Who are you Jill Smith?

Chapter 9

It was Saturday and it had been a week since I last saw Jill. 

My mom and I were shopping around town for vegetables. Mom was more surprised  than delighted when I accepted her usual errand invites. My mom's a nice lady. I don't think I ever saw her get mad before, which is pretty ironic having a son like me. She's the kind of lady who smiles a lot, even when she didn't want to. Because of this, the crows feet beside her eyes were prominent; they were an invitation of ease and trust to whomever gazed at her. I never met anyone who didn't like my mom.

People say I got my looks from my dad. He's a good looking man, I'm not gonna lie. People often say that my mom was lucky to have a husband like him. He's easy going but he had an element to him that could be quite intimidating sometimes, and it's not just because of his looks, but also with how he carried himself. I could never tell which version of dad i'd get for the day; the one who would offer me a root beer and invite me to watch rug-bee with him or the one that would shoot me a look just because I wasn't wearing my tie right. When I was a kid it use to keep me on edge but as time passed I eventually just grew numb to it. 

People still to this day compliment my dad about his looks. There were times when he looked genuinely appreciative but there were also times when he just looked bored but still gave them a kind respond regardless. People always praised me for it too, how I was lucky for inheriting my dad's features and bone structure. Apparently receiving compliments in this family circulates around my dad. The funny thing is, I never took that as a compliment or even considered it as something to be happy about. If anything, I wanted people to stop pointing it out. It's like they were handing me a trophy that I didn't want. 

If I'm being honest, I wanted my mom's face. She wasn't a head turner unlike my dad but there had always been something about her that I wanted to have instead of my dad's. She was easier to look at. There was something about her that I've always seen more than with my dad. Like she was less caged or something--like if they were on stage together, and everyone's eyes were on my dad, my mom would still feel seen regardless. I wanted that.

I was still beside my mom when I felt a tugged on my jacket from behind. 

"Justin." A familiar voice called.

I turned around and jumped when I saw the familiar face that I've haven't seen in a while. "Amy."

She flushed me a smile before speaking. "It's been a while. How are you doing?"

I was about to respond but my mom noticed us and chimed in. 

"Hello there. Who's this, dear?" My mom smiled.

"Mom, this is Amy." I introduced. They both greeted each other before Amy's eyes landed on me again.

"Are you good friends with my son?" My mom asked her.

"Yes we are, actually." She replied. "Aren't we, Justin?"

"Yeah, yeah. We are." 

"Well, why won't you two catch up for a minute? Justin, I'll be heading to the eggs stand just around this corner. Come after you're done talking."

A part of me thought it was unnecessary, but since it was my mom who offered I figured I'd look rude if I declined. It wasn't as if I was helping my mom with a lot. I was mostly just following her around. 

"Sure." I said. She gave Amy one final smile before walking off.

"How you've been?" Amy started.

Amy was my girlfriend in 5th grade. Well, my first and only girlfriend. I don't even know if that counts but it's still part of the history, I guess. She had been my classmate since pre-school. I never liked girls but Amy was the one I was most friendly with. She was easy to talk to and never gave me the impression that she was trying too hard. I knew she liked me but somehow it didn't bother me unlike how I've always been towards other girls. People noticed it too and teased us, of course, which I find insufferable. There was a time when I wanted all the teasing to stop so I attempted to ignore her a few times but somehow I couldn't go through with it once she'd start talking to me.