California Dreaming

Chapter 4

Over the next several days, Carlos seemed happier at work. He and Ann greeted each other each morning when he arrived.

It was Thursday morning when Ann arrived to work. She smiled, walked up to Amit, and said, “Good morning!” in a far more sing-songy voice than she usually used.

“Yes, good morning,” he said in his usual monotone voice, as he started closing out the register for the end of his shift.

Ann did some basic cleanup while she waited for Amit to clear out. Finally she was on her own and she started to think about Carlos.

I wonder what tomorrow’s going to be like? she thought. She secretly wanted it to be a date, she realized. She wondered if he wanted to get married someday.

Wait a minute, you’re thinking way too far ahead, she scolded herself.

Ann heard the door close in the back. That must be Carlos! She stepped into the back for a second.

“Hey!” she said to Carlos.

“Hey, how are you?” he asked her.

“Oh, you know, the same as always,” she said, smiling.

He laughed a little. “Yeah, me too.”

Carlos walked over to the inventory area and grabbed his clipboard. “Well, I’ll see you at lunch,” he said.

“Yeah, OK,” Ann replied, and walked back to the front.

It’s too bad they couldn’t eat lunch together, Ann thought as she tried to greet an impatient customer with a smile.

The morning continued as usual, with Ann ringing up beer, cigarettes, and gasoline—the staples of the country, she always thought.

Not a minute past 11:00, Carlos walked in from the back.

“So, you ready for lunch?” he asked.

“Yeah, sure,” she said. “How’s your day going?”

“Well, you know, it’s going,” he said.

“Yeah, me too,” she answered. Why would she ask how his day is going? she asked herself.

Ann snuck to the back, grabbed her usual milk crate, and sat down. She liked him, she thought. No reason to hide it, right?

She could hear Carlos talking to the customers from the front of the store. She really liked his voice. It was deep, but still young sounding. She couldn’t figure out why, but she thought his voice was perfect, just like everything else about him.

Suddenly Ann found herself wondering what her parents would think of her going out with Carlos. She was caught off guard, since she rarely considered what her parents thought of her in life. In fact, it had been a few months since she’d even spoken with them on the phone. She hoped she could bring Carlos home one day and her parents would be proud of her.

“Oh, Ann, he’s great!” her dad would say. “How’s it going, tiger?” he’d ask as he punched him gently on the shoulder. “What a gentleman,” her mother would say about him. “He’s so mature,” she’d say.

As Ann threw her remaining Salisbury steak in the trash (the steak was a bad choice, she noted), she realized how preposterous all that business about her parents sounded. You’re getting way ahead of yourself, she thought.

She walked up to the front of the store again.

“You’re finished? How was it?” Carlos asked.

“Not very good today,” she answered.

“Well, that’s why you shouldn’t eat TV dinners, you know,” he said jokingly.