Free Renewal 2 - Echoes of the Breakdown by Jf Perkins

Let’s take our seats and get started!” Bill spoke over the buzz of the crowd, waving both hands in a “down” gesture. The crowd ignored him. He tried again. “Come on, people! Plenty of time for gossip later.”
    Finally they began to sit down and the chatter faded to the soft crying of a baby in the corner of the square. Bill stood quietly for a few more seconds, looking over the people waiting expectantly in front of him.
    Finally Bill began to speak, in a different tone than Terry had heard yet, more formal, deeper, bigger somehow.
    “Ladies and gentlemen, citizens of Teeny Town, brothers and sisters, we gather tonight to welcome our newest member. Please welcome Mr. Terry Shelton into our community. Stand up, Terry.”
    Terry couldn’t move for a moment. Bill grabbed him firmly by the upper arm and hoisted him to his feet. Terry spent the next ten seconds nodding and smiling as the crowd clapped and cheered.
    “Terry comes to us through the recommendation of Dusty, who has watched his education and training very closely. He is sponsored for membership by me and my wife. To protect our community, Terry has agreed to be a part-timer, and carries the tough burden of maintaining two lives, one out in the world, and one here among friends. Everyone, please take the time to welcome him personally this evening.”
    Another round of cheering broke out, and Terry was afraid that his smile muscles were about to cramp up.
    “As is our tradition, let me formalize his membership with a gift. By accepting this gift, Terry becomes a full-fledged member of our community, with all the rights and responsibilities of that membership. Terry further agrees to put the needs of our community first in any case where his other responsibilities come into conflict.”
    Bill lifted the wooden box from the table, turned to face Terry, and asked, “Terry Shelton, do you accept these terms and your inclusion into our group?” He moved the box a few inches towards Terry, offering but not yet delivering the gift.
    Terry placed his hands on the box, and responded. “I am proud and honored to accept membership in this community.”
    Bill smiled, and released the box to Terry. The crowd exploded into wild applause, cheering, whistling, and hooting. Terry held the box close to his chest and turned to accept the acclaim. The sounds merged into a 3-beat chant of “Open it... Open it!”
    Terry, fighting a sense of overwhelming attention, placed the box on the table. He released the latch and slowly opened the lid. The crowd dropped into silence. When he saw the contents, he sucked in a sharp breath. People were smiling at his reaction. Inside was the most perfect handgun he had ever seen, along with a matching leather holster, and that was not all. Above the gun was a beautiful belt knife with a Damascus steel blade, folded many times and worked until the  two-toned metal of the blade mimicked the grain of the hardwood handle. The knife, end to end, was a versatile 11 inches long, six of those inches in the gracefully curving blade. The knife had a leather sheath, tooled to match the gun holster. It was truly beautiful to him.
    Terry looked up with tears in his eyes, and said, “Thank you all. This is the nicest gift I’ve ever received.” Another round of cheering erupted around him, as he reverently held the knife and watched the blade glimmer in rare electric light.
    Bill waved the crowd to quietness again, and said, “You are welcome, Terry. Most welcome... Don’t worry, though; you’ll earn it before it’s over.”
    The people chuckled knowingly.
    “Sit down, Terry. We’re done embarrassing you.” Bill said, and waited until Terry was seated and the box was closed. “I want to say thank you, for myself, to all of you. The reason we can produce such nice gifts here, with our own skills and our own tools, is that all of you have worked so hard for so many years, and adding quality young men like Terry to our numbers is our