They all started walking towards their truck. As they walk pass the street, Aspen pointed out her Tea Shop she worked at. “Groovy Tea” it was called. Ethan wasn’t so sure he would trust any tea from there. There could have been a little bit too much ‘Groovy’ in the tea. Aspen was explaining how the owner was from Kansas and moved to Boulder in the 80’s and couched surf with his girlfriend. They broke up. Then he came across the building the store was in now, and the rest was history.
“Keith is really nice.”
Ethan wrinkled his nose. “Keith? What type of name is Keith?”
“The owner of a Tea Shop, that’s the type of name.”
“Did his girlfriend break up with him because he was couch surfing?” Ethan asked.
Aspen thought about it for a moment. “You know, I am not sure. I personally would never do it myself. As a girl, it’s not that safe.”
“Well, as a man it’s not that safe either,” Ethan seemed to laugh. She gave a lazy smile as she unlocked the truck. She pulled down the tail gate and let the dogs in the back.
“Are you ready to head back to Denver?”
Ethan’s ear’s suddenly felt warm. “Yes, I can’t wait to get into my own bed.”
She was silent for a moment. “I know you don’t couch surf, but I have a spare room if you needed one. I don’t mind, but I keep my doors lock and a bat near my bed.”
He thought about it. He wanted to just spend the night. It seemed like a great idea, but he needed to get home. He needed to go to work tomorrow. He thought about his father and the talk they were going to have. He didn’t want to face his father. He didn’t want to sit in the chair across from his desk, feeling like a little child.
But, Ethan was not a child. He needed to be a man, face his father and get the lettuce over with. “It sounds really nice, but I have to be at work tomorrow.”
“Same,” Aspen said as she kissed Albert on his furry head. They got into the chevy truck, and started it up. “Okay, I don’t know where I am going, but I am on my way!”
*-*-*
By the time they got out of Boulder, it was dark enough for Aspen to turn on her lights. She had the dogs inside the truck, since she thought it was too cold for them. Ethan could see the plains still. It seemed like he could see all of the world from the foothills. He played with Aspen’s radio. She informed him that it didn’t work, but the CD player did, and that she had CD’s that were hidden under his seat.
Ethan got it on CD mode, and all of a sudden, Marilyn Manson was blasting “The Beautiful People”. His face gave away how he felt. Confused and socked. “What . . . the . . . hell.”
To his surprise, she was singing along with the song! Not just the lyrics, but even the backup singers as well. She wasn’t the greatest singer in the world, and it wasn’t the sweetest song ever written, but oddly enough, he enjoyed watching her rocking out. After the song ended, Rob Zombie begun to play.
“Explain, please,” Ethan said as “Living Dead Girl” was playing.
“This was my brother’s CD,” she smiled proudly. “But, I like this music too.”
“He’s into Heavy Metal?” Ethan asked.
“Hmm, I wouldn’t say it’s really heavy metal or anything. He liked a lot of music, but songs that seemed to shout were his favorite. What type of music do you listen to?” she asked.
He thought about it. “Well, when I was younger, my dad had a bunch of records of old classic rock. My brother and I would play it in the basement. One day, my dad caught us. He talked to us about the old times, and what it was like when he was our age. It was kind of nice to hear him talk about that type of stuff. He rarely did that.”
Aspen smiled. “Do you get along with him now? Since you work with him?”
Whatever happy thought Ethan had, it went away. He shook his head. “I don’t think my dad really wants me around him. He doesn’t care much for me, like he does for my brother.”
“Oh? Why do you say that?”
“Calvin, he’s just better at money than I am. At first, he went to law school, really impressed our dad, right? Well, his buddies and him at Stanford, yeah, freakin Stanford of all the freakin schools. Well, they started their own business. They have a t-shirt business, ice cream business, pasta business, and now they are turning their focus on the internet. They want to make the next social media trend. Knowing my brother, he will. Well, I still work at my father’s business, getting drunk out of my mind every weekend nearly. My dad has a company that makes tools. That’s all! It doesn’t change the world,” he said, feeling himself starting to turn red. “But he makes a shit ton of money.”
“I don’t know about that. People that change the world need tools to be made for them. So when the tallest building in the world in being built, those tools are helping the change.” She waited for a reply but when she didn’t get one, she went on. “So you want to do something that changes the world?”
Ethan turned his head, only to meet Darwin’s tongue. He gently pushed him away. “Doesn’t everyone want to change the world?”
“Some people just want to change their own world, not caring if it hurts the real one. But Ethan, it takes someone bold, and brave, and willing, and I have a feeling you can change the world.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment. Then he found the worlds. “Why are you so nice?”
“I’m not nice, I’m just speaking the truth. I don’t lie, I really try my best not to. I tell people what I think.”
“Well, thank you for believing in me, but I don’t believe you. You found me in an alley way this morning.”
“You know that saying rock bottom?” she asked.
“Yes?”
“Isn’t there gold somewhere in the rocks?” she said, smiling at him. The glow of the radio was the only way he could see her. “Don’t worry Ethan. Don’t worry about . . .” she trailed off, and was looking at the plains. She turned on off the main road so quickly, that cars were honking. She didn’t even have her turn signals.
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