Gone (Ianthony)

Six Days Before

Anthony:   

As I walked along the cracked sidewalks of the small town of Saugatuck, I saw four people I could have sworn were Ian.

And that was the scary thing; I was hallucinating so much, I was certain that one of those times the stranger passing me on the street really would be Ian, and I would scold myself for imagining the impossible and walk right past.

I had been walking downtown for a good three hours. I still didn't have an accurate idea of how big the town was, but this little area seemed to be the main attraction, and I figured this was probably my best bet to find him or another clue or something.   

Eventually, after walking past the same souvenier shop with a brightly-colored sweatshirt with the words LAKE MICHIGAN across the chest displayed proudly in the window, I realized just how hungry I was. When was the last time I'd eaten? Did I eat at all yesterday? The day before?

A small deli shop on the corner caught my eye, and after checking to make sure I even had a few dollars, I figured a sandwich was as good as anything.

The shop was completely empty, and probably the smallest building I'd ever seen. There were only two tables to sit, a small counter to order, a menu board covered with different sub combinations written in brightly colored chalk, and a fridge containing soda- wait, pop. That's what they called it there. Pop.

I inched a little closer to the counter, trying to figure out if they were closed. And then, as if reading my mind, a girl emerged from a door leading to what must have been the kitchen.

"Hi! Sorry about that. We haven't had a lot of business lately. Are you ready to order, or do you need a minute?"

She had a soft voice, with just a slight accent. Or maybe it wasn't an accent. Maybe it was how all people from Michigan sounded.

"Uh, yeah, I'll just have a turkey and cheese."

"That's all? That's kinda boring. You're sure you don't want anything else on it?"

I found myself staring at her for a moment. She was pretty, very pretty. She looked only a year or two younger than me; she had long brown hair, and bright blue eyes, almost like...

"Yeah, I'm sure."

She shrugged, punching a few buttons on the cash register. "Alright, to each their own." She smiled at me. Her teeth were almost too white. "That'll be three ninety-five."

I handed over a five, then felt the sudden courage to crack a joke. After all, maybe making a friend would be a good thing. Someone to help.

"Bit pricey for a piece of bread and meat, don't you think?" I smiled, showing I was only joking.

"Hey, you forgot the cheese." She smirked slightly, handing me my change, and I decided then that I liked her. As much as you could like a stranger making you a sandwich all the way across the country.

"So where are you from, anyway?" she asked, slipping on a pair of gloves and grabbing a loaf of bread.

I shrugged a little. I normally wouldn't have been that friendly to a stranger, but I felt something toward her. She was nice, welcoming, and beautiful. Someone who looked like she knew a lot about the town. Someone who might know where Ian was.

"California. Sacramento."

She froze, looking up at me.

"No shit? That's weird." 

I laughed, just a little. "What?"

"I'm moving there next month, actually. Need to get out of this small town." She smiled again, just a little. "Maybe it'll be cool to already know someone there."

I smiled back, ignoring her obvious attempts at flirting. "Yeah, I guess it will."

"What are you doing here, anyway? We don't get many Californians in this little dump."

I contemplated making up some lie, but decided to just tell the truth. Maybe she could help.

"I'm, uh, actually looking for someone."

She raised her eyebrows, finally making my sub. I could tell she was stalling so we would have more time to talk. And I was quite fine with it, honestly. Having someone else to talk to was definitely nice.

"Really? That's kind of a strange answer. Who are you looking for here?"

"My best friend, actually." I shrugged. "It's kind of a long story, but I'm pretty sure he's here." 

"Really?" She bagged my sandwich, pulling out a Sharpie to write something on the front. "That's interesting. I hope you find him. And it probably won't take you long - it's kind of a small town."

She handed over my sandwich and smiled again. I was actually really starting to like this town. If I wasn't on a desperate hunt to find my best friend, I might have actually enjoyed my time there a little more.

"Thanks a ton. Really." I smiled back.

"It's no problem." I walked towards the door. "Hey, if you need anything else, I'm here almost all the time. Feel free to drop in." She smiled at me. "I'm Madison, by the way."

"I'm Anthony, by the way."

As I stepped outside and went to take my sandwich out, I laughed. Written on the bag in bubbly black numbers was her phone number.

I folded the bag and stuffed it in my back pocket, reality setting in as I once again swore I saw Ian sitting on a bench across the street.