Elliot (wattys14)

Elliot

Summer 1997 was the day when it all happened. It was the summer where my story really started, no not at birth, but when I met a special someone who turned everything around. The stars in his eyes, his messy black hair, beautiful cheek bones and one hell of a motorbike.

***

As the last day of high school finally ended, it all seemed to go by so easily. There was a party later on to celebrate at the local community hall, but before I could start my celebration, I had a job to attend to. The family bakery store.

The store was the best in our small town, it sold the best bake well tarts and fresh loaves of bread straight from the ovens. It wasn't murder working there, the smell made up for most of it.

That day I was working behind the counter, taking orders for people when he walked in. He must have been new in town because no one in this town dared to wear big leather boots and thick leather jackets with a tight blue shirt underneath. He was out of place, he seemed to stand out more.

I panicked at first, what if he was brutal. It was like a baby cub seeing the wilderness for the time. I had no idea how to react. So I did what my parents had taught me as they raised me, treat every person the same. No matter where they come from, what language they speak or the way they dress. That was the best advice I had chosen to follow.

"Welcome to barbers bakers, what can I do for you?" I smiled. He smirked and leaned on the glass. I cringed, I would have to clean that again now.

He pointed to our bestselling bake well tarts. "Three of those." I nodded and put three into a white paper bag with the bakery logo on it. "Bit strange isn't it?" He asked. I looked up from the shelves. Did I miss something?

I closed the bag closed and shrugged my shoulders. "What do you mean?"

His head nodded towards the paper bag, "Barbers Bakers? Shouldn't that be a barbers?"

Now understanding his confusion I smiled. "Funny story. My grandfather was a barber, he owns the Barbers down the road, but when my mother finished school she didn't want to do hair. So she and my father teamed up and opened this. Besides, our last name is Barber."

A rumble sounded from his chest as he laughed, I seemed to forget who I was talking to. "Oh, now I get it." His hair was as if he had just gotten out of bed, everyone I know had gelled hair. It was odd to see it like this.

"Yes, well we're an odd family." I placed his bake well tarts on the counter and gave him his price. He handed me the money and I turned to the cash register. "Where you from? I haven't seen you around here before?"

He picked up his change and his bake well tarts. "I'm from South Port. My folks live down here in Cornwall, I thought I'd pay a visit." Mystery guy, who I soon found out was called Elliot stayed around ten minutes until it was my lunch break.

Turns out I knew his parents, they were in the older part of town near the ocean and they were quite the nice people.

--

Seven years later in 2002 I was in Las Vegas with a couple of friends, we were out there for her bachelorette party and to celebrate we all decided it was the best time to get hammered as some people call it.

And so that is what we did. I was in the middle of doing my fifth shot in a row that night when someone tapped me on the shoulder. At first I thought it was someone about to ask me some really disturbing things but I was in for a big shock.

Standing right before me, with his signature bed hair stood Elliot. "Alice!" He said over the music. I laughed and smiled at him.

It had been seven years since I had last seen him, he had to leave after summer for the year because he had a job to go back to. "Elliot! Oh my gosh, you look so grown up now." Except from his beautiful pools of blue eyes and black bed hair.