It's a hectic day so far at the produce stand in the market alleys of San Francisco.
Gilbert has nearly strained all of his patience with the heat of the July summer, and the multiples of customers at the downtown market, each one of them asking how recently picked the produce is, or how 'local' the fruits and vegetables are, or if the bread is homemade or store bought. All of the questions either make little sense to Gilbert, or he doesn't know the answer. After all, this little shop is owned by his friend, Antonio, who is currently 'out sick', more commonly known as 'on a wild full-day date with his boyfriend, Lovino'. Sure, Gilbert is happy for the cute couple, but it's always hectic when he has to not only cover for Antonio at his produce shop, but also for their friend Francis, who is almost always dating one person or another. Right now, it's a little Japanese girl, and supposedly she's really flexible and she 'has that certain Asian tightness', as said by Francis himself-
Gilbert shakes his head, trying to clear the scatterbrained thoughts as he moves to help some damned American, who keeps calling his bag of small oranges 'tangerines'. After the tanned beach boy leaves with his 'tangerines' – Gilbert can't get a hold on his snickering because of that – the German begins recalling his childhood in Munich, Germany, with his late grandfather. After the bastard croaked – heart attack or arthritis, Gilbert doesn't remember nor care – he flew over with whatever money he had, and began working. Right now, he owns an auto-repair shop (although he doesn't have a car), and when he goes out on his one night rampages or he has to cover for Antonio or Francis, he has a buddy who watches the shop for him.
Gilbert turns away from the front of the stand, about to text Antonio and give him a real piece of his mind over the fact that he has to waste his time earning money for that idiotic Hispanic, when he should be making his own (Although Antonio has insisted – multiple times – that he would pay Gilbert for his help at the stand, but Gilbert won't have it), when a melodic, low voice calls from behind him.
"Excuse me? How much is the corn?" Gilbert clenches his eyes, inhaling and exhaling twice, before turning to his next customer.
"That depends on if you're gonna buy the-" He barks out, irritated, before his words clump together in his throat, clogging his esophagus in a jumble of nasty names and angry phrases.
The lady bats her hazy green eyes, outlined in dark blacks and long lashes, accentuated with clumps of mascara. She raises a perfect brown eyebrow, the same color of her untamed, long, wavy hair. Gilbert notes that her nails are painted black as she removes the cigarette from her mouth, which is outlined with a dark red lipstick.
Overall, she's perfectly perfect. Her eyes widen slightly, giving him a once-over, before putting the cigarette back in her mouth, the roll of tobacco tilting upwards as she gives him a grin.
"My, aren't you a pretty little freak~" She comments, eyes stopping at his hair. He remains silent, face tinting a little. "Did you bleach your hair white?" She moves her eyes to his, "And red eyes? Indeed, quite a peculiar boy you are." He finally speaks up, stuttering and trying not to accidentally speak German. Her accent is invigorating, something so positively un-American that it sends shivers down his spine in anticipation. His hatred for American accents is one of the main reasons why he is friends with Antonio – who's Spanish – and Francis – who's French. This woman, who looks frightening, yet is exactly what he needs, is in the clear for his one true pet peeve.
"I'm albino, for your information, ma'am." He clears his throat, unsure why he is being so formal, when she looks to be about his age, in their twenties. She makes an understanding noise, blowing smoke into his face.
"You're ruining the produce." He informs, although he's chuckling at the same time. She joins in, before dropping the cigarette onto the cement, stomping it out with her black sneaker.
"Good. You don't seem to be too fond of them either, little German~" Her voice is low for a girls, and she keeps making her sentences end with something of a flourish, her accent drawling everything out into a perfect harmonization of low with high.
"Hey, how'd you know I was German?" Gilbert asks. She gives a small, unladylike snort, rubbing her hands off.
"You have an obvious accent, and I'm from Hungary myself, so I know my way around you German-speaking folk. I once dated an Austrian guy – major prick, like most Austrians these days – and his complaining accent is still stuck in my head." She groans, rolling her eyes. "Now, tell me about the corn. Hell, I'll have some of those tiny oranges too." His ears perk, and he grins.
"Some American was calling them 'tangerines' earlier today. They're oranges, right?"
"Tangerines? Fuck that noise, what the hell even is that? Those are oranges. Americans are so fucking stupid, I hate their accents especially."
"Me too! Ever since I moved here from Munich, I've been really pissed off at the accents!" They both laugh. "You're really cute, Hungarian Chick." Gilbert says before he can stop himself. Her laughter immediately stops, and she glares at him until his face turns red and he clears his throat.
"Sorry... Now, about the corn, I, uh…" He leans back, grabbing the price list off of the cash register. He reads off the corn section once he finds it. "White corn is a buck a stalk, and yellow corn is two bucks. The oranges are four dollars per bag." She nods.
"Elizabeth." She says. He blinks a few times, turning towards her.
"Excuse me?"
"My name's Elizabeth, but everyone calls me Liz~" She repeats, staring at Gilbert expectantly. After a few moments, she scoffs. "You're supposed to say your name, German."
"Oh! I- uh… My name's Gilbert. Nice to meet you."
"You too, Gilbert~" She gives him a ten dollar bill. "I'm buying the oranges, and six stalks of white corn." He nods, and puts the money in the register, handing her a bag to place her things in. After she has all of the corn and oranges packed, she stands on the other side of the stand, staring at Gilbert. She pulls another cigarette out, lighting it and setting it between her cherry lips. With one hand, she removes the cigarette, and sticks the other hand out. Gilbert reluctantly takes it, shaking it slightly. They hold on for a few more moments, before Liz sticks the cigarette back in her mouth. Inhale, exhale.
"So, you gonna ask me out, or what?"
It's been eight months.
Gilbert has learned that Liz is a singer in a club on the posh side of town, and she learned about his job as a mechanic. They both introduced each other to their wild friends, who easily became friends themselves; Francis and Antonio both get along with Feliks and Kiku, Liz's roommates. Feliks is dating the guitarist to Liz's group, Toris. Both get along with Lovino and Francis easily. Surprisingly enough, Francis is still dating the cute Japanese girl, who happens to be Kiku's little sister, Sakura. Kiku is the drummer in the band. Liz has a Russian girl named Vanya play the bass.
Gilbert, Francis, and Antonio, along with the Frenchman and Spaniard's dates, all went to see Liz and her band perform early on in the relationship. To say that Gilbert was surprised and – let's face it – aroused at the show was an understatement. The heavy beat of the drums coincided with the steady notes of the bass, the guitar easily plucking out fast and neat rhythms and solos, Liz's vocals snaking around the room like the smoke from her ever constant cigarettes.
Gilbert would say that her smoking is bad, and that he cared so much for Liz that he wanted her to stop then, before she got cancer or worse, but in reality, Gilbert understood that it was her decision to smoke, and although he had brought it up once (He got the reply of 'maybe you should stop drinking, then'), he respected her decision, and ended up loving it anyways. He loved everything about her.
They've held hands, laughed, kissed, made out, and had sex in the back of her old off-white pickup truck. Even though she seemed to be a little embarrassed about the manly vehicle she had picked out for herself, Gilbert just kept on complimenting it and loving the car choice until she believed he was absolutely perfect in every way. And not only with the acceptance of the vehicle and her smoking habits, but with the way after she had a fight with her mother and came crawling to his old apartment, he let her stay over, and soon, stay forever, both of them on his old twin bed, her waking up to him trying to cook a good breakfast, although he didn't know how to make anything breakfast- worthy other than bacon and eggs and sugary cereals. She loved the way he knew all of these useless facts, and the fact that he could tell really good stories in his spare time, and the fact that he completely and utterly accepted her and the way she was, even though she had had problems and screw-ups in her life.
Gilbert believed that Liz was completely perfect as well, with the way that she was a strong, hardcore girl who wasn't fazed by loud music and getting wasted at shady clubs, and her love for older movies and scary video games, and how she would try – again and again – to help Gilbert get his own car, although he said he didn't need one. When she surprised him on his birthday in January with a pickup truck of his own, he almost yelled at her in embarrassment and amusement that he didn't need a car, but he just swept her up and kissed her, and is still almost ninety-nine percent sure that she got what he meant in the kiss.
That's why, on a cold Friday in March, after they stumble drunkenly into their shared apartment, Gilbert sets Liz down on the old green couch and begins talking to himself, before rising from his seat next to her.
"I need to go out." He informs, voice slurring. She looks up at him, dark makeup smudged, and releases a puff of smoke from her ever prominent cigarette.
"Why? We just got home~" She asks. He leans back down, giving her a small kiss.
"I'll be back soon, won't be far. Love you." He explains, and she nods. He teeters to his room, grabbing his wallet, before exiting with a wave. After going down the long elevator ride, he gets to his truck, trying to open it. It's locked. He checks his pockets, and recalls slightly that they took Liz's truck, both her keys and his keys currently upstairs in their apartment.
Gilbert gets on a bus. He's the only rider at this time of night, and when it pulls into the needed strip mall, he exits, moving towards a twenty-four hour jewelry parlor.
"Hello, sir!" A Chinese man pipes up from the counter. "What can I help you with?"
"I need a ring for my girlfriend."
"Oh, I know exactly what you looking for!"
Liz sits expectantly on the couch, feeling its old, worn fabric soothingly. She wonders what Gil is doing, where he's going… She wonders if he's sober enough to actually be able to drive. She assumes that he went to their room to grab his keys, and was off. What if he gets in a car accident? What if he dies?
Liz can't help but fall asleep, cigarette stub gone in an old half full can of Root Beer.
Her mind is enveloped with images and thoughts; Gilbert driving off of the edge of a cliff, into the Pacific Ocean; Gilbert crashing into a building, the car exploding; Having to attend Gilberts funeral, getting condolences from Antonio, Lovino, Francis, Kiku, Feliks, Vanya, Toris, her family saying 'I told you so'-
She's awoken suddenly with hands shaking her shoulders.
"Gil? Don't die, Gil… Please~" She whimpers.
"Die? Why would I die? I'm right here, Liz…" He mumbles tiredly. It had taken a lot to persuade that greedy Chinese man to give him what he needed for Liz.
"Gil?" Her eyes snap open, and she stares into bloodshot red eyes. "Oh, good! I had the scariest dream… You died in a car accident, and- and…" She starts sniffling, rubbing an eye, smearing her makeup even further.
"No, Liz… I ain't going anywhere for a long time…" He says, taking her into his lap, her back pressing against his chest. His hand shoves into his pocket. "Look, this is what I left for." He shows her a leather red square. She stares curiously at it, plucking it out of his hand. "You open it."
When she does so, she gasps. A gold ring is sits in the Styrofoam of the case, emerald sitting right on the ring perfectly. "Gil…?"
"I love you, Liz, and I wanted to show you how much I love you. The guy said it was a twenty karat or some shit, real gold and, well, that color goes really good with your eyes, and-" He sighs, clearing his throat, before settling his chin on her shoulder. "Will you marry me?"
In that moment, Liz can smell the alcohol on his breath, and the scent of his sweat and cologne. Gilbert can smell her perfume, and cigarettes, and the smallest hint of her shampoo, the kind that she spends so much money on to try and tame her hair, the 'super patented ingredients' failing their purpose.
In that moment, they both know that they are perfect for each other.
"Yes."
It's been five years.
After they got hitched in May that year, they began working. Gilbert began watching Francis's and Antonio's shops only when absolutely necessary, and swallowed his pride in order to be paid for when he did. He worked harder than usual at his auto shop, and Liz started doing gigs in other bars and clubs, eventually becoming big enough for people to ask her to sing at their pubs.
They bought a house in the slums of San Francisco. They bought new furniture, and a larger bed, and a better television. Liz permanently moved out of her shared apartment with Feliks and Kiku, and brought her video games and movies and clothes and her entire being with her. Gilbert brought the old couch, the one that they didn't replace, and books for good story telling.
They would need the books, especially in October, when Liz found out she was pregnant. They cried together in happiness, and Liz laid off the cigarettes as much as she could with the baby, and they were eternally thankful that they bought a house with an extra bedroom.
The first baby was a little boy, born in early July, with blonde hair and blue eyes, like Gil's grandfather. They named him Ludwig, after Liz's uncle. He grew bigger easily, and was three when his little sister, Lili, was born. She was smaller, and had blonde hair and green eyes, the same color of Liz's. Liz and Gilbert were both overjoyed, and began working again. Francis's long time girlfriend, Sakura, watched Lili and Ludwig for them, and they paid her for it. Sakura happened to love kids, and was in night school to become a teacher.
Around the time Ludwig was born, Antonio and Lovino adopted a baby Italian girl named Feliciana, and Ludwig and she were the best of friends, both starting school soon. Francis and Sakura were the only two who hadn't became parents yet, although Gilbert and Liz secretly thought that it was going to happen soon, and had been placing bets on who the kid will take after more.
Their house was beginning to bend under the family, but Gilbert and Liz didn't have enough money to buy a new house, but they loved it just the way it was, with a cute little family living next door, a British man who was raising his two kids on his own. Liz asked Gil to mow and rake and shovel the yard for snow, but he secretly paid the two neighbor boys to do it instead, and the twins were happy with the work and the money.
Gil occasionally brought Ludwig to the car shop, and if Antonio insisted, Gilbert would take Ludwig, Lili, and Feliciana to the market, if Antonio and Lovino needed some free time away from Feliciana and the shop.
In return, Gil made Antonio and Lovino watch their kids if Gil and Liz wanted to go out, or if Gilbert wanted to watch his wife sing in the band. They played all over California then, and the road trips were rather fun, with their two trucks and multiple children, not to mention Feliks and Toris' little kid, Ravis, who was the same age as Lili.
Gilbert would take as much time out as physically possible to brag to fans backstage about how the lead singer, Elizabeth Beilschmidt, was his wife, and how she was great and perfect and his. It irritated her at first, and she yelled at him multiple times about how she wasn't trying to be some 'trophy wife' to wave around to strangers.
Gil silenced her with a kiss, saying that yes, she wasn't a trophy, but she was still his wife, and he was extremely proud of her for her accomplishments.
It was the first time Gil had ever seen her stutter and blush.
It's been twenty years.
Gil and Liz are now in their forties. Some things have changed. Liz doesn't wear as much makeup as she used to. She only occasionally has a get-together with her old band members. Gil most certainly can't drink as much, and Liz can't exactly work hard or sing anymore, with her throat and lungs constantly acting up from her smoking. Gil still loves her, and loves hearing her sing, even if her voice is scratchy and a little breathless. Ludwig started dating Feliciana in sophomore year, and they're married, Ludwig at flying school to become a pilot, Feliciana at art school to become a cartoonist. Lili is in her senior year, and is dating a sweet girl by the name of Michelle. She wants to go into college to become a fashion designer, and her girlfriend is going to be a fisherwoman. Francis and Sakura finally had two children, Mona and Leon, twins although they look nothing alike. Mona is a cute short girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. She needed glasses at a young age. Leon is an Asian boy with brown hair and eyes, and has a bit of a rebellious streak, and a thing for fireworks. Gil owes Liz five bucks.
The boys next door are now gone, leaving the British man alone. Every once and a while, Liz and Gil invite the man – Arthur – over, and they chat about their kids, who are growing up and leaving and not calling every day. Barbeques are almost a necessity, Gil and Liz inviting Lovino and Antonio, Francis and Sakura, Feliks and Toris, Kiku and Vanya (They began dating, although she's a lot taller than him. They make a surprisingly adorable couple), and Arthur over for hamburgers and hotdogs and watermelon. They all bring something or another to provide for the potluck, and sit and watch as Leon, Mona, and Ravis all play together, although Mona and Leon are seven and Ravis is thirteen, and watch as Lili and Michelle hold hands and text each other, although they're right next to each other on the grass. They all reminisce about their younger days, when they would do the same.
Some things never change, though. Gil still has the car shop, Francis still has the flower parlor, and Antonio still has the produce stand.
Gilbert still works at the produce stand when needed, as does he at Francis's flower parlor.
On this day, in the heat of July, Gilbert is about to call Antonio, and ask him why he needs to work at the stand still, when a raspy yet well-known voice asks behind him,
"Excuse me? How much is the corn?" Gilbert turns and looks at his wife, with slightly yellowed teeth, dull green eyes, and messy brown-gray hair tied back in a knot. She has laugh lines, and rings around her eyes. She grins, taking in her husband, with eyes that are going slightly pink through the years, and hair that is turning even whiter, if possible. He gives her a smirk.
"Still buying corn from this stand, are we?" He asks.
"Of course, little German~" She says coyly, giving a laugh that still sends shivers down Gilberts' spine. "Where else can I get a good price?" He recalls the secret discounts he gives her when she comes to buy white corn and the 'tangerines', a secret held between them and them only.
He laughs, and knows that, after all these years, she is still perfect.