The Walls Caved In

I was headed towards the exit door of the library, my hands empty due to the fact I'd just returned my last checkout book. A body slammed into mine, wrapping its arms around me from behind. "I cannot believe you're here, Joy!"

I waited until I was released until I turned around- until I could turn around. Eric stood in front of me, all smiles and bouncing lightly from one foot to the other. Someone so happy couldn't not notice the frown gracing my lips.

"Is there something wrong?" I breathed in his words slowly. I was used to hearing "What's wrong?" A clear assumption that there was some problem. Eric was asking me something else, without assuming a thing. He was just curious, not demanding.

"No," the words felt foreign passing my lips. I was also accustomed to giving an automatic answer. Are you okay? Yes. How are you? Fine. Now, I was stumbling on my words, because I felt the need to get this answer right. "Not really..My younger sister is upset with me right now and I'm just carrying my problems with me everywhere I go."

Eric smiled softly, continuing to twitch from one carpet tile to the next. "You shouldn't carry such a heavy load around. Take a break and relaxxxxx."

"What do you suggest?" I asked, my head cocking to the side and the corner of my lips pulling up.

"We'll get in your car, and drive. Just drive, yea? Until we find something worth stopping for!" I was not completely sure of this. He was right, though, I did need to relax. So, I nodded slowly and he laughed, before looping his arm in mine and dragging me into the parking lot.

"I'll help cover gas money," Eric was saying. I was trying to pay attention to him talking and us walking, when I tripped over the uneven asphalt. Eric steadied me with one hand on my arm, a quiet laugh and a warning look. I looked back, trying to spot what I'd stumbled over and if it was a disaster waiting to happen or if I was really just that clumsy.

"What happened to you?" I gasped. While looking back my eyes moved across his leg. His skinny pants were ripped just above the knee, the area around the shallow cut red and fresh.

Eric followed my gaze. "My car broke down 2 blocks or so away from here. So, I got out to walk and a Doberman chased me half of the first block, before I had to jump a fence." He smiled, laughing it off.

"You act like that's nothing.." I said, my voice a mix between disbelief and confusion.

"Its not a problem, Joy. The cut will heal and I'll get my car to a shop later. I don't dwell on things."

He didn't dwell, either. Instead he went on talking about today's plans full speed, wondering aloud if we should take the interstate North or South.

We were smiling and laughing, hiding in the shade of a slide entrance at a park two towns over from ours. We each had a sandwich in hand, because apparently Eric was a 'big hungry who needs his food, like now.' The sandwiches had come from his house, where we'd gone inside for 10 minutes to make the ham and cheese. I'd met his mother, if only for a moment, before she excused herself politely for needing to run to the post office.

Our conversation wasn't constant, sometimes I would just lean back against the sturdy plastic slide, and Eric wouldn't say a word. It wasn't awkward in these moments. It was just Eric and I, looking up at the cloudy sky or watching a young mother push her toddler on the harnessed swing.

We were wondering over some of the etched words in the plastic, and I was still calming myself from giggling about one Chiki Charki Martinez Lopez Hernandez who was apparently, beast. I set my last half of sandwich down on my knee, intent on breathing normally again.

"You've got beautiful eyes, Joy," Eric said suddenly, his voice quiet in this enclosed space. "They tie your whole face together. Your smile, your cheeks, your nose. They all fit 'cause of those beautiful blue eyes of yours."

Again, I was taking in his words slowly. I had blue eyes, so everyone I met seemed to think they were pretty. I'd heard that before, just not like the way Eric put it. He turned my eyes into my face, and he thought they were both beautiful.

Now, that was a first.

I didn't say anything, I just smiled. Why would I say something? A thank you would be too mechanical here. Eric understood that I meant more than a regular thank you, because that was more than a regular compliment.