Chapter 8: Sweater Weather

Tina was in her junior year of high school. Gene was a freshman and Louise was in the seventh grade at Wagstaff much to her family's surprise. They figured she would've been expelled by now. Louise's trademark pink hat turned into a black beanie, a faux leather jacket, cuffed blue jeans and boots. Gene became slender because of cheerleading and wore a blue V-neck, black pants and black sneakers. Tina wore a red flannel shirt that was opened to expose a black novelty t-shirt, leggings and converse. Her hair was halfway down her back and her bangs were as long as the rest of her hair. Although she was still awkward, she was charming and turned heads as she grew into a young woman.

Time had past and healed Tina's wounds. She tried to go on a few dates with Jimmy Jr. their sophomore year, but it was a rebound and she wasn't interested. Plus she didn't want to face Tammy's wrath. For a while, Tina and Zeke would talk on the phone occasionally to catch up. However, the calls became less frequent until they eventually stopped. Tina wasn't sure why they ended, but she told her self for her sake she had to move on. It wasn't looking like Zeke was coming back. Maybe he even found a new Tina. Who knows?

It was the middle of November and it was starting to get colder and the sky was often grey in anticipation for snow. Tina walked home by herself, since Gene had a meeting about cheer. She buried her hands in her pockets as the icy wind blew in her face. She looked down and walked faster to keep herself warm. She didn't notice that someone was sitting on the ground as she walked by.

"Spare some change, pretty lady?" a deep, familiar voice asked. Tina turned around and could not believe her eyes. Zeke was sitting on the ground in a bubble coat, tattered jeans and boots. His hair was messy and there was scruff on his face.

"Zeke!?" She asked as she walked back over.

He shot up off the ground. "Tina!?" he asked with surprise in his voice. They walked towards each other. Zeke towered over her, looked like he dropped some weight and his voice was significantly deeper. "It's been so long, girl. You're so beautiful!" he exclaimed.

"Zeke, what happened?" She asked without skipping a beat.

Zeke looked down at the ground and sighed. "I had a falling out with my old man and I got the boot. I didn't have much money but I had enough saved from when I worked for you dad to get here and have food for about a month or so."

"How long have you been back for?" She asked.

Zeke shrugged. "Couple months. I haven't stayed in one place for a very long time. And I wanted to call you or try to find you, but I didn't think you wanted to see me after… you know."

Tina frowned. "You're coming with me." She said as she took his cold, callused hand and led him back to the restaurant.

The two of them arrived to the restaurant and noticed there weren't any customers. Perfect. Tina opened the door and saw her parents at the counter. "Tina, what are you doing with that homeless man?" Bob asked dryly.

"It's not just any homeless man," Tina said as she closed the door, "it's Zeke."

Bob and Linda looked shocked. "Oh my god, poor thing. Oh, come here." Linda said as she cooed over him.

"I still don't understand, what happened?" Bob asked.

"He got kicked out awhile back and needs a place to stay." Tina replied. Bob was sometimes difficult to negotiate with, especially when it came to people staying in the apartment. However, he might make an exception for Zeke, his best employee.

Bob sighed. "Well," he started, "we can move him in to Louise's old room that was like a closet, since she moved back into her room. It's a little cramped, but it'll work. Give him his old job at the restaurant and have half of his paycheck go to rent."

"That sounds great, Mr. B," Zeke said, "thank you all so much."

"It's no trouble at all sweetie," Linda said, "go upstairs and take a shower, I'll go get you some clothes in town and Bob will get your room ready."

Later that evening Bob and Linda explained to Gene and Louise about the new living situation. Tina spent time in her room doing homework. Zeke walked by in shorts and a hoodie that Linda picked up for him. His face was clean-shaven and he was noticeably cleaner. "Hey, T," Zeke said as he knocked on the wall, "mind if I come in?" He asked.

"No, not at all," She said as she put down her pencil. Zeke sat on her bed and looked around the room. Her horse, boy band posters and figurines were gone. She had a framed picture of a horse above her desk, a few trinkets and photos on her bookshelf and a few music and art posters on her wall.

His gaze turned to her desk where he saw the framed picture he gave her and the note that was propped up next to it. He stood up and picked them up off of her desk. "You kept these after all this time?" He asked with a smile.

"Oh, yeah," Tina blushed, "it kind of means a lot to me."

Zeke smiled and blushed. "I really did miss you, T," he said as he put it back down, "but between moving and not having a way to call you it was hard. And I didn't want you to think I was ignoring you or that I moved on."

Tina's heart was happy. "I didn't exactly move on either," she said, "I mean, I tried to go on a date with Jimmy Jr. sophomore year, but I wasn't feeling it. I needed Tina time." She said honestly.

Zeke smirked. Although he didn't like the idea of her and his former best friend going on dates after they broke up, but he was glad they didn't get together. "I might be going out on a limb here, but do you want to maybe… I don't know, try again?" He asked nervously.

Tina felt as if her heart was going to jump out of her chest, like in the Bug's Bunny cartoons. However, she had some reservations. She didn't want to let him in again and get hurt. "Can we take it one day at a time?" She asked.

Zeke understood where she was coming from and nodded. "We'll take all the time you need. I'm just glad to be in your presence again." He hugged her and sat back down on her bed and the two conversed.