Chapter 30 [Ana]

“Well he sounds like a great guy.” Celia says as we walk through the grocery store. I just told her all about Reeve.

         “I know! But, I mean, nothing’s going to happen. It’s too early.” I tell her. Someone bumps into our cart that’s currently filled with 3 jugs of milk, pop tarts, and frozen pizzas.

         “Sorry about that.” A familiar voice says. I look down, embarrassed. I get embarrassed too easily. Why does his voice sound so familiar? I look up to see who he is.

         “Well. If it isn’t little miss Ana Johnson.” My ex boyfriend Sam Michaels says.

         “Sam! It’s been so long!” I say, hugging him. The smell I remember him producing was a mixture of sweat, smoke, and blood. But right now he smells… clean?        

         “Too long, Ana!” He says, smiling at me. His brown hair barley shows because now he has it buzzed. Celia awkwardly looks away, confused.

         “Oh, how silly of me. Sam, meet Celia.” I say. Celia’s face kind of brightens. It’s obvious she’s attracted to him.

         “Sam and I used to date back in high school.” I explain. I look at him, and he smiles, his dimples showing through.

         I can remember that same charming, dimpled smile from back when we used to date. It was a genuine smile. I also remember when he got mad. How a huge vessel in his temple would look like it was going to pop. I can almost still feel him grabbing onto my shoulder with one hand, punching me with the other. Why am I being friendly to this guy if he makes me feel sick? I give a look to Celia. A look that says, “He used to abuse me, can we get the f**k away from him?” and she gives me a simple look back of confusing. If she were Kris, she would understand. I used to be able to give him a simple look and he would completely understand. We used to joke that we could have whole conversations just in our minds. But then I realize it. Sam doesn’t scare me. He’s just a loser who will probably never change, and I’ve been somewhat successful. We stopped dating in college, when I met Kris. They met a couple of times and of course they hated each other. Even got in a fight once. He should be embarrassed.

         “Well hey, we should get coffee sometime.” He says. He reaches into the front pocket of his jean jacket and pulls out something.

         “Here’s my card.” He says, handing it to me. The card says “Sam Michaels- Lion Tamer.” Right when I see it, it makes me laugh.

         “I’m sorry,” I say, covering my mouth. “Lion Tamer?”

         He laughs. “You didn’t think I was serious, did you?”

         Thinking about it I remember him telling me he wanted to be one. I probably told him something sarcastic, like “Good luck with that.”        

         “Well, I did. So call me, yeah? I wanna see what my little olive did with her life.” I say.

         “That sounds great.” I say, smiling. He pats my arm.

         “Well, I’m off. So, give me a jingle, and I will see you later!” He says.

         “Great!” I say, over enthusiastically. “Bye!” I yell over his shoulder.

         Celia looks at me. “Little olive?”

         “His nickname for me… it’s because of my skin.”

     “Oh.” She says laughing. “Well what’s the deal with this guy anyways?”

     “You do not want to know.” I say, hooking my arm around hers. We walk to the check out line and buy all of our groceries. As we walk out of the store I see another familiar face.         

It’s Drew, from the group home. He has a light jacket on and looks freezing. He’s holding up a sign, but I can’t make out what it says. I walk up to him, and read the sign out loud.

     “Take a picture with the most beautiful man in the world for only 5 bucks.” I say.

     “I’ll give you a 25 cent discount for being so cute.” He says. I roll my eyes.

     “Celia, this is Drew, from work.” I say.

     “Well hey, Drew from work.” She says, in a lowish voice. I know this voice; she’s trying to flirt.

     “Come on, take the offer. It’s pretty good, you got to admit.” He says. I scoft at him.

     “There’s no way in Hell someone would pay money to take a picture with you.” I say, mad.

     “Hey, I’ll take one!” Celia says, reaching into her purse. She gets out her pink wallet and hands him a 5.

     “Well hello, Mr. Lincoln.” Drew says, taking the money from her. He stuffs it into his pocket, and picks up his Polaroid camera.

     “Say cheese!” He says, and snaps the picture. The photo slides out of the camera. He takes it, shakes it, and hands it to her. She smiles and he kisses her on the cheek.

     “Treasure that, toots.” He says.

     “Lets go, Ceels.” I say, pulling her. He smacks my a*s. I turn around, and give him a pissed off look, then start to walk away, practically yanking Celia’s arm off.

     “You’re going to love me!” He calls after me.

     I turn around to him. “Yeah, I’ll love you. I’ll love you the day Charlie Sheen becomes a F*****G PRIEST.” I yell back at him.

     “This’ll be fun!” He yells back. I groan.

     “God D****t, I hate that guy.” I tell Celia. She laughs.

     “Yeah right, I think you like him.” He says back.

     “Like him!” I laugh. “Please! I can’t stand him.”

     “I want you remember this conversation, Ana. Remember it when I’m saying ‘I told you so.’” She says.

     I certainly do not like him! He’s so gross! I mean, yeah, he’s cute, but he’s a total pig! I would never like a guy like that. I like Reeve. No, I don’t, I like Kris. Only Kris. Its just Reeve is so sweet… he makes me feel safe. I don’t know.