera, smiling at the memories this particular gadget had already given him. "Okay," Riley smiled at Charlie's enthusiasm. He really was a lot like Wayne, wasn't he?

"Oh it's nothing really. I couldn't have done it without my mom and my partner. Well, she's supposed to be a partner but she says she doesn't want to get tied down to a top tier position or something." Riley laughed at Rina's sudden modesty. She was hardly modest but when Riley had asked her to be his partner, she had turned him down flat. Said she was way too comfortable at the bottom to go anywhere else.

Laughing along with Charlie at his description of his dog, Riley looked at the owner/pet interaction and felt like he should have something like that. Why were these emotions suddenly cropping up now? It was a little unsettling. First it was with Elaine, and now it was with a stranger he barely knew.

As Wayne raced to catch the tennis ball, Riley turned to Charlie at his question. "Um...on and off for about thirty years. I went to Hammel when I was a teenager. And then I went away for college and then I came back. Where were you from originally?" Riley asked. "And don't worry about not knowing anyone. I've been here awhile and I still haven't met everyone in town." He chuckled, fiddling again with his camera, snapping every here and there.

[Charlie Davis]

Charlie grinned broadly as Riley played with Wayne. He was happy he now had a friend to hang out with. True, he had friends still in San Francisco—he was working on getting some of them down to visit—but that didn’t have quite the immediacy of a friend who was in the same state as he. A little triumphant, Charlie stretched out on his back, enjoying the grass on his arms and the warm sunshine.

“Your friend has a point.” Charlie observed sleepily, “I mean, everything’s so fleeting. Here one minute, gone the next.” He’d been a policeman in San Francisco in the eighties. That was something he’d gotten well-acquainted with very quickly. Just because he was overly friendly and put up a good front didn’t mean he was a fool. “But no, it’s great you’re back to using the camera, then.” He observed, keeping it light, “I bet your photos look great.”

Charlie grinned lopsidedly, “Gotta love moms, huh?” His own mother had passed away, but he had always been appreciative of both his parents. He made a mental note to call his sister sometime today. She was probably wondering how he was doing.

“Wow, thirty years?” Charlie looked suitably impressed, “Nice. I’m from San Francisco.” He laughed, “All the way out on the other end of the state. It’s beautiful there, though. The weather can get damn cold, but wait ten minutes and there’s a different weather.” He grinned, “If that makes sense. I came out here to see a bit of America before I retired.” He yawned a little, watching Riley take photos.

[Riley Adams]

Riley simply nodded at Charlie's statement. Everything was terribly fleeting, it was true. He didn't quite have time to mull that over as Wayne bounded back with the tennis ball in his mouth. "Wow he's fast." Riley laughed, patting the dog's head before throwing it away again, smiling as the dog trotted away again.

"Oh, my photos aren't that great. I only take them for visual aid, nothing fancy." Riley shrugged as he once again snapped a photo of Wayne as he searched for the ball.

The fact that his mom was gone did not make his smile any less genuine when Charlie mentioned moms. "They're not mothers if they don't have your love." He felt warm inside as he thought of the last moments he had with his mother and they had been glorious. Nothing but good memories.

Blinking away the past, Riley nodded with a grin at Charlie's sense of loyalty to what Riley assumed was his birthplace. "If it makes sense to you, it makes sense to me." He shrugged with a smile. "So you're about to retire? From what, might I ask?" Riley saw the yawn and bit his lower lip in embarrassment. "I hope I'm not making you sleepy." He chuckled lightly.

[Charlie Davis]

“Heh. Yup. He means business when it comes to playing fetch.” Charlie grinned as Riley tossed the ball for Wayne. “Hey, thanks for stopping and talking and stuff. San Francisco’s pretty mild as far as big city attitude goes, but people tend to keep to themselves. It’s cool that people are more friendly in Pilot Ridge.”

“Still, man.” Charlie shrugged, “That’s more than some people can do.” He pointed to himself and laughed good naturedly. It was true; Charlie didn’t have an artistic bone in his body that he was aware of. He much preferred the physical.

“Yeah, moms are great.” He snorted at his and his new friend’s sentimentality, “So look at us pair of momma’s boys.” He grinned, shook his head and leaned back, tucking his hands behind his head.

“Ah, I’m a police officer.” He lazily grinned and saluted, “Serve and protect.” He stretched again, then blinked up at Riley, a little startled, “Oh! No, sorry. I’m totally not bored. It’s just the sun and…stuff.” Charlie pushed himself into a sitting position to smile sheepishly, “It’s gotten me all drowsy. Hope I’m not boring you.”

[Riley Adams]

Riley chuckled lightly at Charlie's statement. "Oh it's my pleasure. I'm glad Wayne came over. He's a great subject to photograph." He admitted openly. "And you're good company and I know how difficult it can be to come to a new town and not know anyone. So I try to reach out to as many people as possible." He offered Charlie a great big Riley smile before continuing his picture taking, sneaking some of Charlie as he lay on the ground.

He gave an amused shake of the head at Charlie's self-admonishing. "That would most probably be because I actually learnt about it quite a bit when I first picked it up." He answered, trying hard not to show how embarrassed he actually was by Charlie's compliments.

The landscaper simply laughed at the momma's boy comment.

Riley wouldn't have pegged Charlie as a police officer at all but it was a pleasant surprise. "That's awesome." Riley said, not finding any other word satisfying enough to show his enthusiasm at his new found friend's occupation.

"Oh you're not boring me at all." Riley assured the man with a soft smile. Like he had said before, Charlie was good company. "Don't let me stop you from sleeping, this is a pretty good spot to laze in." He chuckled, thumping the tree trunk behind him. "And I'll play with Wayne for awhile." As if hearing his name, Wayne trotted back with the ball, dropping it on Riley's lap. "Who's a good boy?" He scratched behind the Great Dane's ear before taking a few pictures before hearing the telltale whirring sound, indicating the roll of film was at it's last square.

He threw the ball further than he expected and let the dog run. He smiled as he mindlessly changed the film roll once again. He was down to three more rolls and it wasn't even half the day. He obviously missed doing this. "

[Charlie Davis]

“Well, I’m glad you did. Or rather, I’m glad the dog ran into you.” He snorted a little exasperatedly, “I don’t mind meeting new people, though. So it’s good. Although, I met this one guy by giving him a citation for a broken taillight.” Charlie grimaced, “It was a little awkward.”

“Yeah, well still.” Charlie persisted, determined that his new friend admit the awesomeness of his pastime, “Art requires skill man.” He nodded as if he had experience over this stuff. “Lizzie, my sister, she’s an artist. So I’m almost an authority on it, you know.” He laughed slightly, watching Wayne run about.

Charlie grinned, liking this Riley guy more and more, “Yeah, it’s a great job.”

“Nah, I can’t go back to sleep.” He barked out a laugh, “I just woke up like… two hours ago. Saturday is my lazy day. But Wayne likes getting attention from people who aren’t me every once in a while.” He laughed again as Wayne trotted back, demanding attention and playtime, “See?”

[Riley Adams]

"A citation?" Riley chuckled lightly, not being able to imagine anyone could bond over something like that. "Well, that's one I've never heard of." He said behind the camera with a smile. "I can only imagine how awkward that must have been."

Riley was amused at how Charlie thought aiming a camera at things and snapping away was art. And the way he thought he had authority was hilarious. The man had a good sense of humor to be sure. "Oh of course. I didn't realise you had that kind of artistic license. My apologies." Riley turned away from the camera to look at his new friend with a grin.

Wayne came back as though he knew they were talking to him so Riley put his camera down and paid attention to the Great Dane. "Yes, I do see. But he's adorable, he's allowed to be a complete ham now and again." Riley said, letting the dog lick him all over. The day was turning out to be a great one.

[OOC: You can consider this wrapped! ^^]