Sweet afternoons

Chapter twelve

It felt like an eternity passed by as I stood outside of Andres' house, shivering violently from the cold air. I had been there long enough to know that Andres wasn't going to answer the door, but still my feet refused to move. I wondered if he was asleep, or simply didn't want to be disturbed at this late hour. Either way, I felt my determination dwindle down until regret began to seep in.

I soon found myself wishing that I had never decided to rush to this house because returning home now meant I had to explain to Nate the embarrassing tale of how I waited like a stalker for a man who never showed. After he had driven me all the way there, it felt wrong to return to Nate having accomplished nothing.

Resting my head against the wooden door, I cursed myself for being so oblivious. Why had I thought it would be so easy to find him? Although I had promised myself I would search all night for the Greek man, my resolve had already faltered and I was struggling to think of what to do next.

A heavy sigh floated out of my parted lips, a small white cloud forming when it met the air. The night was eerily quiet, the only sound was that of crickets rubbing their legs together in defiance against the silence. I sneezed suddenly, my nose snivelling in response. My chances of catching a cold multiplied the longer I stayed outside but still I remained there, praying silently that the illness would only be minor.

Nothing would change, no matter how long I stood there. For some reason, however, I just couldn't bring myself to leave. Even the slightest hope that Andres would miraculously appear kept me glued to the door. Afraid that if I left, I would miss him.

The world was telling me to leave. Windy blows sent shivers down my spine and the slow spitting of water from the dark clouds above me began to dampen my hair. I wondered if there was anyone else standing outside on such a horrid night. Such a fruitless venture like this was surely a rare occurrence. Perhaps I was the only one.

As that thought passed through my mind, drops of rain now trickling down my cheeks, a loud laughter alerted me to another presence. I stood up straight, turning away from the door I had been previously learnt against, and searched for the culprit. Sat on the pavement, a few meters away, was the very person I had been waiting for.

With rosy red cheeks and glazed over eyes, Andres sat smiling in my direction. Although I couldn't hear much over the rain, I could tell he was hiccuping from the way his shoulders jumped and his mouth moved.

I moved closer to the older man, our eyes stuck together in an unbreakable stare. It was obvious that the older man was drunk, but the shock of seeing him threw that thought to the back of my mind. "Andres?" I asked cautiously, almost afraid that he would up and leave in fright at hearing me speak.

Another rambunctious laugh left the man's lips, the hiccups not managing to stop the melodic sound. "It even speaks like she does!" The man shouted, throwing his head back as more giggled spewed from his mouth.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What?" I asked as I crouched beside the man. He wasn't making any sense when he spoke and I didn't know what had possessed him to sit down on the wet ground outside of his own house.

"You're a hallucination aren't you? Or maybe I'm dreaming...either way it's really realistic," his words were slurred and his pronunciation matched that of a preschooler. I didn't know how to reply so I just listened to him laughing, forgetting everything I had wanted to say to him before. "You look so much like her, you know," his eyes sparkled with a new emotion I couldn't quite explain. Like a forest fire, the heated look seemed to grow with every passing second.

"Like who?" I heard myself ask, the shaking of my body causing my words to come out in a stutter. I'd like to think it was only the cold that was making me shake, but seeing Andres again was having a serious effect that was borderline embarrassing.