THE FENCE IN SHIRTSLEEVES

Synopsis

Reuben Kass opens at nine, sweeps his own sidewalk, and knows the names of both dogs that come by with the mailman. The shop has been in the family since his father, and it has paid for two college educations and one good roof. It has also, for most of that time, been where certain men bring things they should not have. Reuben is careful, polite, and fair with them, and Adele has never once asked him a question she did not want answered. On a Thursday in April a tray comes in, and in it is the wristwatch he gave his son Paul on Paul's wedding day. Paul filed a police report about it in March.

Who this is about

Reuben Kass has run the same pawnshop for thirty-one years, keeps the sidewalk swept, sponsors a Little League team, and moves, in the back, things nobody can legally own.

What goes wrong

In a tray of goods from a burglary crew he finds the wristwatch he gave his son Paul at his wedding, the one Paul reported stolen in March.

What's at stake

Returning it explains where he found it. Keeping it means his son's house was robbed by men Reuben pays, and Adele has been living off that money for thirty years.

Why it keeps going

Every week the crew brings another tray, and every week Reuben has to look at what his family's ordinary comfortable life is actually assembled from, and decide again whether to keep looking.

Takeaway

The distance a man keeps between his work and his family is a courtesy the world does not agree to honor.

Shelves

Themes

Story, in the creator's words

Not provided yet

Style

Not provided yet

Characters

Not provided yet

Tech stack

Not provided yet

Schedule

Not provided yet

Production plan

Not provided yet