Once upon a time, there was a young boy. His name was Eric. As far as kids go he seemed normal as could be. He loved sports and video games. He hated school and loved hanging out with his friends. However, although he didn't know it, his life was far from ordinary. Eric subconsciously fought with his sexuality. While his friends were having their first kisses and getting girlfriends, Eric was staying away from the girls and focusing on his secret passion, baking.
The morning was late and Eric was excited to take his lunch break. He had to start early and had been on his feet all day long. He was about to put the last box of Bear Paws on the shelf when he saw her. She was beautiful. She had amazing hair with large beach waves. The colour was a dark crimson red with hints of gold. Even her eyebrows matched in colour. Her eyes were sea blue, it was almost as if you could see the ocean smiling at you in her eyes. She even had little spots of green which made her eyes look like the ocean had seaweed in it. Eric thought she was so beautiful, he almost didn't notice the wheelchair. She was reaching for a box of instant rice and seemed to be having trouble. Eric walked over to help her. "Goodmorning, I'm Eric. Do you need help reaching the rice?" Eric put his hand on the rice, but stopped when he heard her response. "Yeah, no thanks, I'm fine." She then pulled herself up onto the shelf and grabbed her rice before rolling away. The noise the wheelchair made was terrible. It squeaked so much yet it looked new. It also seemed to have two different sized wheels the way it tipped back and forth yet the wheels looked the same.
Eric followed the woman to the checkout. She had a lot on her lap and as she turned the corner she dropped a bag of apples. Eric reached down and grabbed them for her. "Are you following me? Because if so you should be more sneaky, but thank you." The lady took her apples and smiled up at Eric. Her teeth were so white and sparkly you could almost see your own reflection in them. "I'm Ariel, it's nice to meet you, Eric did you say it was?"
"Yes, it's very nice to meet you Ariel, that is a beautiful name, very different from the names you hear normally."
"Thanks, I think." She smiled again. "Since you are following me I guess I could use some help getting these groceries to my car."
"I would be happy to help." Eric smiled at her but he was suddenly self conscious about how white his teeth were.
"Oh! I almost forgot! I was looking for some dinglehoppers. Do you carry them here?"
Eric was shocked by the word he just heard. "I'm sorry, a what?"
" A dinglehopper." Ariel looked at eric but he was still confused. " D-I-N-G-L-E-H-O-P-P-E-R"
"I have no idea what that is. Does it have another name? Could you describe what is looks like and what it does?"
"It's a three pronged metal comb for your hair." Ariel seemed so confident that she was right. Eric felt bad telling her she was really wrong about both the name and the use of a fork.
"Um, yes we sell, dinghops. Right this way."
"Dinglehopper is how you say it," Ariel smiled. "Did you just forget you sold them here?"
"Oh yeah, sometimes I get confused about where the cutlery is and I get spoons and dinglehoppers mixed up."
Once they got all the groceries into Ariel's car she smiled at Eric. "Thanks for the help. If you ever want to hang out give me a call." She handed him a little piece of paper with her phone number on it. Eric waved goodbye and watched her get into the passenger's side of the car and that's when he got confused. "Wait! How are you getting home if you can't drive?" She rolled down her window and laughed. "The only good thing that came out of my fathers overprotective nature was my driver." She laughed again. "Call me and I will tell you more about me." The car backed up and started off in the direction of the exit. Eric waved at the car and smiled. She was special and he could feel it.
The next couple days were normal, Eric went to work and went home. Boring as always. He decided to call Ariel and hangout with her. He dialed her number but there was no answer. He tried again, no answer. Worried she wouldn't answer if he got annoying he hung up and went to bed. He woke up to the sound of his phone ringing. Ariel's name popped up on the screen. Eric answered the phone and put it to his ear. "Morning, how are you?"
"I'm doing well thank you. How are you this morning?"
"I'm sleepy but I'm doing good. I tried calling you yesterday and you didn't answer, so I was worried you gave me the wrong number." Eric laughed nervously.
"Haha, no I was just busy. So, I was wondering if you wanted to hangout. I'm in an adventurous mood today. What do you say?"
Eric thought about what his dad used to always say to him. Maybe if he had a girlfriend he wouldn't be so different and he would be able to get over his weird phase. Hoping he hadn't been thinking too long Eric answered Ariel. "I would like that. When do you want to meet? I can drive if that works for you."
Ariel met Eric outside of her apartment at noon. It was a really rundown building in a really sketchy neighborhood. The basement windows on the building had been smashed and the door was cracked in three places. Ariel rolled over to the car and smiled in. "Hi, sorry I live so far away from you. I thought you would have lived closer to the grocery store."
"I live next to the bakery I want to work at. I go in every weekend and practise with the head baker. I have always loved baking." Ariel smiled. Her smile seemed to make Eric smile.
"I don't mean to sound nosey, but you don't really live here do you? This isn't a house any-"
"I don't need you telling me what I can and can't do. You aren't my parent so get off my case! Why do you think you can boss me around and tell me I need to move?"
"Whoa, I just meant to say it doesn't seem like a nice place to call home." Eric felt sick to his stomach. No one should have to live in a dump like this. Especially someone who had a disability. She could get hurt.
After coffee and an expedition through downtown Eric and Ariel were on their way back to the car to go home. "Hey i'm really sorry about earlier. I wasn't trying to say you couldn't live there, I was just thinking is wasn't very cozy and you deserve better." Ariel gave him a weak smile. "I understand your concern, but I'm very capable of taking care of myself, and truth be told I'm only there because no one will hire me because of my wheelchair. It's disgusting, treating me differently because I can't walk."
"I was thinking, maybe you could move in with me. I know a guy who is looking for a secretary, I think that's something people can't say you can't do. I know it's probably not what you had in mind, but I just thought." He didn't finish worried she would think he was being weird.
"Actually thats a great idea! Thank you so much! I can move in whenever and if you give me the number of the guy I would be more than happy to call him."
Ariel and Eric packed all of her stuff together the next day, she didn't have a lot, and moved her out of the dump they called a building. Erics flat was a good size for the price. With two bedrooms it was plenty big enough for the two of them to share. Ariel quickly made the place feel like home by decorating like a crazy lady. Glass sculptures of fish and coral quickly made the place feel more like a home. Ariel did most of the decorating while Eric was at work. She felt really good about her decorating skills and was really excited to see the look on Eric's face when he saw it. Of course she was slightly nervous he wasn't a fish guy. However that didn't stop her from smiling and it definitely didn't kill her excitement.
When Eric got home he was shocked by the mass amount of change in his flat. Eric smiled and walked around. He found Ariel sitting in the living room on the phone. She seemed nervous but she was smiling and talking about herself. It seemed like she was answering questions. He figured she was talking to his friend Phillip, he smiled again and continued walking around. After about twenty minutes he heard the phone click off. Ariel came up behind him and called him to get his attention. "Hey, I got the job! Thank you so much for everything you have done for me. You are an amazing friend." She smiled and reached her arms up for a hug. Eric leaned down and hugged Ariel, he was super happy she had just friend-zoned him. That would make everything easier. "I'm happy to help. What do you want for dinner? I was thinking about making a roast tomorrow but I didn't have an idea for tonight. Any ideas?"
"I really like pasta with shrimp, would that be okay?"
"Oh my goodness yes! I love seafood, not many of my friends do though."
After dinner Eric and Ariel were watching a movie when Eric got a phone call. "Hello?"
"Eric, how are you? Do you have anyone special in your life? Your mother and I just want you to be happy."
"No dad. Mom wants me to be happy. You want me to be normal, and fit your standards. Well no I'm still single and I'm not interested in having anyone in my life other than Ariel, and no Ariel and I will not be getting together so don't ask!"
"You have a female friend? Thats fantastic!"
"Yes and she is my roommate, and just a friend."
"What! No, you can't live with a woman who you aren't married to. Tell her to move out now. I'm coming over tomorrow and if she is still there I will kick her out myself." Eric hung up and started to cry a bit. "I'm so sorry you had to hear that. My father doesn't think A sexuality is a real thing and he doesn't respect it. So I often fight with him about it. My mom doesn't care and she just wants me to be happy. But my dad, yeah. He told me I have to kick you out but that isn't going to happen. I'm twenty years old and I don't have to listen to him anymore." The tears rolling down his cheeks were small and only a few fell. "It's okay Eric, I know what it's like have someone not believe in you and have people treat you differently. My father wanted me to stay home and be taken care of, he didn't think I could make it on my own and that I was frail and weak. I guess he was kind of right. No one takes me seriously. Well other than you and Philip."
"Of course I take you seriously, you are amazing and so full of life. That's what I really like about you. You don't let anything get in your way or bring you down. I love that."
"Haha thanks. I didn't want to let anything get to me, so I just smile and think about all the great things in my life."
"I was thinking about your wheelchair. Do you think we could go and get it looked at? It makes a lot of noise and I don't want people at the office to get annoyed with the squeaking."
"Um, yeah well I got this chair from my neighbour. She is a very cranky older lady who everyone calls a witch, but she saw the way my dad was treating me and offered me with chair. The only thing is I have to use this chair until I pay her back the worth of the chair plus some. I know it's dumb but I want to do this for her. Is that weird?"
"No it's not weird, can we just oil it then?"
"Yeah i think that would be fine." She smiled and gave Eric another hug.
A few weeks past, Eric's dad showed up and tried the kick Ariel out but ended up getting mad and leaving without so much as a look back. Ariel was making a lot of money at her new job and took it upon herself to talk to Eric's boss at the grocery store. She explained that he wanted to be a baker and she explained that the bakery of is dreams was right next door to them. His boss understood and gave Eric three weeks off paid vacation so he could practise baking without falling behind on rent. When Ariel got home Eric was in the kitchen baking cupcakes. "Hey I have a surprise for you!" She was holding the mail. "It's from next door!"
"What? Really?" Eric set the timer on the oven and walked over to Ariel. He picked up the mail and looked at the letter. It was from the bakery.
Dear Eric,
We are pleased to inform you that you have earned yourself a job working for our family bakery. Your impressive performance both in the kitchen and with the customers has earned you a six year contract. Please read the form attached and fill it out accordingly. As you already have the job this for is just for us to know more about you in case of emergencies. Please also come over within the next two days to tell us if you accept the job or if you aren't interested at the moment. Thank you and have a wonderful day.
Sincerely, The staff at The Anastasia Bakery
Eric smiled from ear to ear. "Ariel you are amazing! This wouldn't have happened if not for you! Thank you so much." Eric hugged his friend and then ran over to next door and began talking about the job. Ariel stayed at the flat and picked up the phone. She had earned enough money in the past few weeks to pay off her debt to her neighbor. She called her old neighbor and waited. "Hello?" She sounded sick.
"Hello," Ariel's voice was shaking. "It's me Ariel, the girl you gave the wheelchair too. I have earned enough money to pay you back in full and some. So I would like to thank you for helping me start my life and I will be sending you the money as soon as this call is over."
"Well I'm glad you are happy. Not many people realize this but I'm not a cranky old lady all the time. People just assume I am because I don't like having people over because it just makes a mess for me to clean up. Anyways thank you for the money, I'm busy now so I'm going to hang up. Have fun kid." And with that she hung up and Ariel knew everything would be alright. She sent the money and went to the fridge to get food. Eric had cleaned up after she left a mess in the kitchen last night. So it was easy to find the casserole he had made for dinner tonight. She pulled it out and put it in the oven. "This is great," she said to herself "This is what I was looking for, a friend who doesn't take care of me and doesn't think I'm their problem." She smiled again and watched the casserole start to crisp up. This was the life she deserved and she was happy to be sharing it with her best friend.
The End