Summer Love - 4. Chapter 4

I didn't want to do anything when I woke up the next morning. I especially didn't want to even think about the beach. I stayed under the covers until Aunt Edie stumped out and pulled them off me, telling me to 'get my lazy self out of bed' so she could use the sofa. Shrieking about her seeing me in my underwear, I got up and skittered into the bathroom to shower and get dressed.

After finishing all the morning stuff and putting the sofabed back away so Aunt Edie could watch TV, I crouched on the floor in front of my suitcase and tried to decided what I wanted to do. There was no place I wanted to go, and picking up the next Xanth book just made me think about stuff I didn't want to think about yet. I heard the TV come on as I dropped the book back into my suitcase, and looked up to check what was on. Seeing Bob Barker brought a grin, and I got up and jumped onto the sofa (to Aunt Edie's annoyance) to watch the game show.

After the hour was up, I remained slumped against the sofa back. During the commercial breaks, my mind had drifted back to the beach, wondering if David would be surfing or working, wondering if he'd want to talk to me again, wondering if I wanted him to, and trying not to picture him riding his board with all that tanned skin glistening and ... yeah, trying not to do that. I drifted back into that same train of thought after the show ended, zoning out until I was startled back to awareness by Aunt Edie's cough.

“So young man, do you care to tell me what happened yesterday that put you in such a funk?”

I stared at her for a moment, scared to death that she somehow knew what I was thinking about. Then, hoping she didn't, I retreated back into my slump, shrugging my shoulders and answering with the ever-so-informative, “Nuthin'...”

Aunt Edie let out an exasperated sigh and got to her feet. “Well, I need to go to the store, and since you're eating most of my food, it's only fair that you come along and help carry it. Now get up, get up, we don't have all day.”

I stayed in my “funk”, as Aunt Edie put it, as I followed her down the sidewalk. In my brooding slouch, I missed all the concerned glances she gave me; they probably would have freaked me out even more, anyway. Being out in the bright Southern California sun made me want to see David more; trying to block that out and think about other stuff, besides being mostly unsuccessful, also made me feel guilty. If I really wanted to be friends with him, I couldn't keep avoiding him, and that meant dealing with all this stuff, which twisted my gut up something awful - but the thought of not seeing him, of not being friends, made my stomach hurt even worse.

I was pulled (literally) back to reality by Aunt Edie's hand grabbing my shoulder and preventing me from walking off the curb into traffic.

“Johnathan Michaels, I don't care what problem you think you're having; if you don't watch where you're going, you're going to get yourself killed and leave it to me to explain it to your parents! Pay attention!”

I flinched, both at the close call and at her yelling. “Okay, okay, sorry, sheesh!” I exclaimed back at her, then quickly looked away again.

The light changed, and we continued on across the street and adjoining parking lot and into the grocery store. Of course, I ended up trailing behind her as she walked slowly up every single aisle, or at least that's the way it seemed. The only aisles we skipped were, of course, the only ones I was interested in - the ice cream aisle and the snacks.

As we started up the dairy row, I caught a flash of familiar blond hair disappearing at the end of the aisle. Without only a moment's hesitation, and less thought, I turned and darted back to the front of the store and to the next aisle. Not seeing anyone there, I kept going, two, three, four more aisles, until I saw him looking at frozen dinners. I started towards him, wondering why he was buying that stuff, then he stood and turned towards me -- and it wasn't David.

I felt my face fall into a disappointed frown as the other boy scooted past me. 'Why would David shop at the same store as Aunt Edie does anyway?' I asked myself, feeling stupid.

Then I heard the squeak of rubber against the tiles of the supermarket floor, and I looked up to meet those bright green eyes I'd been thinking about. David was walking next to some old guy, I guess his father, who had a hand on David's shoulder. He had this look on his face that my mom called deer in the headlights. His open-mouthed expression met my frozen frown for a second, our eyes locked together. Then, before the smile bubbling in my head could make it to my lips, he turned away.

I watched as they continued out of sight past the end of the aisle. David didn't look back. He didn't look back, he hadn't waved, he hadn't even smiled. My brain locked into that loop, and I quickly turned to face the freezer, shutting my eyes tight. I could already hear the taunting 'crybaby' in my head, so no way I was going to show it.

I don't know how long I stood like that - it probably wasn't very long - before Aunt Edie found me. Her ringing voice penetrated my self-pity loop as she exclaimed, “Johnathan Michaels, there you are!”

I quickly rubbed my eyes before turning to look at her. “Sorry Aunt Edie,” I said, proud of my voice being steady. “I thought... never mind.” I didn't want to explain to her how I would know someone to have chased after them in the store.

She looked at me, then at the ice cream in the freezer in front of me, then back at me. “Well, hurry up and pick out a flavor already, if you wanted it so much.”

I blinked. Flavor? I looked through the glass door, just then noticing that I was standing in front of the ice cream freezer. I looked back at her and shook my head, starting to answer, “I don't w-”

She interrupted me with an exasperated sigh. “Oh. Your father gave you the speech about me not having money, didn't he? That infuriating man. Look, John, if you want some ice cream, we can get ice cream. Now hurry up and pick out a flavor; I want to get home in time for General Hospital. And get some Rocky Road, also.” With that, she scraped the cart around and headed towards the checkout stands. I blinked a couple of times, then slowly turned to take a look back up to the other end of the aisle. Just, I guess, hoping that maybe... naw, never mind. Just get the ice cream and get out of here.

The rest of the day passed in a bit of a blur. I was still looping through seeing David turn away, trying to convince myself that it didn't mean anything. That it didn't really mean that he hated me. I spent the time slouched on the sofa, unread book in my lap, eyes pointed at the TV without ever focusing on it. Except a couple of times, when one of the younger guys would cross the screen shirtless or something. But then I'd realize I was doing that again, and cringe back inside myself.

Aunt Edie let me go like this for a while. When dinner was ready, she just came over and shook my shoulder, then told me to eat. We sat across the table from each other in silence; I mostly just stared at my food and took a bite once in a while. I didn't really notice when she took the still-half-filled plate away and put it in the fridge; didn't notice the noise she was making in the kitchen behind me; didn't notice anything until I was abruptly yanked back to reality when a cold spoon was placed against the back of my neck. I jerked upright, half-gasping, half-screaming, as the icy chills radiated up and down my spine. “Aunt Edie!”

Aunt Edie just chuckled and set the spoon next to the bowl of ice cream she'd placed on the table in front of me. “Now, you just eat your ice cream,” she said, “and when you're done, if you want, we can talk about whatever has been bothering you.” She nodded once, then turned and went back out to the living room, where I heard the TV turn back on.

I stared down at the ice cream for a few seconds. I couldn't talk to her about this, I just couldn't. Maybe if it was a girl, but this?

I ate the ice cream mostly mechanically, barely tasting it. What could I say to her? “I met someone, but he doesn't want to be friends”? I'd just be a baby then. No, I just had to cheer up, or at least act like it.

I stood up, put the bowl and spoon in the sink, then went back out to the living room. Aunt Edie looked at me, and I shrugged. “I dunno, Aunt Edie, but I'm okay,” I said, then looked at the TV and called out, “No, ask for an L, ask for an L!” I don't know if she really bought the change of subject or not, but we both spent the next 20 minutes jeering the contestants on Wheel, then settled back to watch M*A*S*H. When that was over, Aunt Edie stood up and started towards her bedroom. Halfway there, she paused, and looked at me. I looked back, wondering how she was going to try to convince me to talk to her, but after a moment she just said, “Good night,” and left the room.

I waited until her door closed, then stood up and pulled out the sofa bed. After making the nightly visit to the bathroom, I shucked my outer clothes and climbed onto the mattress, pulled the light blanket over me, and closed my eyes to try to go to sleep with visions of green eyes dancing through my head.

Last update: 2008-06-30 20:11:00 PDT