More Story
Here you go. Enjoy, I hope.
“Yeah, so I bumped into this girl two years ago and she was honestly the most beautiful quean I ever saw! So, I think to myself, Billy, get her number! But she just walks away like it didn’t happen.” Kim stopped dead in her tracks. “So then, I’m going to this shop, the same shop I was at when I first bumped into her, and I see her again, an entire year later! So this time, I’m not so easily thwarted. She won’t walk away from me this time! So I deliberately bump into her and then offer her a ride to wherever she’s goin’ and she gets into my car, we talk. I find out her name and give her my number, only, she doesn’t ever call! I tried lookin’ up her name in a directory but she’s American so it wouldn’t be there! But I will find her again. She and I were meant to meet and we’ll meet again, I’m sure of it.”
Kim stood motionless as a look of surprise brushed across her face. Slowly, she turned to look at him just as he was reaching for some peanuts on the table next to her. Their eyes met in a dreamy gaze and both of them smiled shy smiles at each. “Oh, hey,” Kim said cautiously. “How’ve you been?”
Billy gazed speechlessly into her sparkling eyes and was lost inside their vast deepness. Kim bashfully broke his stare and he stuttered back to real life. “Oh, good, good. How ‘bout you?”
“Good,” was all Kim managed to get out before one of Billy’s friends nudged him from behind.
“Oh, uh, it’s kinda loud in here. Ya wanna go get an ice cream someplace?” Kim nodded her approval and Billy reached out and grabbed her hand in his. Carefully, he led Kim past her staring friends and onto the lamp lit street. They walked past her flat and toward the University, stopping in front of a very familiar little shop. Even though the signed indicated that the shop was closed, Billy knocked on the window and motioned for the worker inside to let him in.
“Kim, this is me best friend, Sean. He owns this shop. Sean, this is Kim. She’s the girl I was telling you about…” and with that both of the guys looked at each other knowingly and winked. “So, Kim,” Billy asked, “what kind of ice cream would you like? The bastard’s only got four flavors, but they’re all the best.”
“Um, I dunno,” she said shyly. “What’s your favorite?”
Billy walked her over to the counter. “This here is the best chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream you’ll ever eat. All the ice cream is hand made by Sean and his family. You should see them make it, it’s really amazing. Maybe I can take you next time we get together?”
Kim smiled to herself. “Sure, that sounds great. I’ll have the chocolate chip cookie dough, please.”
“Me, too,” Billy said. Sean jogged around to the other side of the counter and scooped out two ice creams. He handed the cones to Kim and Billy and they both thanked him politely. “See you tomorrow, Sean. Thanks!” And they walked together out of the shop.
When Kim got home from her date, her answering machine blinked non-stop until she finally sat down and listened to her messages. Each one of her friends had called her house wanting to know what had happened when she left the party. She dialed her best friend and told her everything.
“And after ice cream,” she sighed, “we walked through the University and talked about everything. It was perfect. Then he walked me back to my flat and said that he figured I had lost his number so he gave it to me again. I’m going to call him tomorrow.”
“You’d better,” a British voice responded. “If you don’t, I’ll never speak to you again. And that’s that. Oh, sorry Kimmy but I’ve got to go. I’ve got a pot of tea boiling. Bye!”
Kim said her goodbyes and sank into bed to dream sweet dreams about Billy. When she awoke the next day, she practically had to unplug her phone to keep from calling him. She thought carefully of how best to handle the situation. “I can’t just call him at 10 in the morning. But when do I call him? I’ll wait until noon. That’s a good time.” And wait she did , although she had to do odd jobs around the flat to keep from thinking about it.
Promptly at 12 o’clock, Kim lifted the receiver and dialed his number quickly, which she now had memorized. She waited impatiently for him to answer and was disappointed to hear his saddened voice on the other end.
“Hullo?” he said dejectedly. “This is Billy.”
“Hey Billy, this is Kim.”
“Oh, hey Kim.” His voice brightened a little, but Kim still sensed depression in his voice. “Hou’s aw wi ye?”
“Pretty good, I guess. I was just thinking, I had a wonderful time last night, did you want to go out again sometime?”
“Oh, bastard. Last night was great! I don’t think I e’er went on a date so nice. But, the thing is, see me mum is rilly ill and I don’ think, well, I’m goin’ to the states to take care o her tonight and I don’ know when I’ll be back.”
Kim frowned as she felt her heart tear in two. She managed to squeak out an “Oh” before her eyes started to well up with tears.
“But listen, I really like ye and I really want to get together agin. I promise when I get back, ye’ll be the first person I ring. On my word. I’m rilly sorry!”
Kim wiped her eyes and tried to muster up enough courage to finish her conversation. “Oh, hey, don’t worry about it! Your mom needs you. I can totally understand that. I would do the same thing.”
“Thanks,” he sighed. “I guess I’ll talk wi ye later. Cheerio the nou.”
“Yeah, see you later!” And she hung up. Slowly, she sat down on her bed and crumpled into a tiny ball. She sobbed non-stop into her pillow for an hour until she fell asleep. When she awoke, it was dark and raining outside. The phone was ringing and she rushed over and hastily picked it up.
“Hello?” she greeted anxiously. “This is Kim.”
“Oh, hey Kimmy!” It was her British friend. “So? Did you call him? What happened, what’d he say? Are you going out again tonight? Do tell!”
“No. Victoria, he’s flying to the states tonight to take care of his mother,” she replied groggily. “I finally meet him and he goes away. What is it with my luck?”
“Oh, Kim, I’m sorry. That really hurts. Listen, come out with me and the girls tonight, we’ll take you to a salon and get you all prettied up and then we’ll go to a bar and meet hot men who only want sex. How’s that sound?”
“Sorry, Vic. I don’t really feel like doing anything tonight. How about some other time? I just want to sleep.”
“Of course that’s alright. Okay, bye Kim. And cheer up, you’ll see him again, sooner or later.”
“I would rather it be sooner than later. Bye.” Kim hung up the phone and sank back into her bed. However, being as how she had slept for over 6 hours already, she found it hard to fall asleep. So she donned her slippers and trudged over to the refrigerator, where she pulled out an ice cold bottle of purified water. “Ah, water,” she sighed to herself, “my only true companion. Why is it that no matter how much I use you to quench my thirst, you are always still there?” She sighed deeply and began reading a book on investigating crime scenes. She studied its pages until she could no longer keep her eyes open, at which time she crawled into her bed and slept dreamlessly through the night, praying that she would hear from him again soon.
A year passed and Kim slowly let go all hope of ever hearing from Billy again. On a bright Saturday in June, Kim’s life was given a fervent shake. The phone rang incessantly, awakening her rudely to the bright sun. With her eyes still shut, she reached over and lifted the phone. “Hullo?” she grunted. She had just graduated from the University and was looking forward to the fall, when she would apply to Scotland Yard for a forensic analyst job. “This is Kim.”
“Hey Kim,” greeted Victoria. “I know you don’t really like hanging out with a bunch of couples, but we’re going to the fair out in the country and we really want you to come with us. We won’t take no for an answer. We will come to your flat and kidnap you.”
“Alright fine,” Kim said. “I’ll go, but I don’t promise to have fun.” She hung up the phone and took a shower. She got dressed in her favorite outfit, the tight t-shirt and hip-hugging pants she wore the first time she bumped into Billy. She did her hair and put on some naturally toned make-up, and then headed down the stairs when she heard Victoria honk. She greeted Victoria and Victoria’s boyfriend, Dominic, and then climbed into the back seat.
As they weaved their way through Glasgow and into the country, Kim promised herself that she wouldn’t depress herself with thoughts of Billy. Nothing was going to stop her from enjoying the quaint adventure, not even the fact that Victoria and Dominic seemed so happy. As they entered the fair, they saw Kim’s other friend Jacque and Daniel, Jacque’s boyfriend.
They daringly went on all the rides until it was dark and only the Ferris wheel remained opened. They bought tickets for the Ferris wheel and waited patiently in line for their turns. Victoria and Jacque both flirted with their boyfriends lightly as Kim tried not to roll her eyes too obviously. All she wanted to do was get out of there and sleep. “No,” she thought. “I promised Vic I would go with her and I will stay true to my word, no matter how depressed her stupid flirting makes me.”
As her friends boarded the ride, Kim realized how lonely she really was. She hadn’t talked to Billy in over a year and all the dates she had been on ended in her turning down every second date. She was about to turn around and not ride the Ferris wheel when a rude voice distracted her. “Miss, it’s yer turn. Either get on or let the next couple go!” Kim looked up with eager anticipation. Was that Billy’s voice she heard? But this thought only dashed her heart to even more pieces, for when she found the owner of the voice, it was only the ride operator. She climbed into her seat and stared down at her feet. Just as the ride operator was about to lock her seat in place, another voice shot through the crowd.