They checked out with a lot more groceries then they thought. Aspen swore up and down they needed a lot of this stuff. Ethan offered to help and Aspen accepted. The cashier had long hair and a skinny face. He looked off, like that stoner kid every school had in the back of the class room. Though, Aspen seemed to get along with him too.
“How is Jenna?” Aspen asked.
“Oh, she’s in India for six more weeks,” Philip, the stoner kid, answered.
“Is she loving it?”
He just shrugged. “Yeah, she likes it.”
“When is she going to open her yoga shop here?”
“In a few more months,” he said, bopping his head.
“Awesome.”
“Right on,” he said as he put more stuff in the boxes. The store didn’t believe in bags, and used recycled boxes. Ethan watched the hippie girl and the stoner talk some more. She must have known him for years or something. They sure acted like it. When they got outside, he asked how they knew each other.
“I see him around.”
“Oh,” Ethan said. “For how long?”
“Started going there two weeks ago,” Aspen said, struggling to carry all her stuff. Ethan took a few boxes. “He just started working.”
“Two weeks?” Ethan asked in disbelief. “Are you messing with me?”
“No, why would I?”
Ethan shook his head, but Aspen couldn’t see. “You seem like you’ve known him for years.”
Aspen shrugged her shoulders, still not looking back. “I like talking to people.”
“I can tell.”
“Though I do wonder if people like talking to me.”
“Don’t worry, I think they do,” he mumbled.
“Don’t you like talking to people?” Aspen asked as they approached a road. She looked both ways, and she seemed to sprint. Ethan had to sprint too. He was almost out of breath. Aspen made it look so easy, with all those boxes in each hand. When they got to the sidewalk, they started walking through a neighborhood.
“I don’t like talking to people.”
Aspen did turn around, but kept walking backwards. “Oh yeah? Why not?”
Ethan shrugged. “They annoy me. They usually want something from me.”
“What would you give them?”
Ethan finally caught up and started walking side by side with her. “Money, usually. People always want me to buy them something. Girls like me buying stuff for them.”
“That’s a pity,” Aspen said. She spoke like she meant it. “Why would they come to you for money?”
“Well, it’s a known fact that my family is rich,” Ethan shrugged, with a cocky smile.
“Do they know you’re rich, or do you tell everyone you have money?” Aspen asked. That made Ethan stop for a few seconds, and think about the words. He started to feel his face turn red.
“I don’t tell them I’m rich.”
“You just told me you’re rich, and I don’t even care,” she said. She didn’t sound mean though when she said it. It was just a matter of fact really.
“I don’t care if you care,” Ethan argued like a small child.
“Yes you do,” Aspen corrected him.
Ethan felt himself turn redder. “I don’t Aspen, I really don’t. Are your parents hippies?”
Aspen seemed to frown. “Why do you ask that?”
“Your name is Aspen, and that’s a tree. Who the hell names their kid after a tree? What, your sister named Rainbow or something? Come on, tell me the truth.” He was being mean, and he didn’t know why. He told himself not to be so mean to the one person that’s being so nice.
“I don’t have a sister . . . just a brother. And we’re here,” Aspen said when they were in front of a large two story blue and white house. It had a German look to it, and yet like something from the 1970’s. Aspen started walking to the front door.
“Do you live here?” Ethan asked, following her into the big white fence yard.
“No,” Aspen said, knocking on the door. “My friend lives here.”
“Oh, what are we doing here?”
The door opened and a short little 80 year old so woman opened the door. One eye was gray but the other was brown. Her curly short hair was faded gold, matching her wrinkles. She had a cane holding her little body up. She looked surprised and happy. “Cathy! What are you doing here?”
Aspen didn’t look offended, only as if she was used to it and expected nothing less. She just smiled. “Joy, it’s me. Aspen.”
“Oh right, sorry Aspen, I get everyone confused. Cathy is my roommate. Which reminds me, she needs to give me rent money. Always late, that one. She’s an odd one, Cath . . . I mean Aspen.” The old woman looked to Ethan and gave a big smile. “Who is this one?”
“Hi,” he mumbled.
“Speak up! I can barely hear you know.”
Aspen had the right tone when she spoke. “Joy, this is Ethan, he’s my friend.”
“Your . . . oh! Ok, he’s a pretty one,” she said pointing the top of the cane at him. Then she crackled. She didn’t sound like a mean witch; it was one of those laughs that made you smile as soon as you heard it, making you give a little laugh or two. “Where did you find this one?”
“In the alley way,” Aspen laughed. Ethan turned red. He was turning red in the cheeks. He was really starting to regret drinking. He wondered what his day would have been like if he had just had dinner at his parents’ house instead. He knew it would have been boring.
“What?”
“We brought you groceries,” she said, holding up boxes.
“Oh! Thank you Aspen. It really means a lot to have you help me out. I’ll take twenty bucks off your rent. Come on in.”
“Thank you Joy,” Aspen said as she walked into the house.
Ethan followed, having Joy eye him with her good eye. He didn’t know what to do and just looked to the floor. When he looked up, he saw that the house look like it was frozen in the 1970’s. “Just put it in the kitchen, Cathy.”
“Aspen.”
“What? Oh yes, sorry Aspen.”
It felt like to Ethan, Aspen had to correct her offend about her name. “How do you know her?” Ethan whispered.
“She’s my landlord. And I help her out, because her husband died like two years ago. She’s all alone, and I don’t trust her roommate.”
“Ok?” he said in a questionable tone. “Why?”
“Because she never pays rent.”
He rolled his eyes. “No, why do you help out?”
“Because Joy is really nice and needs someone.”
“Why-“
Joy came into the kitchen. “You kids didn’t have to do this you know,” she said with a grateful tone. “Aspen, the Broncos are going to be on soon, are you going to watch?”
“Not today, I have to drive my friend back to Denver.”
“Denver? Oh, the traffic is just terrible there,” Joy said, sitting down at the table. The whole house had a German feeling. Like they weren’t in Colorado anymore, and they were in a small village on the other side of the world. “And Cathy today, geez, it’s like she has a stick up her ass.” The cussing from the sweet looking lady threw Ethan off and made him smile. Joy covered her mouth. “Sorry, er um, Aspen’s friend. My husband was a sailor, and was rough and cuss a lot. After 60 years of marriage, you start cussing too.”
“60 years?” Ethan asked with shock. “You’ve been married for 60 years?”
“64 this year, if Will was still here,” she said, looking lost in memory. “He died about two years back. That’s when Aspen moved in and she’s been helping me sense. Helps a lot more than my roommate. Geez, I can’t even have hairspray because everything has to be natural and non toxic,” she said looking annoyed. “Oh, I shouldn’t talk bad, she’s okay. I guess.”
“Well, if this is your house, you should do whatever you want,” Ethan shrugged. Joy smiled. They sat there for a while, talking about local news and what was going on. Joy really enjoyed the company and talking to someone.
She invited them to listen to some preacher that came on the T.V., but Aspen politely declined and said that she needed to drive her friend back.
After about 30 minutes, they got up and started heading out the door. Joy guided them, and they spoke for a little while longer. Though, Ethan was tired of standing up, Aspen kept nodding her head and talking with the landlord.
Once they were actually outside, Joy looked out and said, “What a beautiful day! God bless America!” and then went right back into her large house. Ethan turned to Aspen.
“She’s . . . . different.”
“She’s the nicest lady I know around here,” Aspen explained. “Do you want to see my house? It’s actually Joy’s. It’s a little chalet, just right there.” She pointed down and Ethan noticed a little chalet down the hill.
It was small, but big enough to live in. It was just like the big house at the top of the hill. It was as if the house somehow gave birth to it and it was the child. Aspen started to walk down the hill. She looked back to Ethan and said, “Come on. You can meet my dogs.”
“Dogs?”
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