Childhood Bestfriends with Hollywood's Golden Boy

Childhood Bestfriends with Hollywood's Goldenboypart16

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Then we turned the corner, into a smart drive with open iron gates that had a lovely intricate pattern on them and I was speechless. Beyond the gates, a lane with neatly manicured green lawns and lovely pink blossom trees on either side stretched out before us. It was like driving through a row of pink candyfloss trees and I took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet scent in the air.

“ Wow this is beautiful Ari… where are we?” I asked in wonder as I stared up at the pink-blossomed branches above and the little pockets of light shining through the gaps. It was stunning.

Ari smiled at me “ I knew you’d love it….”

I was so busy looking up at the pink blossoms illuminated by the sunlight that I nearly missed the small white washed sign with gold metal letters.

“ No way! This place isn’t …You have to be kidding me?!?” I asked, turning back to Ari who winked at me cheekily, grinning at me in amusement.

…………………………………………………………

Over the long line of pink blossom trees I could faintly see the outline of the familiar white washed house come into view in the distance. The bottom half was partially blocked by the surrounding bushes but I could still recognise the beautiful balcony with it’s intricate stain glass windows above the door that looked out onto the sea of cherry blossoms in the summer. I could remember standing by the balcony when I was six years old in my light pink leotard and ballet shoes, breathing in the intermingled scent of jasmine, blossom and sea air. I was thinking that I’d love to live there one day.

This house held a lot of great memories; the ones that make you smile instantaneously when you think of them, no matter where you are.

 When I was nine I first dove off the pier at the edge of the beach in the summer. Mum and Linda were laughing in the seawater as I refused to jump off, they watched as ten-year-old Ari stood beside me smiling, sun freckles peppering his nose, and took my hand telling me that I could either jump in with him on the count or he’d push me in. I had taken the first option and we’d stood on the pier in the sun holding hands, counting down twice before I actually got up the nerve to jump off with him. I can still remember the exhilarating feeling of achievement I had felt as I hit the warm water and the way Ari never let go of my hand. When we came up our mothers were clapping and Ari emerged from the water smiling  “ bet now your wondering what you were being so scaredey cat about huh?”.

I remember sticking out my tongue and splashing him with water defiantly “ shut up! I’m bet you I’ll swim to the pier and jump off before you!” I dared and we swam, racing each other to the pier, spending the rest of the day trying to bigger bombs than the other.

Another memory flashed in my mind, of Ari and me when we were thirteen, sitting on the beach on a busy summer weekend. It was a month before Ari left my school to attend to this Performing Art academy that allowed students to do acting jobs and get tutored on set. We had been telling each other the worst ‘elephant’ and ‘knock, knock’ jokes we could think of until Jennifer Rowlands; the prettiest girl in our class with long dark hair who’d developed in the chest area quicker than every other girl in our class, had walked up to us smiling. I remember freezing mid joke; knowing what she was going to do. She asked Ari if he wanted to go to the cinema with her and a small group of friends that evening. I had pasted on a smile, my stomach dropping, thinking that I was going to get ditched for the prettiest girl in our year in about ten seconds when Ari looked back at me beaming and then up at Jennifer “Yeah, Ella and I would love to come. What are you seeing?”