How can you forget about someone when you're laughing with them and hugging them? You can't. Angus knew his plan would never work if he kept this up. But no matter how hard he tried to leave her, he asks her to sit with him and spend a week with him. Hannah was making this more difficult for him, and he hated her for it. Loved her, hated her, and loved her again.
Angus turned away from her and crossed his arms. Hannah recovered from laughing and cocked her head at him. "What's wrong?"
"Nothin'."
"I know that face."
"It's not a face." Hannah stared at him. "What do you want? It's not a face, you're reading too much into it. Maybe stay out of people's business," he said standing up and walking to the front door. There was no face, there was nothing wrong. He needed to stop thinking about that damn girl and she needed to stay out of his way.
Angus was not feeling better. He had gotten worse and I got the broken heart to prove it. Hopefully after Christmas or maybe even the new year he'd feel a little better. Just leave him alone for a while I guess. But he was so happy two minutes ago...
Bon was leaning against the front of the house. "Hey mate, you're goin' the wrong way!" he smiled.
"Fuck off," Angus said walking inside.
Later that night we stayed up giving each other our presents early. Cliff, Phil, and Malcolm were leaving tomorrow for that meeting and we celebrated the holidays a day early as a result. We put our presents in a garbage bag as there was no room under our dingy tree. "Here's one for me. And who's it from? Whaddya know? Me!" Phil said pulling out a box from the bag.
"You sent a present to yourself?" Malcolm asked.
"I saw it on sale at some corner store, you guys would never find it." Phil unwrapped the box and pulled out one of those liquor flask things.
"A drink is it?" Brian laughed. Phil opened it and smelled it.
"Damn straight. Look, even comes with a built in bendy straw."
"Oh yeah. Wouldn't want to lose that now would we?" Cliff said.
"Alright, next present," Phil said. "Or that may be the last one..." He checked the bag a bit more. I saw Angus shift uncomfortably in his seat and bite his lip. "Don't see anything."
"I'll take care of it," Angus said standing up and taking it away in a hurry.
"Wait Ang, I thought I saw somethin' in there, at the bottom," Malcolm said standing and trying to look in the bag.
"It's just a piece of paper Mal, somebody must have accidentally thrown it away in here."
"Let me see, it might be my shopping list," Ellen said with curiosity.
"It's just a blank piece of paper, I'll throw it away." Angus crumpled up the garbage bag and walked to the front yard garbage cans.
What's eatin' him?" Cliff asked.
"He wants a bendy straw liquor flask now," Phil said.
"Believe me, that's the last thing he wants," Malcolm answered.
"Better than an old beer pack that's for sure. You don't get no bendy straws for those," Brian said.
"See Mal? Brian likes it," Phil gestured to him. Brian held up his hand.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves here..."
Angus stood in front of the garbage can. The plastic bag was crumpled in his hands and he unwrapped it. A small, bent up envelope was pulled out and examined. After putting it in his pocket, he threw the bag away and came back in.
