Jolie made her way into the parking lot of the grocery store in time to see her ex pull out. It was one of the drawbacks to dating a lot of people in such a small town, well not that Lexington was small, however it also didn’t mean that you weren’t going to run into somebody while going through the local stores.
After she pulled her cart from the others she walked through the automatic doors to her desired destination. The announcer welcomed everyone to Ashland Food Market and Jolie found herself responding to the rhetorical announcement.
“Miss Jolie, what a surprise” a man with cowboy boots and jeans with a huge belt keeping it situated walked up towards her cart.
“Elliot” she smiled, she was going to run into everyone today, whether she wanted to or not. “What a surprise.”
“You surprised me. How’s your patient? You said you were pretty worried he wouldn’t pull through.”
“He’s fine. He bought my parents house.” She said pushing her cart ahead; she had a schedule to keep.
Elliot followed pulling his cart around watching as she chose some apples from the fruits section. “My big brother, Basely says he knew him, your patient I mean.”
“How would you know? I never said his name.” she eyed him looking up from the Granny apple she was holding in her hands. Her eyes were a beautiful deep brown and her hair was pulled back with a hair clip, a small wisp fell just by her left temple and curved around her cheekbone.
“He’s a celebrity Jole it’s bound to get out.” Elliot protested lightly smiling at her. He wasn’t quite as attractive as his older brother, the one Jolie had seen leave the parking lot but a few minutes earlier.
“Basely says allot of things” Jolie said looking back down, figuring how change the subject enough so she wouldn’t have to talk about it. It was becoming such a sour subject.
“I’m serious. You remember that storm in 83?” he asked, Jolie blinked at him. “It was huge, it was like one of the biggest on record. The police went out and searched high and low for his body, he was all over the news for a month. He was on all the milk cartons. Then somehow the case just shut down, and the family up and moved.” Elliot explained.
“Elliot I’m intrigued by your knowledge of whoever he is, I can’t remember his name, but I really don’t care what he or his family did –“
“He was found by some people who lived up in Maryland, or Virginia, one of the two, and then was taken away from them.”
“Elliot” she said looking at him sharply “He bought my parents house, ok. I don’t care who he is!” she pushed her cart ahead again.
Elliot smiled keenly “He’s behind you.”
“Elliot enough of your jokes – Oh, Mr. umm”
“Brian” Brian said walking up behind Elliot “And you’re Miss Clarke.”
“Hi” Jolie said reluctantly pushing her hair from her face “You hear to take my groceries too?” she caught herself, she was just so angry with what this hot-shot celebrity had done to her parents, but still she should’ve just been civil about it “I’m sorry” she excused herself “Sometimes I have a big mouth.” She said trying to excuse her outburst.
“Baby I can’t find the sugar in this little pit stop, you sure this is a grocery store?” Sydney walked up, her manicured fingers grasping the clasp of her small purse up to her bosom, her wavy hair perfectly falling around shaped face. She was like a Barbie doll. She glanced at the three gathered together “Who are your friends, Baby?” Jolie took a moment to look her style over. She was told that she was ‘out of style’ by one of her friends in Boston, but as far as she saw if this women was an example, she would gladly forfeit her ‘status’. The women wore a lime green tank shirt with white pants, and the same lime green high heels. Working in a hospital Jolie was used to wearing scrubs, and tennis shoes, or as she was wearing today, a plain brown tee with jeans and sandles.
“This is Elliot Barnes, and Miss Clarke, I bought her parents house, which used to be the place I lived, when I was five.”
Now she was stuck, Jolie wanted to make an exit, perhaps she could slip away without being noticed, oh wait she had a car, yeah right, her getting away. Now she was going to have to make an excuse, she had to get the rest of her grocery shopping done, wasn’t that good enough “Nice to meet you. I need to go, sorry.” She said pushing her cart ahead, it was rude, but she had already opened her mouth once and she had already made her statement.
“Wait, Miss Clarke.” Brian called after her “I’m sorry about, how things fell out.”
Jolie stopped her car, cursing at herself “It’s fine” she said dipping her head looking at the handle on her cart, her phone started to ring. Sighing she picked it up. It was her ex.
“Baby” she could hear the high pitched squeal of Brian’s girlfriend call in her annoying needy fashion from behind “What are we going to do about the baby?”
…
Brain watched as Miss Clarke, he had forgotten her first name, walked away attending anxiously to her other errands. Sydney was pulling at him though now, begging for his attention.
“Should we get an abortion?” she asked “I know a lot of doctors that can do the procedure.”
…
“It’s just not a good time right now, the boys, the move.”
“You heard them, they’re so excited, they want a baby sister.”
“You mean Brian wants a baby sister –“
“Yeah, We just got through paying off the bills for Brian, I don’t want to be in dept like that again.” Their voices were soft, as they spoke they were both sitting at the kitchen table, the man was home late again, another long shift at the eff-bee-eye.
The boy couldn’t sleep though, which is why he was now downstairs. The child’s feet padded across the tile floor, up to where the women was sitting, she looked down at him, her soft brown hair fell over her robe tightly.
“I’ll go back to work” she said picking him up, he rested his head under her chin and she stroked his soft blond curly hair “Baby Duck, what are you doing out of bed, it’s nearly eleven-thirty.” She caressed his cheeks.
“How far along?” the child heard, he looked at the man who was looking at them.
“Does it matter? We can make it, we can struggle for a little while longer.” She replied placing her hand across the table towards the man's folded arms “I can work until the baby comes.”
“But what about the boys we already have, what about the attention they need?” he asked concerned watching her hand reach slowly for his.
“I want a sister” he smiled.
…
“…It would ruin our careers… I want to model still, I can’t have a sagging stomach” she said pressing her manicured nails across his chin.
Brian didn’t know quite what to say, the only pregnancy he had seen was his sister Grace. But for some reason he felt like there was something missing. “I don’t know, he replied numbly.”
Author's Chapter Notes:
Yep, and another WOOHOO
