Even Angels Aren't Perfect Part 9

Even Angels Aren't Perfect Chapter 7

Aaron paid for the service, a fair and square deal made due to my watchful eyes and obvious presence.

“Bye, Casey,” I called as we started to leave, “I’ll see Abby later today and assure her that you were just wonderful."

He certainly looked relieved.

I slid back into the car, relishing the smooth seats once more. I sighed in content.

“Are you okay?” Aaron asked, looking at me as if I was psychotic.

“What?” I asked defensively, “Yeah. What do you mean?”

“Well,” he said, “Most people don’t look like they’re in heaven when they get in a car.”

“Oh, shut up,” I retorted, “Sorry for thinking your car was cool. Never mind. It sucks.”

He laughed again, the smallest of chuckles.

“Sorry for offending you,” he replied, “I hope you don’t really think it sucks. I care about it a bit too much for it to suck.”

I didn’t answer, looking out the window, but I smiled just a little bit.

He drove us out, navigating the streets.

“I’m starving,” he said, “I’m going to stop by and get a hamburger before I drop you off back at the coffee shop.”

“Gee,” I said sarcastically, “That’s fine with me. Thank you so much for asking.”

“My car, my rules,” he answered.

I wasn’t serious, but it was fun to mess with him. I had by far enough time to make it back to talk to Abby and still make it to the warehouse before 10.

He pulled into the drive through of my favorite fast food place, ordering his burger. He also got my favorite thing on the menu. I guess that was something we had in common.

When we pulled up to the drop off, he handed me the bag.

“Hold this,” he said, “You’re currently sitting where it usually does, so it’s your job now to keep it from falling over.”

“I’m honored to have been assigned such a vital task,” I replied jokingly.

“Do you even know what it means to be normal?” he asked, raising his eyebrows, “I think I’m going to start calling you oddball.”

“That would be mean,” I said.

“All the more reason, then,” he said, smirking.

“Well maybe I’ll call you hermit,” I retorted, “Since you don’t seem to know what it means to be social.”

He scoffed, his default response when he wasn’t sure what to say.

We reached The Friendly Bean in no time, this time parked as far away from the fire hydrant as possible.

“Well,” I said, “This is my stop. See you.”

“Yeah,” he replied, “Thanks for helping me out today. Bye.”

I slid out of the car, heading for the doors.

“Oh, come on!” I heard Aaron exclaim, “I didn’t ask for this!”

I turned around, curious to the source of his frustration.

­­“What’s wrong?” I asked, noting that he was looking in his bad from the restaurant.

“They gave me two hamburgers,” he moaned, “I didn’t want two of them! What am I supposed to do with this?”

He looked up at me for a moment, and then looked away.

“What?” I asked.

“I’d give one to yo­u,” he said, “but I don’t suppose a girl like you would want something with this many toppings on it.”

“For your information,” I said, mildly irritated, “That happens to be my favorite burger in this town. Now who doesn’t know what they’re talking about?”

I marched over to him and held out my hand. He looked startled, but then just shrugged and handed it to me.

“Thank you,” I said, cheerfully this time.

He watched me munch happily on it, and then shrugged again.

“All right,” he said uncertainly, “Not what I expected, but all right. That’s good, I guess.”

“It is,” I replied.

“Okay,” he said, smiling again, “Goodbye.”

“Bye.”

He drove off.

I walked through the doors of Abby’s shop, sitting down on my barstool and waiting. She appeared several minutes later.

“Lucy!” she exclaimed, “I’m happy to see you again! You shouldn’t just run off like that, it causes me stress. You’re going to give me a heart attack.”

“Abby,” I said, “You’re too stubborn to die so easily.”

“You’re right,” she said, “So, did you listen to me and go with you’re so called friend?”

“Yeah,” I replied, “I did actually. And Casey was a perfectly behaved individual. You don’t have to do any ear pinching.”

“I don’t know if that’s true,” she said, “you never gave me the story about yesterday. I might have to do it just for that.”

She reached for me, and I moved out of reach.

“I can still tell you,” I replied nervously, “But not if I’m in pain.”

I gave an awkward laugh, hoping she wasn’t upset.

“Then spill it, sister,” she said, “It’s my way or the highway.”

I settled in, telling her all of the events leading up to yesterday. I was tempted to leave out the bad part, but I knew Abby would be able to tell I was holding something back. Unfortunately, that led to some ear pinching. The whole story did. Once I was finished, she scolded me.

“Abby!” she admonished, “That’s terrible! You should know better!”

“I know! I know!” I said weakly, “Abby, stop pulling on my ear! That hurts!”

“Why should I?” she asked, upset, “Not only did you irresponsibly spend the night at someone’s house you didn’t even know, but you looked through their stuff too! You could have always called me. I’m hurt.”

“Abby,” I said soothingly, “I’m sorry. I thought it was a good idea at the time, okay? I’ll call you next time. But the point was that Aaron wasn’t a serial killer or something. I’m fine. Ow! Stop it!”

She gave me one last painful tug, and then she let go.

“Fine, Lucy,” she said, “But be more careful, all right? I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“I love you too, Abby,” I replied.

“So,” she said, more bubbly this time, “He doesn’t seem to like you very much, for obvious reasons. But bad people don’t let strange teenagers sleep in their homes. You’re usually right about how people are. Do you think he’s a good person?”

“I don’t know,” I said, pretending to be non-committed.

“Yes you do,” she said warningly, “Don’t make me force you to tell me.”

For the sake of my ears staying attached to my head, I spoke again.

“I think…” I said slowly, “I think he’s guarded and cold, but I think he’s a good person. He’s just really antisocial. Oh, and he’s scared of you.”

She laughed at that one.

“So he should be,” she said smugly, “And so should you!”

She ruffled my hair, mussing it.

We talked for an hour about various subjects, only continuing to boost my mood. This morning was all but forgotten.

I headed out around 9:00, bidding farewell to Abby. She gave me another bone crushing hug, and then got ready to close.

As I walked along the cobblestone path leading to the area of the warehouse, I couldn’t help but smile. The day had been fun, even if I was insulted for a lot of it and had my ears squished.

Maybe things were going to get better. With something akin to a new friend and a still loving old friend, I could see fun in the future. If nothing else, I got to bicker with Aaron and hug Abby. To me, that was good enough.

Before I entered the warehouse and the moon began to rise, I had a thought.

Maybe my life was like moon cycles, ranging from a new moon to a full one. I felt good, as if I was becoming more. I was sick of being a crescent moon. It seemed to me that my happiness was just going to grow, to become brighter like the little planet in the sky.

It was time for a new phase.