Chapter 8 [ANA POV]

6 mouths. I have to start getting past this. The days are starting to get manageable. I’m going to get a dog! As I enter the pet store. They have little dogs in the window of the shop. I can’t stand how cute they are! I see one that’s in a little cage by itself. I stand next to him. He costs 200. Pretty cheap, for a dog. On the window there’s a sign that says it’s a Norfolk terrier dog. And it’s a boy. I put my fingers against the window. He runs to the other side.

“Excuse me, what’s wrong with this dog?” I ask a man who works there.

“His last owners beat him, he’s a jumpy little guy, huh?” He says.

“Yeah. I want him.”

“Uh, you do? Okay…”

While I wait in line I start to listen to the radio in the store. Psycho Killer starts playing. Wow, memory blast.

 

Kris and me were at the store. I had just moved in and it was kind of like, awkward. All of the sudden, Psycho Killer starts playing. It’s always been my favorite song.  It makes me smile. I hear Kris start to mumble something to himself.

“Psycho Killer, qu’est-ce que c’est.” I start to smile.

“Fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa better!” I say louder. Then I look at him. We both finish the song, singing as loud as we can. Everyone looked at us but we didn’t care.

 

 

“Ma’am?” Says the clerk. I realize I was crying in the middle of the pet store.

“Ma’am, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine!” I put on a fake smile. I laugh trying to feel less embarrassed. He doesn’t look convinced. I take a good look at him. He’s not bad looking at all actually. He’s pretty tall, but not as tall as Kris. His hair is wavy and light brown. His eyes are chocolate brown, like mine. Pretty young looking. He gives me a funny look.

“Okay… Uh, 100 bucks please.” 100? I thought it was 200.

“100?” I ask, confused. He winks at me. Wow, he’s a dork, like Kris. More tears form in my eyes and run down my flushed cheeks. I wipe them away and smile at him. And then, give him the money.

“Do you need someone to talk to ma’am? My break is in 15 minutes.” Says the young man, looking concerned. I do need someone to talk to. I nod my head, trying not to look week.

“Okay, you can take a seat over there if you want.” He says smiling, and pointing to a red chair. I start to walk to the chair.

“Wait, ma’am, here’s your dog.” Woops, I forgot. He hands the dog to me, and gives me a leash.

“The leash is on me.”

“I couldn’t.” I hand him 10 bucks. I take a small dog in my arms and take a seat in the red chair. Hm, what should I name him? For some reason I like Napoleon. His new name is Napoleon! I pet his head. We’re kind of a like. Both afraid. Both broken.

After 15 minutes, he comes up to me and tells me he’s going to change out of his uniform. He comes out 2 minutes later. He’s wearing fitted jeans, and a tight, Talking Heads tee. My favorite band. Because it’s so tight, I can slightly see his abs. I smile.

“Wanna walk?”

“Sure.”

 

We walk.

“So, why were you crying?” He says, bluntly.

“My fiancé died 6 months ago, and I guess that song, Psycho Killer, reminded me of him.” I’m not sure why I think I can tell him this.

“He was a psycho killer?” He says, alarmed.

“…No. He likes the Talking Heads.” I say, laughing.

“Heh, good. Cause psycho killers, are, uh, bad.”

“Agreed.” It gets quiet. It’s awkward.

“I’m sorry about your fiancée…” He says, awkwardly breaking the silence.

“It’s okay.” I say, trying to sound indifferent. Trying to sound strong.

“Do you have a name?” I say.

“Yeah, It’s Reeve” That’s a cute name!

“I’m Ana.”

“Well Ana, You seem great. This little guy’s going to have it good.” He bends down and pets Napoleon.

“How old are you, Reeve?” I ask him.

“23 next month.” He says. So he’s younger than me.

“And, do you have any pets?”

“I have a dog.”

“Cool… Do you live alone?”

“I do. Actually, I just got out of collage, so now I’m just adjusting to my apartment.” This guy is cute. He has a bright future for sure. He ends up walking to all the way to my house. 6 miles away. We talk, get to know each other. After 2 hours, we get there. He walks me to the door.

“I really enjoyed talking to you, Ana.” He tells me.

“I did too, Reeve.” I say, smiling. We look at each other. Really look at each other. His lips are perfect, big, but not too big. They look soft. Maybe I should taste them…

He puts his hand on my shoulder to push me away from his lips. He doesn’t let me kiss him. His face gets serious.

“You don’t want this.” He says. “N-nice to meet you, Ana.” He says, backing up.

“Wait!” I yell. But he just walks away. I didn’t even get his number. I’ll never see him again. Napoleon looks up at me with his innocent eyes.

 “At least we got each other, right Napoleon?” I tell him, and bend over to pet him.