Milk and Cigarettes

Chapter 30

"And even though we ain't got money
I'm so in love with you honey

And everything will bring a chain of love

And in the mornin' when I rise
You bring a tear of joy to eyes

And tell me everything is gonna be alright..."

After we finished singing our duo, three people tossed spare change in a ball cap that Leo and I found abandoned at the beach. We woke up early that morning, showered, and hitch hiked to a popular location by the water that the driver who picked us up told us about. We were 2 hours into our new job and had made around $15. Singing with Leo made my heart soar, catching his glance as we sang words we meant made me feel the same light and warm, fuzzy sensation I felt when I first saw him walk out as my wrestling opponent in the abandoned factory. To be completely honest, I never stopped having that feeling since that moment.

"You wanna go grab lunch, sweetheart?" Leo asked me, his eyes squinting against the overpowering sun.

"Yeah. Let's take a break from the tour." I joked.

We both hopped off the brick wall we were sitting on top of and Leo took my hand as we made our way down the crowded Californian street next to the beach. A row of food stands were open providing a vast variety of ethnic foods. Leo and I decided on burritos from a Mexican stand and shared a smoothie from an Italian stand. We continued to walk down the street and observe the beautiful people we walked past. Everyone looked like an actor or a model, a producer or a singer, and they all probably were. Leo squeezed my hand as I took my last bite from my burrito. I turned to look at him as he asked in a voice that a young boy would use to convince with mother to let him go to friend's house, "Let's lay on the beach..." He asked as though I would've said no and he would've obeyed. "The weather is so nice." Leo piled on the reasons. "And we've been working hard." I giggled lightly. "And we can just rest for a while and go back to singing."

"Alright, alright!" I let out a laugh. "Let's go." I pulled him towards the sand as we slipped off our shoes. The white grains beneath my feet seeped around easily, taking the form of my foot with ease. I turned to Leo who quickly embraced me into a kiss. The sound of a passerby whistling at us made Leo laugh into my mouth and continue as I helplessly kissed him back.

"I think I'm falling madly, madly in love with you." Leo spoke slowly in a wide grin as we continued to walk in the sand.

"I'm already madly in love with you." I smiled and we sat down in a clear area of the sand, the sun hiding behind a thick set of clouds.

"Is that so?" He asked as his funny face zoomed to kiss me. "Well, how did I get so lucky?"

We both laid down against the thin grains of sand and listened to the sound of soft waves and beach chatter. A cigarette burning in each of our mouths as Leo laid on his back, propped up by his elbows and I on my stomach, holding my head up against my palms. The topic of the universe and astrology came as I laughed at Leo's assumption that his zodiac sign was a Leo because of his name.

"No!" I smiled. "You're a Scorpio!"

Leo flashed an ornery smile and pinched my arm. "Sorry, I'm a scorpion."

•

After our break, we walked back to our spot on the brick wall and rotated through all of our songs for about 3 more hours. Several people passed by us, paying no attention. Some stopped to throw some change and kept walking. A few watched us as we sang through multiple songs and clapped before resuming on with their day. As we walked down the street after our long day, we counted our money.

"$48.75!" Leo exclaimed. "And that's just on our first day. Damn, Californian's are generous."

"They do have a love for the arts." I winked.

Leo's stomach audibly rumbled and I giggled, patting it. "Awh, is someone hungry?"

"Very!"

"Me too. Let's go to that Asian buffet restaurant we passed on the way!" I requested, remembering the building with blinking red lights and Chinese writing.

"You read my mind, Wendy. After all, we have to award ourselves for our first day of being famous."

•

I grabbed a warm plate from the stack and began eyeing the amounts of food. Leo was two aisles down from me piling his plate with Lo Mein. I scooped some rice onto mine and grabbed 4 pieces of sushi and walked over to my hungry boyfriend. After he finished overflowing his plate, we found a booth by a window and sat down. We barely exchanged any words as we stuffed our faces, considering the fact that we were starving. Every now and then I'd look up at Leo just to find him in the same position every time, a water fall of noodles dangling in and out of his mouth. We both got up twice to get more food before we began to complain about how much we ate.

"God, I feel like my stomach is about to burst open!" Leo rubbed his belly.

"I know. Buffets are torturous. It's like they know you'll over eat and feel like you're on the edge of obesity," I took another bite from my sugary biscuit donut thing. "But the food's so good that you always end up coming back."

After we paid and left a generous $5 tip, we walked out of the building. "Wanna go again for dinner tomorrow?" Leo asked, sticking his thumb up as we stood on the side of the road.

"Yeah." I responded with a full belly. "The food was really good."