Him
One day I decided to head off campus a little early so
I could get a slice or two of pizza at the mall before going to work. The pizza at the dining halls on campus always
seemed to be lacking and the closest off-campus place was Dominos. Remember how their pizza used to taste? Blah. The fact that there was a great pizza place
at the mall was cause for an occasional visit.
As I finished my pizza and was
throwing out my trash, I spotted Barbara standing out in the mall talking to
someone. The area where I was standing
was obscured by the artificial mall landscaping, so I angled myself to see who
she was talking to. It was there, with
my face buried in a bunch of plastic plants, that I saw the most beautiful
creature I had ever seen—a boy no less!
I literally could not take my eyes off of him. I stood there transfixed behind those plants
just staring at this boy. He brought to
mind a teenage Leonardo DiCaprio. He was
breathtaking.
The boy was in his mid-to-late
teens, thin, cute, wearing clothes that hung on him like a clothes horse. Most notably he was wearing a green army coat
with patches and a name I couldn't make out above the front pocket—definitely
an Army/Navy surplus purchase. The coat
was a bit too big for him, but it complemented his outfit. Either he spent a lot of time putting his
outfit together or he was just naturally gifted with men’s fashion.
He towered over Barbara, but
then again everyone towered over Barbara.
His hair was dirty blond with blond highlights and lightly moussed longer
spikes in the front. His cheeks had
little natural rosy patches and his lips were impossibly red without the need
for lipstick. It was all topped off with
those big, blue/grey eyes and flashes of his white teeth. I kept blinking to make sure I was seeing it
right. I felt something foreign stir
within me at that moment. I could have
stood there in my hiding place staring forever, but I had to tear myself away
and get to the store for the start of my shift.
But now I had a mission: Find out
from Barbara who that boy was.
Barbara eventually graced me
with her usual visit later that week. I
didn’t want to seem too eager, so I chatted her up a bit first. When there was a break in the conversation, I
went for it.
“Oh Barbara, by the way I saw
you in the mall Tuesday night. I waved
but you didn’t see me. You were talking
to some guy. Is that your new
boyfriend?” I asked.
“Boyfriend? Who?
What? What did he look like?” she
asked excitedly unable to recall.
“I don’t know...he had dirty
blond hair, was about your age, thin, and was wearing an army jacket,” I said.
“OH! That’s Parker. I only wish
he was my boyfriend,” she replied.
“What, is he taken?”
“Well yeah kinda, but that’s
not it. He’s gay.”
“Gay? Gay?” I asked twice to make sure I heard
right as she shook her head in the affirmative.
“How old is he?” I continued.
“He’s 17.”
“He knows for sure at 17 that
he’s gay?” I quizzed her.
“Well, he has a 24-year-old
boyfriend…or had. I think they broke up,
but I’d say that’s pretty sure,” she reasoned.
“Oh, well I guess so.”
“He buys a lot of records at
the store. If we don’t carry something,
I’ll order one for him and I’ll get one for the store, too. Actually, you two have similar musical
tastes. I should bring him by next time
he’s around, so you two can talk shop,” she suggested.
“Sure, you know me. I could talk music all day,” I assured her.
“Well, I don’t want you to get
in trouble for talking too much today, so I’ll head out. So see ya,” she said with a half wave.
“OK, later!”Well, I had something to look forward to if Barbara was true to her word. When it comes to boys, she had a one-track mind. So I’ll quite possibly get to meet the boy who had already invaded my daydreams. And his name was Parker.
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