Maybe Then...

Chapter 10: when certain wishes are fulfilled

When dreams come true,

And I've so much reason to stay at this place,

Maybe then, it will finally feel like home.
--------------------------------------

It was Friday night, my fingers were finally callused, I had almost been working at the parlor for two weeks, I was getting used to my schedule, and I had gotten a ride home from Zeke since grandpa didn't want me walking around alone when it got late. It was okay though, since the two of us got to do some carpool karaoke kind of stuff. Of course we ended of belting out a duet to Bohemian Rhapsody; let me just say, it was iconic. Life seemed to be going pretty well of you'd ask me.

It was only a ten minute drive, but we figured it wouldn't hurt to go to the pond first before it got dark. I texted grandpa first, and surprisingly, he didn't ask for exscessive information or demand frequent calls to ensure I hadn't been kidnapped. I think it was because he knew the family of the person I was hanging out with. But, nonetheless, he still wanted to know the estimated time of when I'd be back and what specific park we were going to. He was very protective, but I am his baby girl.

We parked out in a small parking lot next to a small patch of grass and a playground. The trail went along the patch of grass and eventually lead to behind a couple of trees. I could see a peek of the pond, a few catails growing up around it.

We walked on the trail for a couple of minutes before arriving at a small dock. The sun was grazing the horizon by the time we got there. The boards creaked underneath our feet with almost every step we took.

I squinted my eyes at the luminiscant sky. "It's beautiful," I said softly.

Zeke smiled. "It really is, isn't it?"

"Yeah..."

"So, Amelia," he said after a moment of silence. "We never really got a chance to get to know each other, 'cause, you know, I'm behind the scenes at the shop, you're in the scenes of the shop. I never really got to know you."

"Know me how? Like, 'know some secret about me' kind of get to know me? Or 'what's your favorite color?' kind of get to know me?"

"No!" he laughed. "More like a 'where are from?' and 'what career are you interested in?' kind of get to know you."

"Hmm..." I pulled a knee up to my chest and perched my chin on it. "Well, to answer the first question, I was born in this city, but I grew up a few hours from here." I popped my bottom lip out in thought. "But as for the second question, I'm not to too sure."

"Not even an idea? What about a dream job?"

I shook my head. "What about you?" 

"Well, my grandpa said that when I get a bit older, he might let me run the shop," he blinked a little at the sunset. "I think I might want to be a nurse, although my grandpa would probably think that's a girly job." 

We both chuckled, breathing in the stench of the pond. It smelled like duck poo. I didn't mind too much, though. At least there was a nice sunset and company with me.

"I'm glad I still have a couple of years before I have to choose a job," I stated after a moment of silence. 

"So you're going into tenth grade?"

"No, I just finished it. So in two years I'll have recently finished high school. What about you? What grade are you going into?"

He looked at me and smiled, "eleventh grade."