Every summer since she was little, Sally Jackson has visited the same cabin in Montauk. She's always loved the place because of its calming ocean and magical quality that she could never quite describe to anyone else.
But then, one day, Sally meets...
We pulled up to an run down pizza restaurant. The sign was faded so that the sign said:
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"We're going to eat here?" I asked incredulously.
"Yeah. Why?" He looked concerned.
"It just doesn't seem like a place where people like you eat," I replied.
"People like me? What do you mean?" His eyebrows furrowed and he looked completely inquisitive, as if he didn't already know the answer.
"People like you. Rich, obnoxious, people like you who get whatever they want," I almost snarled at him. I couldn't believe that he didn't know what I was talking about. It was obvious that he was in that certain rich crowd, and I... Well, I was not.
Three Years Ago: All of my things. They're all outside of the place that I used to call home. I don't know what to do with them, and I don't know where I am going to go. I sit on the sidewalk and cry.
Things have never gone my way, but it's seemed to get worse lately. My life has been a mess ever since I was five, but I rarely cried. These past months has been so hard on me. Uncle Rich... This was his house. He filled the air here, this was where his spirit lay. Maybe it was best that I left this place, no matter how much I needed to stay.
I've been evicted. Years I've lived in that building, but I can't afford it anymore. The rich realtor only needs his money. He couldn't care less that my uncle had just died.
"Pay up or get out!" He had said. Rich, blasé entrepreneurs would be the death of me. I hated them all. They were greedy, caring about nothing more than money.
Things have been going down for years, but I've always been able to fend for myself. I've done it in the past, and I would do it now.
What I really needed was a place to think. I knew exactly where to go. But how to get there?
Present: He looked as if I'd slapped him. He mumbled, "I'm not like that," and he stepped outside.
This time, I allowed him to open my door for me, and we walked inside.
Inside was a cramped small, room. There was a small counter to order food from, and about five round tables cramped into the middle of the room. The restaurant was mainly empty, except for a man who was sitting in the far corner.
"I love it!" I exclaimed. This was more of my kind of restaurant. It had a smaller, family-owned environment that made me feel warm inside. I grasped Don's hand. "Thank you," I said softly as I stroked circles on the outside of his hand. He had looked sad before, but he smiled at me now.
We went up to the counter and ordered, and the sat down a table with a view of the street. "I don't want you to be mad," I said softly, still holding his hand.
He shook his head. "I'm not mad. I just didn't realize that was how people saw me."
"Oh... No no no! I don't see you like that! You just took me by surprise," I said. I clutched his right hand with both of mine. "Really."
He squeezed my hand and smiled at me. A real, heart-warming smile that I loved to see. "I told you, I'm not mad. You're fine. We're fine."
We? There was a we? That didn't mean anything of course, because any two friends who were together could be called a "we."
At that point, our slices of pizza came and I did not push him anymore, even though he still seemed a bit distressed.
"Vegetarian pizza?" I asked.
"I usually try to stay away from eating meat, especially seafood." He said, looking nervous for some reason, and then he changed the subject. "So... Do you have any siblings?"
"No, I'm an only child. What about tou?" I asked.
"I grew up in a... Big family, you could call it. Five siblings. Two brothers, three sisters." He had a mischievous glint in his eye, like there was something that he was hiding from me. Or maybe he was just back in his normal, trouble-making mood.
We finished our pizzas and I payed with the rest of my cash.
We got in his car and drove me home. I was wondering if I should just leave, if we were ever going to see each other again, when he broke the silence.
"Before you go.... Can I have your phone number? So that we can hang out again?" He asked nervously.
That wasn't what I was expecting him to ask. "Oh. Um, sure! Do you have a pen?"
I wrote down my phone number on a spare napkin in his car, and then walked inside, flopping onto my bed, analyzing everything Don had said that night. I sat up almost all night, waiting for a call, even though he had just left.
///🌊 That chapter was a filler chapter, but I promise that the next one will be very interesting.😏 Please vote and comment, it is appreciated!💕
