by S. L. Giger
‘Nothing special. An hour of jogging every day after school, some more training and a few arguments with Ryan.’ She grumbled.
‘Mhh.’ I pressed my lips together. Ah, yes, Ryan still existed as well. ‘What have you been arguing about?’
She stared out the front window. ‘Mainly because the college I’ll most likely get my scholarship for is in Florida and he doesn’t want to go to Florida and neither wants me to go.’
I ignored the fact that she was going to Florida and rather wanted to concentrate on the problem with Ryan. ‘That’s not fair! It’s your life and if Florida offers you a scholarship, he should be proud of you. If you are important to him, shouldn’t he want to make it work either way?’
‘Exactly, that’s what I thought!’ She sank lower in the seat. ‘Actually, I don’t know what to think at all at the moment. I hardly get to see him and I feel like I am maybe number eight on his list, while he is my number one.’
‘Of course.’ I answered, thinking that this was exactly what Eric had told me.
‘Yes, so, I am glad to have this special treat tonight. I’ve been looking forward to it all week.’
‘Couldn’t wait to see me again, could you?’ I grinned at her.
Her cheeks reddened. ‘Or, because I love ice cream so much.’
‘Who doesn’t?’ I smiled and concentrated on the traffic again.
Although it was a beautiful evening, there were not too many people at Giovanni’s. We found a table on the terrace with a pretty view overlooking the ocean. When the waiter came, we showed them our voucher. His face lit up. ‘Bravissimo, una coppia inammorata!’ He said, as Giovanni’s was a family business and they all migrated from Florence. ‘I will do a little magic and create a delicious sundae for the young man and his bella.’
We did him the favour and gave each other an extra amorous smile.
‘Looks like we will have to play lovers for tonight.’ I whispered as soon as he was out of earshot.
‘I guess we have to. It would be a shame to disappoint Giovanni.’ Fiona answered.
‘What's your favorite flavor?’ I then asked.
‘Chocolate. I eat any dessert with chocolate.’ She raved. ‘What is yours?’
‘Vanilla.’
‘No.’ She said determined.
‘Yes, my favourite is vanilla. I should know myself.’ I answered bemused.
‘Yes, of course, but vanilla is so boring!’ She exclaimed. ‘It doesn’t taste like anything.’
‘But you can eat it in any combination. With berries, with chocolate sauce, no matter what you eat it with, it always tastes good.’
‘See, with chocolate, you don’t need anything else.’
At that moment the waiter appeared again with a huge bowl in which scoops of vanilla and caramel ice cream were towering. The top was covered with hot raspberry sauce, which was melting down along the ice cream like flaming lava. Then there were two biscuit hearts dipped in chocolate and to top it all off, there were Bengal matches sticking out of the sundae, their sparks lightening up our faces.
‘Qua, ice cream formidable only for you.’ The waiter placed the sundae on our table.
Her eyes were also sparkling, like before the Bengal matches, when she regarded the sundae.
‘And, happy anyway although there isn’t a lot of chocolate?’ I asked.
‘Yes, it looks delicious. We better start eating before this whole thing melts to a lake.’ She stated.
We took our spoons and dove into the delicacy. Every now and then the waiter scurried around our table to see if we needed anything. Mainly to keep up the facade of our love game I started feeding Fiona with spoons of ice cream.
Without a doubt, it was a lot to eat, but it was too good to spare part of it.
‘I’m so full.’ I patted my stomach, once the delicacy had disappeared in our mouths.
‘Yes, me too.’ She puffed her cheeks.
‘Why don’t we go for a walk along the beach?’ I suggested.
‘Sounds great!’
We walked in silence along the boardwalk but it felt completely natural. None of us felt the need to say anything. It was okay to just enjoy the nice atmosphere with the star-spangled night sky and the sound of the waves. The soft ocean breeze was playing with her hair and every time I looked at the girl by my side my heart beat a little faster and I thought what a lucky guy I was.
‘Shall we sit down on the sand a little?’ I suggested and she nodded.
The sand was soft and cool. The waves near the beach glistened in the light of the lamps from the boardwalk. We were the only people around.
‘I love watching the waves.’ She said. ‘The ocean has this weird impact on me that it plainly frees my head and takes me somewhere else. It’s hard to describe.’
I raised an eyebrow. It was as if she was speaking out of my soul. ‘I know exactly what you mean.’ I nodded. ‘It’s so wide and deep and probably hides so many secrets. The surface can be so rough and only a few feet down everything can be completely quiet and still like someone stopped the time.’
‘Wow, this sounded really poetic.’ She looked at me and smiled.
I got the urge to put my arm around her. Yet, somehow I did not dare to touch her. What if she would not like that? It would have destroyed the whole evening. I was not usually so shy and reserved. Usually, I did not care too much what the girls were thinking and simply did something and then waited for the effect. Until now. With Fiona it was different.
Suddenly, I found enlightenment. Thank you Eric, at least once the visit of all your plays would be useful. I remembered how in one play he and his girl were sitting in a car, and he stretched like he just woke up and then like by accident put his arm around her shoulders. And that is what I did there at the beach. She giggled but otherwise did not repel me. Her skin was so soft. That is probably what Japanese silk would feel like if I ever got to feel Japanese silk.
‘Now it’s like I’m Sandy and you are Danny.’ She said.
‘Sandy and Denny?’ I asked innocently.
‘Sandy and Danny from “Grease”, or did you think I did not notice your little move?’
I laughed awkwardly. ‘I guess, you caught me.’ I moved a little closer to her. She didn’t move away. It became even better when she laid her head on my shoulder. A nice warmth spread through my body. I enjoyed every little breeze the wind sent my way, with the sweet perfume of the peach smell of her hair.
‘I love musicals.’ She returned to the topic from before. ‘I’ve seen every possible version of “Grease”. And at least once a year, my parents take me to see a Broadway show.’
‘My best friend Eric also loves the theater. He is a really good actor. Perhaps you could even see a one of his shows sometime.’
She laughed lightly. ‘Perhaps.’ She scooped up a handful of sand and let it drizzle over her sneakers. ‘As a little girl, I used to stand at the beach where the waves roll in and out and wash away the sand under your feet so that they get buried after a while. I still like that feeling. But earlier my mum would hold my hand so that the wave wouldn’t bear me away and we would imagine all kinds of things that happened in the mystical underwater world. What if there actually were little mermaids?’ She looked at me as if to check if I didn’t think she was insane. There was nothing she needed to worry about. I used to let the waves bury my feet too and told her how, once, my whole body was shaking and my lips were blue because I was so cold but I still didn’t want my mother to take me back to the warm and dry towel.
Fiona smiled at me and we looked into each other’s eyes. I saw an energetic shimmer. I wanted to kiss her then and there but then she turned away.
She cleared her throat. ‘It’s getting late. I think we should head back now.’
Although I didn’t want this evening to be over, I got up and held out my hands to pull her up as well.
‘Thanks. Still so charming.’ She smiled.
‘What do you ex
pect from a guy? That’s just how I have been raised.’
‘Well, I haven’t met anyone like you yet. I thought that was an extinct species.’
I shrugged, not knowing how to respond.
I drove her back to the house and walked her to her porch.
‘I had a wonderful evening tonight.’ I said. For my taste, it could have lasted much longer, though.
‘So did I.’ She replied.
I plucked up my courage and asked her if she wanted to get together again sometime. I was unconsciously holding my breath until I had her answer.
‘I’d like that.’ She surprised me.
‘I’ll call you then.’ I said, when she left it at that.
‘Okay.’ She nodded, waved and disappeared into her house.
On the whole way back to my house I could have kicked myself for not kissing her. But it was probably better that I did not.
Chapter 5
I wanted to call Fiona right the next day but I had no idea what I would say to her and what if she had changed her mind in the meantime?
‘Where are you with your thoughts?’ My mom asked, when I was drying the dishes.
‘Hm, why?’ I looked at her.
‘That’s exactly why. You seem so distant.’ She answered.
‘Just thinking about stuff.’ I should start with a casual but not bored “Hey Fiona” and then...? That was the problem. I could not think of anything to say which didn’t sound stupid.
‘Have you looked at the brochures yet?’ My mom asked, handing me the next pan.
‘I have looked at them.’ I stressed the looked.
‘Kevin, you have been an average student your whole life but when it comes down to important things or tackling a practical problem one can count on you. I think selecting a college is important, don’t you?’ She eyed me critically.
‘Yes, mom, I do. In fact, I will go on two more visits this and next week. Don’t worry about me.’
‘Okay. I will ask you again in a couple of weeks.’
The thing was, I was just always so tired after school. I couldn’t bother with even more serious things. All I wanted to do in my free time was sleep, keep up my jogging schedule, hang with my friends and find a way to win Fiona over. The most interesting puzzle life had handed me.
I still didn’t know what I should say to her, so, in the end, I just decided to go for spontaneous. My hand was shaking when I dialled her number. On top of that, I was afraid that I’d suddenly be voiceless. Also, I did not expect that she would pick up so quickly.
‘Hello?’
‘Oh, um, hi Fiona,’ I stuttered, ‘this is Kevin’.
‘Hey Kevin! I almost thought that you wouldn't call.’ It sounded like she was happy to hear from me.
‘Sure, I would. So far I have loved every second I spent with you.’
Silence at the other end.
‘So, I came up with a fun idea of what we could do next if you are still up for it.’
‘What idea?’ She asked after a moment of hesitation.
‘I will only tell you after you agree to come.’
‘That’s not a good deal, what if I don’t like it?’ She exclaimed.
‘That’s your risk. But no risk, no fun, right? However, you can be sure that I will put some effort into you having a good time since I don’t want it to be the last time we meet.’
I heard her sigh. ‘The thing is, I have a boyfriend, Kevin. Although we aren’t so happy at the moment, I can’t just end it. Or worse, have fun with another guy while I’m still with him.’
I let go of a long breath. It was as if she had punched me in the guts.
‘So, you are saying...? I asked.
‘I don’t know. I also really liked spending time with you. You seem like a good guy.’
‘Not so good that I am boring.’ I replied, restoring my hopes a little.
She laughed. ‘I didn’t say that.’
‘So, just agree to hang out again. You don’t have to decide anything at the moment, we can meet as friends and enjoy each other’s company.’ I held my breath.
‘Okay.’ She agreed.
‘Great!’ I was relieved.
‘So, what did you have in mind?’ She asked. ‘Curiosity kind of won the upper hand. I want to know what you planned.’
‘I hope it doesn’t sound ridiculous now but I at least, have loved it as a child and still like it today.’
‘Well, what?’ She asked again.
‘What do you think about mini golfing?’ I asked her.
‘Yes, that’s fun! But I have to warn you; make sure to bring a box of tissues because I don’t want that the whole place drowns in your tears when you see how high you lost.’ I could hear the laughter in her voice but wasn’t sure how serious she was about that.
‘You actually think that you are that good and are going to beat me, the master of ‘hole-in-ones’? You will have to proof this to me first. I pick you up Friday at five.’
The game was on and, oh, how I liked it when a girl challenged me.
I arrived at her house on time on Friday evening, casually dressed in washed out jeans and a blue-white striped pullover. I also put an additional sweater in the car, in case it would get chilly outside. I even brought her a red rose from our garden. I hoped she liked this kind of romantic gestures. Again, I was so nervous when I knocked on her door. This time it was she who opened. She was enchanting in her flower skirt, the black leggings which made her legs seem even longer and this yellow blouse which distinguished her soft tanned skin. Also, she was wearing lip gloss and that certainly did have an impact on me wanting to kiss her on the spot. I had to brace myself to solely give her a kiss on the cheek.
‘Kevin is here, we’re leaving, bye.’ She shouted into the house and grabbed a purse and a jacket like she was eager to leave this place. Her mother’s demand that we shouldn’t be back too late got caught off in the middle because Fiona already shot the door.
‘Let’s act like trees and leave.’ She said and really looked like she wished to rush out. Fiona was already halfway to my car when I realized that I needed to start walking, too. It was her phrase that caught me off guard. I smiled and tried to close in on her.
‘It’s so funny that you said that act like trees thing. There was a time my friends and I tried to make up a new one every time we had to leave from some place.’ I remarked when I opened the door for her.
‘What, do you mean for example, let’s act like a baby and head out?’ She asked and when I was sure that she was buckled I started driving.
‘Yes, or let’s act like a drummer and beat it’. I said.
‘Let’s act like the polar ice cap, and disappear.’ She kept up with me.
‘That’s a good one. I see you’re going with time.’ I said. ‘I am impressed at how many you know from the top of your head.’
‘To tell the truth, I looked them up on the internet. I love this phrases, famous quotes and poems but I am a lost case in trying to come up with something myself.’
‘If you love something set it free; if it returns it’s yours forever, if not it was never meant to be’. I recited.
She looked at me in disbelieve. ‘How do you know such quotes?’
‘When my dad was sick he had lots of time to read and now we have all these books of poetry and my mom sometimes read that to me when I had to go to bed. I guess it had the same effect like a sleeping pill.’ I smirked.
‘I wished my parents took their time for something like that. I hardly even remember any bedtime stories.’ Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that she looked at me for a little while longer and then turned to face straight again, thereby shaking her head. I wondered what was wrong. The power to be able to read someone else’s mind would be quite valuable at some times. The traffic light we were at turned to green again and because I was thinking about what was going on in Fiona’s head, my car almost died off. That’s the thing with old pickup trucks, some o
f them are stick shifts.
‘Sorry about that.’ I said.
‘I am jealous already that you can drive stick shift at all. And I don’t even have my own car. I have to use the one from the family which obviously is automatic. And by the way, it’s great that you have a pickup truck, now I feel like Taylor Swift in one of her songs.’ She grinned.
I’ve probably heard Taylor Swift on the radio before but it was not that she caught my attention. Women singing about how great love is or whatever, was not exactly my taste of music. But I made a mental note to myself that if I ever met Taylor, I’d thank her for making Fiona like my truck.
I turned into the parking lot of the mini golfing place and we walked to the entrance to get the equipment.
‘Blue or green?’ I held up two balls. I was sure she would pick blue, isn’t that the preferred color of all girls?
‘Green please, that’s my favourite.’ She replied to my surprise.
‘Mine too.' I smiled ‘It’s the color of healthy nature and the sea only looks perfect if a shade of green is mixed into the blue.'
‘I like it because it’s the color of Ireland. I love the Irish accent and the country looks beautiful. I want to visit it one day. I hope, I can do that during college’.
There was a clap of thunder. I looked at the dark evening sky.
‘It isn’t supposed to rain until later tonight.’
‘The clouds look quite heavy though. I hope we’ll stay dry.’ She said.
‘Let’s better start the game then.’
Up to the 12th lane, which was the pirate ship, we were about even. I enjoyed the little chats we had and how she always seemed to tease me and how I had my fun in getting up with a good answer. Neither of us mentioned Ryan.
So, at the pirate ship, my favourite lane, it was her turn to go first. You had to hit the ball hard off a ramp, thus it could fly over the moat and then into a pretty small porthole. Up on deck, the ball needed to roll further to a steering wheel which was lying on the ground, past the wood of the handlebars into the hole. Fiona stood there, concentrating hard, alternately squeezing an eye closed and chewing her lower lip like she did at so many lanes before. It looked kind of cute. But I could see that she wouldn’t get far in this lane. Her body was facing the wrong direction. Like that she would not be able to hit the ball onto its right flying path without having to make some very weird, crooked bat swing. But she was still two points ahead of me, so I “forgot” to make her aware of her impractical posture. She hit and who could have foreseen, the ball bounced off the wall of the ship and landed with a splash in the water.
