To Romance a Kanker
Ch.9: Walk
Entering the store, a blast of air conditioning hit me like a ton of bricks. I smiled, closing my eyes to feel the euphoric feeling. Like I had done before, I made my way to the cups, not noticing the pair of eyes that had focused on me.
For May, there had not been much to her morning. Her sisters were both at work, so she was lone soul for the time being. Feeling a hole burning in her non-existent pockets, she made her way to the candy store, not expecting to see me.
Of course, the girls knew about me. During breakfast one day after I had arrived, Ed had told her about me- my kindness, my friendly nature, even how goofy I could be. May had immediately filled in her sisters, Marie grinning.
May smiled as I made my way back to the coolers, grabbing a Starbucks coffee, Hazelnut flavored. She debated. I seemed to be in my own zone- it would not be right to stalk me. But she did want to say hello.
As I crossed my way to the counter, a bit of a line ahead, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to see May, blonde haired, buck teeth, and all. She smiled.
"Nice to meet you, David! I'm May Kanker" she said, sticking her hand out. I shook hers.
"So, your Ed's friend" I said, the line moving one spot.
"Yup. Lee and Marie are at work, so I thought candy sounded good."
I smiled. "Double D just got done showing me the school."
"I'll be in seventh" May explained, getting in line behind me. Oh boy, was Marie going to love how cute I was!
"Eighth for me. Here, put your stuff on the counter. I got you" I told her. May shrugged. "Okay?"
It is said that when May told her mother later about my kind action, she grinned and said, "I want that boy as a son in law!"
Of course, I do not know if this holds true. It is one of those stories that could simply be a tall tale. Who knows?
Leaving the store, I had my own bag and May hers. She looked over at me, tilting her head.
"Why do you get a scar on your head?"
I groaned. "When I was a baby, my doctor wanted me to see out of my bad eye. Well, I rammed my head into the corner of my grandma's wall."
May winced. "Ouch!"
"Yeah. I have one on the back of my head too. Console TV."
May sympathized with me. "Yeah, my weird voice is from a softball when I was seven. Fell right down."
"I'm sorry to hear that" I frowned. "Say May, when you see Marie today, tell her I hope she has a nice day."
May agreed to it, separating from me when we hit the fences right by the cul-de-sac.
My Kanker interaction was not done, however.
Getting to my room, I would flop onto my bed for a second and stretch my legs. I had done a bit of walking, and now a shower felt just right. Gathering my things, I could not possibly know Marie was outside on the steps.
As May had gotten home, Marie had returned from work at the diner. Marie had asked about me, and May told her with glee what I had done.
Marie was excited. Sure, she had heard everything about me, but to hear I was the man I was directly from May?
A note needs to be made here that I am by no means perfect. I make my mistakes. I suppose love makes one feel things.
Marie smiled, knowing my aunt and uncle were not home. She would open the door; it clicks in her mind just how weird it was to enter the home that used to be resided in by Rolf. Shrugging, her head snapped up as she heard me in the shower.
In the past, it would not have been above her to interrupt the proceeding and to say hello. The past year had led to a cease of those dreadful actions. Flirting, however, was not above her. She scanned, looking for paper and a pen. She grinned. Perfect.
I did not hear anyone come upstairs. I was too focused on my shower, enjoying it much- the warm water caressing my back like a lover, cleansing me like a man reborn. Quickly dressing, I made my way back into my room, stopping shortly when I saw the note on my bed.
The piece of paper had been ripped from a notebook kept on the coffee table downstairs. The writing was well written, though a tad sloppy. I could read it with no issue.
Picking up the note, I read thus:
Hi David!
Thought I would stop by and say hello. Thanks for being nice to May. Feel free to stop by. I don't bite- hard. We're the second trailer.
See ya around!
-Marie
At the bottom of the note was lipstick marks.