The Mayor and the King
The surface of the table reflects his bleary eyes back at him. It's also almost touching his face.
Dandy slowly raises his head. The same stacks of paper are on his desk. Same pen, same other things.
Something tugs at his leg. He looks down, rubbing at his eye.
It's Pebble. The little pet rock hops up and down, nipping at Dandy's leg and making small chuff noises.
"...I fell asleep, huh," Dandy whispers. He smiles down at Pebble, halfheartedly. "Down, boy."
Pebble stops nipping but starts vibrating in place, his nub of a tail wagging. He yips.
Dandy hops down from his chair and beckons to Pebble. "Alright then. Let's get some fresh air." His smile becomes slightly more real.
The sun is going down. Dandy and Pebble go to the roof of the town hall.
Someone is already here. A small dark gray and white figure sits at the edge of the roof, swinging her legs. She glances over as Dandy takes a seat next to her, startled. He smiles, and Toodles relaxes.
"Why're you up here?" he asks her.
Her legs swing faster. "I like looking for anything suspicious! 'Cause, you can see the whole town from up here!"
"Oh, true. Good idea. I bet Rodger would be jealous." He grins at her.
Toodles stops swinging her legs. "Well...actually, so far, none of the suspicious stuff turned out to be real mysteries to solve."
"Oh. I'm sure you'll find something eventually, though. Just keep looking."
Now the kid looks at him. "I'm not in trouble for sneaking up here?"
"Well, not with me. I assume Rodger doesn't know. Or Glisten."
Toodles looks guilty.
Dandy sends her another reassuring grin. "Don't worry! When I tell them I gave you permission, they won't be angry."
Toodles nods, smiling. "Okay." She tilts her head at him. "Why're you up here?"
Dandy swings his legs a little. Pebble licks his hand. "I often come up here to think," he admits.
"About what?"
His gaze slides to the layout of the town before them, the edges of rooftops being gilded gold by the sunset. "Lots of things."
"Like what?"
Pebble bounds from Dandy's lap to Toodles's, who giggles.
Dandy watches them for a moment. Quietly, he replies, "How I appear to kids."
"Huh?" Toodles is in the middle of holding up Pebble, who paused in licking at her face.
Dandy sends her a half-smile. "I don't spend a lot of time around people like you, but when I do...I make sure to smile a lot. And be happy."
"Oh!" Toodles puts Pebble down. He nuzzles her hand. "I see grown-ups do that a lot actually!"
"You do?"
"I kinda always thought they were pretending, though."
The mayor thinks for a moment, then nods. "True, but we do it for your sake. We don't want you to be unhappy." He grins at her.
Toodles swings her legs. "Sometimes I see grown-ups who aren't...nice. They're mean! Like, they yell a lot and stuff and make people cry."
"Those guys shouldn't be around kids at all," Dandy agrees. "Stay away from them if you can. And if you can't, send them to me or Teagan. We can probably fix them." His hand twitches.
Pebble makes a chuff noise again. Toodles glances at the sunset. She sighs dramatically. "I think I gotta go home soon."
"Do you usually leave this place at this time? It's kind of late."
One of her legs swings. "I'm alright! Yeah, I do leave earlier than this usually but...I think I'll be okay." She cradles Pebble, who licks her arm, and starts swinging her legs frantically again. Pebble lets out a small, almost sympathetic whimper.
When Toodles stands up, Dandy does too. She gives him a curious look.
"Do you mind if I walk you home?" the mayor offers gently.
"Yes! I mean, I don't mind," Toodles replies quickly. Dandy chuckles.
Pebble scampers ahead of them on their way down the building and toward Rodger and Glisten’s house. The sun is nearly below the horizon now, the shadows long, the breeze much colder. There are still people out and about, though. Dandy is used to their stares. Toodles doesn't notice them that much.
It's pretty dark by the time they get to Rodger and Glisten's house.
The child turns to the mayor. "Bye! And thank you!" she whispers.
"You're welcome," he says with a cheerful grin. "Thank you for a pleasant evening, as well!"
Dandy exchanges a few words with Rodger at the door before leaving.
The cool night would have chilled Dandy, if he wasn't calm and content, much better than he was earlier before he went to the roof. He actually believes he might sleep tonight; lately, he's been taking more naps during the day, almost as if his body would rather be asleep than awake.
"That wasn't so bad," he whispers to Pebble, who yips softly as if agreeing. Dandy smiles a rare genuine smile. "And, well—" He gazes up towards the sky, where a few tiny stars glint dimly down at him. The promise that many more will come. "—It's kids like that who inspire me as the mayor, don't they?"