The Ripper's Broken Heart

The Bucket List

I kept my face planted onto the floor, hoping I could magically transport somehow back to where Iris and I were standing, only to tell her that this was a crazy idea.

"Roxy, what are you doing here?" I heard Jay ask. I didn't know how to answer his question. I didn't know what I was doing here anymore.

"You know her?" Another voice inquired. "She seems a little bit too cray-cray for you, if you know what I mean." Jay sighed.

"Roxy."

"Jay." I managed. So far, I've only said too sentences- no, words- and they were his name.

Sighing again, Jay slid his hand under mine, and helped me up. He propped my crutches underneath my arms, and I gave him a grateful smile.

"Now can you tell me what you're doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question, Pony Boy. I didn't know you work at a circus," I teased.

"I don't work here, and- did you just call me Pony Boy?" Jay seemed irritated, and I stifled a laugh at his expense.

"Sure you don't," I said, sending him a wink and completely ignoring his rhetorical question. I don't answer to retards.

"Fine," he mumbled. "Since you're so stubborn-" cue my satisfaction, "-I'm here to buy some baboons. Five, to be exact. Great price, I'm telling you."

My jaw dropped. Jay was here to buy the baboons. The ones I needed to get to 'train them to swim.'

"Now your turn," he said with a smirk. I shrugged.

"I followed you all the way here." Lie. "And it would have gone great, if that-" I pointed to the circus manager, who held his hands up in surrender, a bewildered expression frozen onto his face, "-didn't interrupt me."

The circus manager (are they even called that?) sent me a glare, and huffed. "I'm not a thing."

I shook my head. "You're right- you're not. You only smell like one. Oh, and you tend and sell them, too, Bobby." Jay tensed, and the so-called 'Bobby' began fuming.

"My name is not Bobby, first of all! And they are not things!" He yelled.

And there you have it ladies and gentleman: how to annoy the circus manager- call the animals things.

"Sure, Bobby. Whatever you say." He screamed another protest that his name wasn't 'Bobby,' before storming off in annoyance.

I looked over to Jay. "Still want to buy the baboons?"

He shook his head. "No way. Coffee?"

"Coffee."

I couldn't reject his cute little face, could I? Man, Iris will kill me for leaving her. Might as well enjoy the last few minutes of my life with Jay.

*****

"I finished writing the bucket list!"

Iris had been kind enough to spare my life, so I did what she suggested. I even spilled everything about my coffee with Jay last night, and she was surprised that I agreed to go with him, and even more surprised that a coffee shop was open so late at night.

"The store is called 24/7 Coffee And Biscuits," I had told her. "How long did you expect it to be open? Obviously 24/7."

I put my laptop to the side, and beckoned Iris over. She grumbled lowly, but walked into my room anyway. "I can't believe you're really doing this."

"Doing what?" I asked innocently, handing her the laptop with the list clearly showing.

"Writing this bucket list and commiting life-threatening scenarios in order to impress Jay. You know he's not stupid," she told me, scrolling through the list. Her eyes perked up, and she paused for a minute before continuing. She's surprised about the 'dancing with crabs' part, isn't she?

"Of course he's not stupid. And I'm not fifty-three either," I said, knitting my hands through my knotted hair. I seriously needed to take a bath sometime soon, as well as call Carla and tell her about my 'incident.' "I have to work my way up to be his girlfriend, Iris. I'm finally forgetting about.." I sighed.

Iris gave me a sympathetic smile. "I know it's hard, but that's life. Life's train is going to keep going, even if you're not on it. Life doesn't wait for anyone."

"Yeah," I mumbled. Trying to rid myself of thoughts about Levi, I exhaled softly, and averted my gaze to the laptop. "So, what do you think of the list?"

"It's really long, but it seems great and fun," she replied dismissively, grimacing for a moment. "Except the part about the farming thing. What did Jay say that made you want to be a farmer for a day? Or what did you say?"

Oh, that's what she was worried about. I guess she expected the whole 'dance with crabs' thing.

I shrugged. "Jay's uncle is a farmer, and he offered to take me to a pig run."

"What's a pig run?" Iris asked.

"It's where you carry a muddy pig, through a pile of mud," I responded, and Iris scrunched her nose up in disgust, commenting with 'ew.' I started to mock Jay's voice: "And the bast part? When we finish, we get to eat the pig!"

Iris sighed.

"Look on the bright side, Iris. I'd have a great farmer name! Stells!" I piped. "Stella's McDonald had a farm!"

Iris shook her head. "E-I-E-I-no."

Well, there went that idea..