Chapter 15:
Lyssy
It was a cool Monday afternoon, in December. Alfie had reconciled with Hunter, and Hunter was able to get his job back at Jancy's under a new manager named Felix.
I decided to meet Hunter there for a late lunch and to see the place considering I hadn't been there for a few months.
"How's the theatre?" Hunter wanted to know as he handed me a fork.
"Pretty cool. I get to spend more time with Brad. That's a plus. The pay is slightly better."
"That's always nice."
"I can't believe Alfie stepped down from being manager." I brought up the topic of conversation.
"He said he treated all of us pretty unfairly and losing you was the last straw." Hunter opened the register.
"Oh no." He ducked.
"What?" I rose up to see him crouching behind the counter. "It's Blake."
I turned around to see Blake smiling and walking towards me.
"Is he down there?" Blake wondered.
I nodded. "I'll leave you two alone." I sat at the closest booth so I could eavesdrop.
"Hunter, I know you're there." Blake sat on the stool.
"Hey, Blake." Hunter breathed. "What can I get you?"
"A burger to go."
"Coming right up." Blake smiled at Hunter.
"Hey, Hunter. I never answered your question."
"No, I never answered yours." Hunter sighed.
"Yes, I have a big crush on you. I have for years. I just didn't know if you were gay or not so I didn't want to make a fool of myself."
"You wouldn't have made a fool of yourself. It's kind of adorable."
"Really?" Hunter blushed.
"Yeah."
Just then, the girl working the grill handed Hunter the sack.
"Here you go, Blake." Blake took out with wallet and handed Hunter some cash.
"And for the record, I am gay. Your attempts at dodging me are quite cute. But, I have a boyfriend. We've been together for almost 3 years." Blake explained. "Thanks, see you around."
Then, Blake got up and walked outside to be greeted with a kiss from his boyfriend.
"I'm so sorry, Hunter." I walked back to the counter.
"He has a boyfriend. All this time he's has a boyfriend and I've been an idiot. And I would have known that if I had just taken your advice and talked to him sooner."
"You live and you learn."
"Or lust and learn." Hunter chuckled.
"You gonna be ok?"
"Yeah. I'm cool."
Later that night, Brad and I had a movie date. We went to my favorite old theatre that's always showing old movies. This week, they were showing Sunset Boulevard. Brad had never seen it. Gloria Swanson's portrayal of Norma Desmond is quite beautifully haunting. I guess that's why we always loved that movie.
Brad leaned in close to me when it was at the part where Norma was showing her closet to Joe.
He kissed my cheek softly and whispered, "If you ever accumulated that many clothes, we're breaking up."
I laughed at his joke.
December just seemed to fly by. The theatre's season ended after the final showing of Wizard of Oz. They would reopen in February. The list of shows for next season was also announced.
March ~ Little Shop of Horrors
April~ Casablanca
May ~ Wicked
June ~ Hamilton
July ~ Prep Month~
August ~ Gone With The Wind
September ~ The Godfather
October ~ Edward Scissorhands
November ~ Singing In The Rain
December ~ A Christmas Story
Brad really wants to be in Casablanca, Hamilton, Godfather and Singing in the Rain. That would be the most shows he's done in a single season. With all of his hard work, I know he will make it work. Mr. Chang even convinced me to try out myself for Singing in the Rain.
Brad also finally got his license. We had been practicing for 6 months. It was very well earned.
It was now Christmas Eve. Brad and I, along with the Changs, came back to Lethbridge to celebrate with my dad. Is was a family tradition of ours to open presents the day before. According to dad, mom had always complained that Christmas Day should be solely about Jesus and opening presents would take away from that.
"Who's going first?" Mrs. Chang asked.
"I'll go first." I announced. I grabbed Brad's present and handed it to him. He opened it with a huge grin on his face.
"A signed Book of Mormon playbill?" He shrieked.
"Merry Christmas." I giggled. He kissed me,
"Tink yew."
"That's A wonderful gift, Alyssa." Mr. Chang smiled.
Brad stood up and walked to the back of the house.
"Where are you going?" I was confused.
While I waited for Brad to return, I gave dad his gift.
"Thank you sweetie." I had made him a scrapbook of me and Jay. "I'll keep it close."
Brad then came back to the den.
"Oh my god." Tears ran down my cheek. "Brad, you didn't."
"I did." He smiled and handed me the kitten. She was a full breed Russian Blue. You could tell because of her green eyes and by the way her fur shined. I hugged Brad. "I love you so much." Growing up, I could never have a cat because Jay was allergic.
"What are you going to name her, honey?" Mrs. Chang wanted to know. "Blue Jay. After Jay. Blue for short." I hugged the poor thing.
"That's a great name." Mr. Chang patted Brad's shoulder.
"Alyssa," Dad handed me a box. I opened it to find a bunch of Jay's old things. There was an old Brady Bunch DVD, A Clockwork Orange Novel, a signed Joe DiMaggio baseball glove, a Pat Benatar record and some old letters. "Dad, why are you giving this to me?"
"I wanted you to have some of Jay's things before I moved."
"What? Why are you moving?"
"This house is just too big for one person, Lyss. It's just not the same anymore without you kids. And Riley moved to Mackenzie to live with her aunt. Besides, it's really expensive to live in such a big place with only one resident."
"I need some air." I took the cat and walked outside.
YOU ARE READING
123, I Love You
Teen FictionAlyssa Martin seems to think that she has life all figured out. That is, until she meets Brad. He teaches her patience, love and acceptance.
