They finished their coffee. Aspen told Ethan that he had to do a few things before Pearl Street, but would be happy to take Ethan along. He didn’t know why, but a day with someone like her seemed to be already better than a night with 400 strangers. Aspen told him she had to go grocery shopping first and then visit an old friend. She asked if he had mind. Of course, he did mind in a way, but he just shrugged.
They put their coffee mugs up in the little bin that said “Dirty Cups Please”. Aspen waved goodbye to the staff, and almost all of them said goodbye. Even a few people sitting down, enjoying their newspaper and coffee waved her off.
They started walking down the street. Aspen seemed to skip and jump over cracks. Ethan just stuck his hands in his filthy slacks. She would spin once in a while, hum a little tune. She was like a little fairy.
“What’s up with your earrings anyways?” Ethan asked.
“My earnings?” she asked, seeming to forget she even had them.
“Yeah, the cupcake and pineapple. It’s kind of weird, don’t you think?” he asked. She didn’t seem to take offences once again. She could have been a therapist. She never seemed to get angry or annoyed when he called her weird.
“Oh, I forgot I was even wearing them! They are my two favorite foods.”
Ethan crinkled his nose. “That’s an odd choice, don’t you think?”
“Cupcake and pineapples?” she asked with a sweet smile. “Nay. Cupcakes are really sweet and pineapples are kind of sour. I don’t like them together. I tried that one time.”
“Seriously?” Ethan asked in a deadpan tone.
“Yeah. I like pineapples better on pizza. Do you like pizza?” Aspen asked.
“Everyone likes pizza.”
“My mom didn’t like pizza,” she said. Ethan didn’t ask anymore on the matter. He had no idea where in the world they were going, but it seemed she knew the way. Boulder seemed to be the perfect place for a girl like her. They were so many artsy stores they walked passed by, so many that seemed to call her name. Yet she didn’t even glance at them.
“Where are we going? How far is the walk?” Ethan asked, wondering if he should have just gone home already.
Aspen jumped both feet over a long crack. “It’s not that far. We are just going to Naturally Groceries. It’s local, and friendly, and I like it.”
“All those people knew you in that coffee shop back there.”
“Yes.”
“How? You been going there for years or something? Or what?”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“I mean, it’s just, everyone knew you.”
“Yes,” she said, shrugging. “I’ve been going there for a few months now.”
“And people just talk?”
“I like talking to people, don’t you?”
Ethan shrugged. “Usually, if someone talks to me, it’s because they want something.”
Aspen looked at him in the corner of her eyes. “Is it nice not working today?”
“What? Oh, yeah, I guess it’s nice.”
“What do you do again?”
Ethan sighed. “I work at my father’s company.”
“What type of company?”
He thought about it. “I don’t feel like talking about it.”
“Why?” she asked like a small child.
Ethan put his hands on top of his head. They have been walking for so long and he felt so out of shape. Aspen didn’t look out of breath. She looked like a graceful dancer, skipping and twirling on the sidewalk. “Because, I hate working there.”
“Is it something that you don’t want to do?”
“I don’t know,” his tone was flat, his feet dragged.
“So why are you doing it?”
He shrugged. “I don’t have anything else in my life. Plus, I was interested when I first started. I thought maybe one day I will take over.”
“Are you interested in your father’s company, like, right now, this second?”
“Yeah,” he said, shrugging. “I guess so.”
“Does it make you happy?” she asked, studying him, seeing what his response would be. “Are you happy?”
This had to be the strangest girl that he had ever met. She could have been one of those crazies on drugs and he didn’t even know it. Though, that didn’t seem possible. However, she was hard to figure out. She seemed out of her mind, as if it were somewhere in space, far away for anyone to really see. It was as if you had to take a rocket and fly across the universe to get one straight answer out of her.
Ethan stopped, making her stop in place. He threw his arms down, and stared. “Why in the world would you care if I’m happy or not?” he asked, then started walking again. Aspen continue her little skip. She shrugged her shoulders.
She mumbled something that he could not hear. “What?” Ethan asked, not sure what she had said. He seemed annoyed and on edge.
Aspen cleared her throat. “I like people to be happy, you know? It’s always nice, to meet people doing stuff that they love, stuff that brings them joy. I just want people happy.”
“And, why do you care?”
She seemed to give a little laugh. “I don’t know. We are almost here, by the way. It just over there. You’ll like it. It’s all organic, and everyone’s very sweet.”
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