Anchor Grind (H.S. / A.U.)

Chapter 31

HEAVEN

"Too small." I toss the pamphlet at Alanis who was laying upside down, back on the bed, feet and legs on the wall reaching towards the ceiling, and head hanging off the bed with a Bomb Pop in her mouth. 

She picks up the same one I tossed at her and looks at it before dropping it on a stack with a few other no's, "yeah plus it smelled like cats like way too much to get out with a carpet cleaner."

The Bomb Pop dared to drip on the floor and quickly Alanis started to slurp up the liquid that was dripping while her feet danced about in the air.

We both heard Poppy shouting from the bathroom while she was putting on a facemask. "I liked the one with the blue door. Do you remember which one I mean... I think it had the steps in the kitchen?" I was flipping through another stack trying to find the exact one she was mentioning but couldn't find it... hoping we didn't already put it in the no pile.

"Was that the one with the wood floor or the one with the little iron fence thingy in the front?" I ask but Alanis just shrugs and continues eating her iced dessert.

I swear we looked at probably twenty places today. Some Alanis's boss joined us to look at. She pretended to be our mom and explained it by saying she didn't want any of the the boardwalk kids to end up as a news story about getting mugged, shot, abducted, or anything else. To Heather, these were her kids I guess.

I finally pluck my favorite option out, a paper with a small picture of a house with a partial glass roof similar to a greenhouse style. "I liked this one." I show the picture to Alanis and she tilts her head to squint her eyes and assess the one I am showing. This one was a very special case compared to all the others and we only found by chance.

"Cute. I liked that one so I approve. In budget righ?" She asks and I nod with a bright smile.

I put it at the top of the stack and tossed all papers on the floor while stretching out, soaking up some more of the sunshine that was coming through the half drawn shades of Alanis's sliding doors. I was in a pair of soft white linen pants that were hung low on my hips, it saddled perfectly with my short crop top shirt in a dusty mauve color. I wanted to be comfortable knowing we were going to be looking at an endless parade of apartments, lofts, houses, and bungalows today for Poppy and I to move into.

We woke up still determined from our conversation yesterday. Bright and early today we got the wheels greased up and ready to go.

I rolled off the bed slowly and instead went to open the door where Domino, Alanis's dog was currently staring out into the yard with a frisbee in his mouth. I slid open the door on the tracks and let the sunshine start blinding us all with its rays, leaving the space open, the light breeze more than welcoming.

The mirror on Alanis's wall caught my eye and I notice that yesterday's pool shenanigans didn't get me too much sun. No surprise since I spent most of the time actually out of the pool and more near the food. I probably was in less clothes now than most of yesterday now that I think about it.

My stomach was a deep chestnut shade that continued to lighten up with the dwindling days of summer, usually in the middle of summer I could reach my peak darkness but by winter my skin would start to dull and pale, showing off the fact that my father was the whitest person to ever exist. Thankfully more of my own genes came from my mother who was a beauty with deep umber skin tones, thick eyelashes encasings her hazel eyes, and full lips that always showcased deep ochre tones. I had the mixture of dad's height, mom's long black curls, both parents' hazel eyes but with the lighter flecks of dad's green tones, and moms full lips. I know I was on the lucky side to have ended up with the genes I have.