Gage Cilleti has just begun his junior year of high school, and is becoming more and more involved in his school's activities, considering he'd been playing baseball since he was just seven-years-old.
Elijah McCay has just dropped out of school, du...
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I'm surrounded by Elijah's family, or his favorite three people in the world, as he put it. We've sat ourselves in an empty booth near the front of the restaurant, as more and more people find their ways out of the restaurant. I've noticed that the lights have dimmed, as the sun sets soundly.
There's a completely finished bowl, of a dish I still hadn't gotten the name of, right in front of me. It was one of the best dishes anyone had ever made for me. It was nothing like I'd ever eaten before, and that fact was quite refreshing.
I had a used napkin in my free hand, the other holding my freshly squeezed lemonade, as I poured the remaining contents down my drying throat. I wiped my lips with the napkin, eyes finally glancing up, and finding Elijah's.
He sat directly in front of me in the booth, distracted by the plate of food before him. And considering the fact that he was practically speaking at a million miles a minute.
I'm not sure how it happened--but after a few hours of sitting and talking, it wasn't hard to return back to the way things were. We spoke freely and openly, smiling at one another whenever we each other's gazes.
As he stabbed at the pork on his plate with his fork, he wiped at his lips with the back of his hand, a soft laugh escaping parted lips. We'd spent our time together laughing, talking, and exchanging embarrassing stories.
And it didn't help Elijah's stories stay at bay, with his siblings and father at the exact same booth. His father sat beside him, as Corey sat beside me. Cameron had taken it in his own accord to pull a vacant chair to the end of the table.
They all had plates before them, too. And I would be lying if I didn't say that things weren't getting a little cramped. Almost twice now, I'd been too close to sipping from Corey's diet soda--only to realize that it wasn't my iced lemonade.
She merely chuckled, and said that it was alright, right after I'd began my incessant apologizing.
Elijah's father, who had eventually introduced himself as Robbie, was in the middle of telling one of Elijah's many childhood war stories. He had one of the most genuine smiles I'd ever seen, while he talked about his son. Which made sense, because it seemed as though in their eyes, Elijah was the absolute best.
Which I tried my best to internally argue with. Gosh, I tried so hard.
Robbie lifted a hand, and settled it onto his oldest son's head, ruffling his tight curls. "And that is the story of how Eli here, puked while in the middle of a rollercoaster." He laughed broadly.
Cameron nodded along, poking his fork into his pork happily. "Oh, my gosh, I remember that. By the time we got off, both Corey and I had his fucking puke in our hair."
