it.
Sal didn’t look up again from the box as she pushed another photo towards me. This one held two men, standing next to a barbeque, both wearing aprons. Paul and Alex.
Paul was tall, just as tall as Alex. He was very fit for a man his age and his build was similar to Alex’s. His hair was very dark, almost black, yet speckled with dignified silver.
His face too was tan, a leathered look as if he had spent too much of his life out in the sun.
“When were these pictures taken?” I asked as I noticed Alex looked much younger. He was exactly the type that every girl in high school would have had a crush on. I certainly would have.
“That was Alex’s eighteenth birthday,” Sal said as she pushed another picture towards me. This one was of Alex blowing out candles on a birthday cake. “He graduated a month later. That was the last time I saw him.” It seemed strange to me that there didn’t seem to be any friends around in any of the pictures. What eighteen-year-old guy was content to spend his birthday with just his grandparents and the odd neighbor? To me this spoke loads about his character.
“Alex is a nice boy,” Sal said as she finally looked up at me, a serene smile on her face. “I’m glad he came back home.”
The thought I am too , ran though my mind all too quickly. I tried not to think too much about how ridiculous I was being.
She continued to pass pictures to me, she starred in a few but for the most part they were of Alex. There were several of him eating a hamburger, opening a few presents, and a few candid ones of him laughing with his grandfather.
It took me a while before I thought to wonder where Alex’s parents were. I had never heard him say anything about them yet.
After an hour or so I could tell Sal was getting restless and ready to be alone. I took this as my cue to head back home.
“Do you need anything, Sal?” I asked as I rose to leave.
She shook her head as normal and I bid her goodbye.
I didn’t see Alex the rest of the day, much to my disappointment. The day passed painfully slow and when I finally heard the door open and close at eleven thirty, I knew it was too late in the night to rush out and see how he was.
Not only was this desperate but I should probably be asleep.
*
*
*
The store was still fairly quiet, not a surprise considering we had gotten there just minutes after it opened its doors. Just after I had thrown a load of laundry into the washer Alex had come asked if I would mind doing some shopping with him. At first I had been hesitant, with it being the day before Valentines but when he told me he would be shopping for new appliances, this seemed less threatening.
“This would be so nice,” Alex mused as he ran a hand over the glossy sterling silver range that was on display. “So much better than that old unit at home.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. While I had to agree the house could use some updating as it was twenty something years old now, it seemed humorous that a twenty-three-year-old guy would care.
“What do you think about this one?” he asked as he looked me in the face. His brow was furrowed but I could see the excitement in his eyes.
“Um…” I stammered as I struggled to look away from his face. The unit certainly did look nice, it was shiny and pretty but it was just another range to me, the only difference being that it had six burners instead of the normal four. “Are you ever likely to be using that many burners at a time?” Nice, I scolded myself. That sounded real smooth. I was such a dork.
A smile cracked on one side of his face, spreading to his smile. “This is the one I’m going to get then,” he said gleefully.
I only chuckled and shook my head as we walked over to the refrigeration units. Alex quickly got down to business, opening and closing the doors of almost every unit.
At one particularly fancy one that contained some kind of touch screen in it, Alex started chuckling and shook his
Sal didn’t look up again from the box as she pushed another photo towards me. This one held two men, standing next to a barbeque, both wearing aprons. Paul and Alex.
Paul was tall, just as tall as Alex. He was very fit for a man his age and his build was similar to Alex’s. His hair was very dark, almost black, yet speckled with dignified silver.
His face too was tan, a leathered look as if he had spent too much of his life out in the sun.
“When were these pictures taken?” I asked as I noticed Alex looked much younger. He was exactly the type that every girl in high school would have had a crush on. I certainly would have.
“That was Alex’s eighteenth birthday,” Sal said as she pushed another picture towards me. This one was of Alex blowing out candles on a birthday cake. “He graduated a month later. That was the last time I saw him.” It seemed strange to me that there didn’t seem to be any friends around in any of the pictures. What eighteen-year-old guy was content to spend his birthday with just his grandparents and the odd neighbor? To me this spoke loads about his character.
“Alex is a nice boy,” Sal said as she finally looked up at me, a serene smile on her face. “I’m glad he came back home.”
The thought I am too , ran though my mind all too quickly. I tried not to think too much about how ridiculous I was being.
She continued to pass pictures to me, she starred in a few but for the most part they were of Alex. There were several of him eating a hamburger, opening a few presents, and a few candid ones of him laughing with his grandfather.
It took me a while before I thought to wonder where Alex’s parents were. I had never heard him say anything about them yet.
After an hour or so I could tell Sal was getting restless and ready to be alone. I took this as my cue to head back home.
“Do you need anything, Sal?” I asked as I rose to leave.
She shook her head as normal and I bid her goodbye.
I didn’t see Alex the rest of the day, much to my disappointment. The day passed painfully slow and when I finally heard the door open and close at eleven thirty, I knew it was too late in the night to rush out and see how he was.
Not only was this desperate but I should probably be asleep.
*
*
*
The store was still fairly quiet, not a surprise considering we had gotten there just minutes after it opened its doors. Just after I had thrown a load of laundry into the washer Alex had come asked if I would mind doing some shopping with him. At first I had been hesitant, with it being the day before Valentines but when he told me he would be shopping for new appliances, this seemed less threatening.
“This would be so nice,” Alex mused as he ran a hand over the glossy sterling silver range that was on display. “So much better than that old unit at home.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. While I had to agree the house could use some updating as it was twenty something years old now, it seemed humorous that a twenty-three-year-old guy would care.
“What do you think about this one?” he asked as he looked me in the face. His brow was furrowed but I could see the excitement in his eyes.
“Um…” I stammered as I struggled to look away from his face. The unit certainly did look nice, it was shiny and pretty but it was just another range to me, the only difference being that it had six burners instead of the normal four. “Are you ever likely to be using that many burners at a time?” Nice, I scolded myself. That sounded real smooth. I was such a dork.
A smile cracked on one side of his face, spreading to his smile. “This is the one I’m going to get then,” he said gleefully.
I only chuckled and shook my head as we walked over to the refrigeration units. Alex quickly got down to business, opening and closing the doors of almost every unit.
At one particularly fancy one that contained some kind of touch screen in it, Alex started chuckling and shook his
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