Old Orchard

Carla

Annabelle excuses herself, saying she needs fresh air as soon as the hippie chick from the bar walks into the store. She had met her, and I wonder if it was before she saw her at the bar with Luke or afterward. I need to talk to her later tonight. Not only about Luke but why she seemed upset to have Craig around. She was not over the top upset, but I could see she was a little annoyed about it. And I have never known of such a thing happening with the two of them.

"Want an infinity sign henna tattoo like your sister?" Hannah asks after she introduces herself to me. I shake my head and then watch Craig walk around looking at the random tattoos people have gotten in the past.

I looked out at my sister and just realized that she left Frasier at home by himself for once instead of dragging him along. "Actually, can I get a permanent one on my back ankle like Annabelles?" I ask.

Hannah pauses on the word Annabelle for some reason and finally speaks, "Lloyd has to be the one to do those. You have to make an appointment. I finish my classes for it in a few weeks."

"Was it a lot of money for the classes?" Craig asks her.

She tilts her head to the side, and I can see her eyes raping his body for the second time since she has walked in. Maybe she is not dating Luke anymore like he said they were exes. I mean, they are exes that kiss. "It is not too bad, just a lot of time. It is a little scary knowing that once you make it, it's permanent and no do-overs" She hands out her left wrist to him to show him a butterfly and tells him how it was the first one she did. Craig grabs her wrist and lets her know that it is fantastic. "What are you guys doing later?" she asks, looking over at Annabelle, who is leaning up on the wall outside.

"I don't know," Craig pauses. "I just got here." He looks over at me with a look of sadness on his face, and I can see his eyes flick over to my sister too. I wonder if he is noticing something different with my sister as well. I just shrug, letting him know how noncommittal I am to this whole conversation.

Hannah, who walks back to her little booth, pulls out a notepad and starts scribbling a number on the paper and hands it to Craig, letting him know to call her if we make any plans tonight and let us know that she would like to call us to show us around. He is walking out ahead of me when she turns to me "he is cute. Is he dating anyone?" she asks.

"Nope" I want to throw out mentally he is, but I do not. For sure, she is not dating Luke; their relationship must have ended. Annabelle's face pops up on my mind when I am walking out the door, thinking that she is the factor that ended their relationship. Hannah calls out thanks, and I want to let her know not to get her hopes up with Craig.

Walking back past the amusement park, we pass a couple of shops, but Annabelle tells us she is not feeling good and wants to go back and lay down. Craig throwing on his concern hat, figuratively goes into mother hen mode for Annabelle wanting to take care of her. Mother hen would not be the right way to explain; boyfriend mode was more like it. He tried to run to the gas station to get her sprite for her upset stomach. My sister does not look sick, but I will not say she is faking it without knowing it. Craig knew about Annabelle's faking habits when it came to school. My sister makes a short joke about how maybe the spiny rides should be put on hold till tomorrow, and we should stay in and do a fire outside in the pit.

Getting back to the cottage, Craig takes Frasier out for Annabelle after he escorts her to bed and brings her a few pills for her headache. So, Prince Charming of him, I want to joke again. I take a moment to sit on the couch and browse my sister's DVD collection that she brought from back home. A lot of Patrick Dempsey movies sit on her small rack. All of Grey's Anatomy season made it to Old Orchard, too, since he was one of the main characters on that show. Tom Hardy probably had the most movies after him, and I smile knowing my sister loves to have her favorite celebrities. Sitting back up, putting my feet underneath me, I log onto my Facebook page to see if anything is interesting.

I go rigid almost when I see two messages in my inbox. I scold myself for not setting up the notification setting on my phone yet. I slide over to the inbox and open up the first one with the name Logan Russo in bold. I read the message once, twice, and three times just staring at the last word.

There is everything that needs to be said. Can we meet? - Logan

"Carla... You okay?" Craig comes in, falling heavily into my Gram's chair.

"Huh" I feel like time has stopped, and I am trying to grab a life vest before I drown from my hopes.

"Is this about him?" He asks, and I stop steering at the screen to look up at him finally. I knew Craig had seen me with him that day; I just did not know if he read into it like my sister and I seemed to read into everything else. I need to tell her that Luke is not dating the hippie. I shake my head at Craig, letting him know his assumptions are correct for once. "What happened?" he asks me, and this is my undoing. I break down and cry in front of someone other than my sister. I am mumbling disjointed thoughts, and I know Craig does not know what to do, so instead, he stands and sits down next to me, jostling me when he falls. "It'll be okay, Car," he says, silencing me. Car had been my nickname when I was younger, and it drove me crazy, but now with my broken heart sitting out on the table for him to see, I cannot bring myself to be mad at him. The old nickname brings comfort to me, knowing that at least Annabelle and Craig had been steady in my life.

"Thanks," I say after twenty minutes of sniffling and feeling like the biggest loser ever. "Sorry about Annabelle being sick," he shrugs, trying to make me know it is not that big of a deal. "I know that you love her," I say, and with that, I throw Craig's cards out on the table; he looks at me, not rebuking what I have just said. I think I can see a faint smile on his face through my tears.

Sometimes it is better to let others in so that you know you are not alone.