La Vie En Rose

“You-The Maine-I’m sorry....” Alma spluttered, “But WHAT? HOW!?”

I winced at the sudden volume in her voice.

“Seriously, how am I the only person who hasn’t heard of them up until recently?” I asked.

It was a lovely Tuesday evening and I was currently in my bedroom, perched on my window seat and talking to Alma on the phone. She finally found an area with phone reception and we were catching up about our past couple of days at home. I updated her about my run-ins with the guys from The Maine and Alma couldn’t believe it. Apparently she had their music and was an avid listener. I recalled the moments I had with them, telling her about the show and then bumping into John at the park and going to the recording studio.

“Sounds to me like John Ohh has the hots for you.” Alma teased.

“Oh don’t tease me like that, Alma” I sighed, leaning over on the window seat and opening the lace curtain an inch to have a peak at his house. The living room lights were glowing warmly from the windows. It’s only been twelve hours since I last saw him (but who’s counting, right?) and I missed him already. I felt so lame, “And why does everyone call him ‘John Ohh’?”

”It’s his nickname.” I was amazed by the fact that Alma knew about all this, “Thats what everyone calls him. The fans, I mean.”

“I have to say Alma, I am thoroughly impressed by your knowledge.”

“Sometimes, I surprise myself.” She laughed.

I tilted my head back and laughed with her.

“G! I need help!” Lola promptly ran into my bedroom, clad in her underwear and a towel wrapped around her hair.

“Jesus, Lola, put on some clothes!” I exclaimed, “Hey Alma, I have to go. My sister is going on a date and the vein in her forehead is ready to pop out. I think she might need me.”

“No problem” She replied with a giggle, “I’ll call you tomorrow. Love you, bye!”

I pressed the end button on my blackberry and looked up at Lola, “What’s the problem?”

“I have no idea what to do with my hair.” She said drastically, ripping the towel off her head, “Or make up or accessories or-”

I stopped her, “Let’s do one thing at a time. You have an hour and fifteen minutes before Ross gets here.”

An hour later, she was finally ready. She was wearing a white button down shirt with ruched sleeves, tucked into her dark denim high waisted skinny jeans with a pair of black flats. I was proud of the overall outfit because it was so classy yet casual. Her long blonde hair was straightened and put back into a sleek, high ponytail which, in my opinion, was very ‘in’ this season even though a select few can really pull off the look. Of course it suited my sister, however, since she had the perfect bone structure (note to self: when Lola graduates, ask her to model for clothing line).

“What would you be without me?” I asked my sister as she did a quick turn around for me, “Like, honestly?”

“A troubled teen who wouldn’t know who Alexander Wang was.” My sister answered, pulling me into a hug, “Love you sis, I would be so lost without you!”

“That’s what I like to hear!” I grinned, putting my hands on my hips with satisfaction.

Lola grabbed her clutch and glanced at her watch, “He’ll be here any minute!”

She dashed out of her bedroom with me right on her heel.

“Now remember,” I said as we stepped down the stairs to the front hallway, “Don’t talk about school drama - college boys don’t like that. Mention something that you saw on the news - you know recent events! Guys like discussing problems, especially in America or in the Middle East.”

Lola rolled her eyes, “Alright, alright! I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Oh! And remember to chew with your mouth closed” I reminded her, “You know, when you’re at dinner.”

“Oh my God, Gigi” Lola moaned, “Stop it, now you’re just making me anxious!”

Our mother must of heard us bickering in the hallway because she popped out of the living room and smiled.

“Oh wow, Lola!” She gleamed, looking at my sister, “You look beautiful! Ross is one lucky fella.”

“Moooomm!” Lola groaned, putting a hand to her head. I laughed loudly.

The doorbell suddenly rang, making Lola jump and grin. She turned around and swung the door open. Ross stood there with a nervous smile on his face. He was wearing a white button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up and khaki shorts. So cute!
“Hi Lola.” He smiled at my sister, soon realizing my mother and I were behind her, “Oh hello Ms. King! Gigi!”

I waved at him with a grin on my face while my mom nodded toward him.

Lola quickly grabbed her jacket off the coat rack and looked at us over her shoulder, “I’m going now! Bye!”

“Be back by 1am!” My mom called after them, “No later!”

And with that, they were gone. I sighed heavily, my heart full of warmth. If there was one thing that tugged at my heart-strings, it was seeing a good guy taking a girl out on a good ol’ date. Call me old fashion, but a dinner and a movie with a gentleman you’re interested in, is just so darling!

I followed my mom back into the kitchen and discussed how adorable it would be if Lola and Ross turned into a proper relationship.

“Ross is a good boy.” My mom stated while she organized the mess of newspapers and magazines on the island counter. I was feeling quite starved, so I pulled out a box of cereal and poured myself a bowl, “I know he would treat your sister with respect unlike the other boys she goes to school with. I’ll tell you, those high school jocks she hangs around with in school are a bunch of trouble. All they want is sex and drugs.”

I sat on the stool in front of the island counter and ate my bowl of cereal and listened to my mother vent intently, nodding occasionally when I agreed with her argument.

“She just needs a stable relationship.” I added to the conversation, “I think Ross was raised right. Thats the impression I’m getting, anyways.”

“Right.” My mom nodded. She finally finished organizing and changed the subject, “I should go put your brother to bed. It’s a little past his bedtime.”

“Mum,” I tried saying with a mouth full of cereal, “It’s only eight-thirty. He’s four years old. Why do you make him go to sleep so early?”

She shook her head at me, “First of all, Ms. Gigi King, don’t talk with your mouth full. Did I not teach you anything? Second of all, your brother is a growing boy. He needs his sleep.”

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. Alas, I continued to eat my cereal.

Unexpectedly, the doorbell suddenly rang. I looked up at my mom and gave her a perplexed expression. She looked back at me with the same expression.

“That’s weird, who would be calling to our house at this time?” My mom asked. I shrugged, “Tim, dear! Can you get the door please?”

I hopped off the stool, keeping my bowl in my hands, and peaked past the kitchen door to get a look into the hallway. I saw Tim walk over to the door and opened it. I heard Tim talking to the visitor but I couldn’t see who it was. Why did Tim have to be so tall?

“Gigi!” Tim called suddenly, “Someone’s here to see you.”

“Oh my God.” I muttered, almost dropping my bowl of cereal. My legs suddenly felt like jelly.

When Tim walked back into the living room, there stood patiently on the front porch was none other than John O’Callaghan.

“Another O’Callaghan?” My mom questioned, who also took a look at the front door, “What is with these boys having a fascination with you and Lola?”

“Here!” I exclaimed, giving her the bowl quickly, “How do I look? Do I look okay? Oh God!”

I didn’t give my mom a chance to to respond because I was already out in the hallway. My first thought, as I walked down the hallway, was thank God I didn’t decide to change into my PJ’s early. I was wearing my regular black skinny jeans and a grey, loose fitted tank top from American Apparel. It wasn’t anything special but it was acceptable.

When John noticed me walking up to the door, he smiled. He looked good, as usual. I wouldn’t expect anything less from him. He was wearing a a plaid shirt and a black leather jacket with skinny jeans - no surprise there- and his beat up white canvas shoes. It was so perfect and effortless. How did he do it?

“Hi!” I grinned, “What’s up?”

“Not much really.” He shrugged, putting his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket and leaned against the doorframe. My heart instantly melted, “But I have a situation.”

“A situation?” I questioned, folding my arms across my stomach, “Sounds serious. Fill me in.”

He grinned before speaking, “See, the situation is-” He paused for affect as he pulled out a Starbucks gift card out of his pocket, “I got this little Starbucks gift card a while back and I never actually got to use it.”

“Hmmm” I narrowed my eyes with suspicion. Alas, a smile crept up on my lips, “Keep talkin’.”

“And well, since both of our siblings are out on their little date, I thought I would treat you and me too a little coffee tonight.” He waved the gift card slightly, “It’s going to expire soon and we can’t let a perfectly good Starbucks card go to waste now, can we?”

“John, you had me at ‘situation’” I laughed, quickly grabbing my blue hoodie, “Let’s get out of here!”

I called a quick goodbye into the house and left with John. Just like that. Well, how could I resist? These little adventures John and I were going on, were definitely growing on me.

As we made our walk down the sidewalk, I could feel my nerves jumping inside me. The feelings of giddiness and exuberance were practically raging inside of me. It was getting to be so difficult to keep calm around John when we hung out. Like, come on! He could of called any of his friends to hang out but he chose to come over to my house instead, and then offered to buy me coffee? That has to mean something, right?

The thought made my heartbeat batter as quick as a hummingbird’s wings. I better not have a cardiac arrest. I don’t want this night to end with John calling 911.

We walked through the neighborhood and over to Starbucks. Conversation was light and pleasant. It felt like as the days got closer to December, the nights were getting colder. I was starting to regret not grabbing my coat rather than a tattered old hoodie. I tried blocking it out and focusing on what John and I were talking about instead.

The heat in Starbucks was positively toasty. I unzipped my hoodie and followed John up to the counter where a smiling Barista waited to take our orders. The store was relatively quiet, give or take a couple of people sitting in different spots doing their own thing. Some were sitting with friends, others were by themselves, typing away on their laptops happily. The faint sound of Frank Sinatra was playing in the background. I loved going to coffee shops when it wasn’t rush hour. Starbucks, especially, had their moments of being quite relaxing when you knew what time to stop by.

John ordered two grande Cafe Americanos while I peered down at the little deserts in the refrigerated window. Red velvet cakes, Blueberry muffins, chocolate chip cookies...absolute heaven. I could feel my mouth watering just by starring at them.

Since Starbucks was going to close soon, John and I took our coffees and went for a walk around our neighborhood. Let me tell you something, having a steaming hot coffee in your hand, made such a difference when you were outside. I was so content.

“Thanks again for the coffee.” I spoke, “You didn’t have to.”

John made a ‘psh’ noise before responding, “Nonsense. It was my pleasure.”

We eventually found ourselves wandering through Chestnut park (ending up at this park has become a habit, I noticed) and stopped by the water fountain. The underwater lights made the water look a dazzling blue. It was outright breathtaking. The whole combination of the vintage-inspired lamp posts outlining the pink brick path, the large oak trees and the sound of the water gently streaming down the statue, centered in the middle of the water fountain, was making this park look like a scene out of a fairytale movie. God, why was I getting so girly and mushy all of a sudden?

“You like August Burns Red!?” John gasped with utter surprise, “How is that possible?”

I was now sitting on the ledge of the water fountain, while John sat on top of the bistro-styled table opposite me, resting his feet on one of the chairs.

“Why is that so surprising!?” I laughed, “Is it weird for a girl to be into heavy metal stuff like that?”

“Well...” John thought about it before he exclaimed, “yeah!”

I rolled my eyes, “I’m telling you, it all started in high school when I wanted to be a drummer. I was so into the whole double pedal thing on the bass drum. I thought it was the coolest thing ever.”

“Wow,” John shook his head, “I totally misread you.”

“Yeah?” I looked at him with curiosity, “How so?”

“I expected you to be into-” He stopped for a second to think, “Britney Spears or Lady Gaga.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not only into heavy metal music - then I would be really weird” I chuckled as I played with the lid of my coffee cup, “I enjoy a Lady Gaga song as much as the next person...I just don’t stick to that genre.”

“So what you’re trying to say is,” John motioned with his hands in front of me, “you’re not a music snob?”

I pointed at him with a smile, “Exactly!”

Our laughter was interrupted by his phone making a beeping noise. He pulled out an iPhone and read the supposed text. I felt a tint of jealously as he started texting back. It was probably a girl. What am I saying? Of course it was a girl. Why wouldn’t it be? I bet girls are all over him every day of his-

“Ah Jeez.” John said, shaking his head and putting his phone back into his pocket.

I cleared my throat, “Something wrong?”

He shook his head again, “Nah, it’s my dad texting me about wanting to watch some movie with him when I get home. He has recently become obsessed with the idea of spending quality time before I’m going off on tour again.”

Oh so it wasn’t a girl...too bad, so sad.

“Aw” I replied, now nervously tracing my finger around the rim of my cup. Talking about ‘dads’ always made me feel instantly uncomfortable.

“I have a question for you.” John said, obviously not catching my sudden uncomfortableness, “But I fear it might be too personal.”

“Let’s find out.” I smiled up at him, “Whats the Q?”

“Well,” John was now picking at the lid of his cup. We both had the same nasty habit. I smiled at this, “I was curious, is Tim your...your..”

“Dad?” I finished the question for him and he nodded, “Oh, God no! Not related in the slightest! My mom and him are kinda a thing right now. He asked us to move in with him so my mother happily obliged.”

“Oh!” John nodded, listening intently, “How is that anyways? Weird for you?”

I thought about it and shrugged, “Not really. He’s a good guy and my mom really wanted a fatherly figure around my little brother, Cole. We all get along really well with him. As long as our mom is happy, we’re happy. Besides, he makes a good ass breakfast.”

I made that last comment to lighten up the conversation a little bit. It worked because that got a laugh out of John.

I was relieved he didn’t ask about my real father. Now that was a touchy subject for me. Well, it wasn’t touchy, I just wouldn’t know what to say about my real father. He left my mother before I was even born. I never knew him. My mom has had a lot of bad luck with guys, you see. It’s heart breaking really, because my mother was such a wonderful, strong-willed person. After my father left her, she met another man back in Tempe. His name was Derek Sparks. She was convinced they were madly in love and he even treated me like his own daughter. They got engaged and during that period, they conceived both Lola and Cole. That’s a long time to be engaged right? My mom found it to be very suspicious as well, but she was absolutely in love with him so she didn’t question it. However, it all turned for the worst about a year after Cole was born; she caught Derek cheating on her. It broke her heart in two and it put her off guys for years. Meeting a guy as great as Tim, who made her happy and gave her whatever she wanted, was a freaking miracle.

John and I were sitting in the park for several hours, just telling each other stories and discussing music. Our coffees were long gone finished and were tossed to the side. We eventually had to leave when John’s mother called him, asking for his assistance to put up their Christmas tree.

“Christmas tree? Isn’t it a bit early?” I asked as we both stood up and slowly made our way back home, “It’s not even Thanksgiving yet!”

John nodded, “Yeah, but my mom is obsessed with Christmas time. She wants that tree up in our house as soon as possible.”

I laughed while I put the hood of my jacket up over my head, “Reminds me of my mom. She’ll probably want to put our tree up in the next couple of days.”

“Hey.” John stopped walking suddenly. I gave him a quizzical look and stopped too, “Wanna race home?”

“What?” I laughed, “Did I understand you correctly? Are you challenging me....to a race?”

He smirked and nodded.

“But I’m in flats!” I pointed down at my black Tory Burch flats.

“Oh, you’re scared you’d lose.” John said in a nonchalant voice, “I get it. Good excuse though.”

I opened my mouth in shock before pulling my hood back down, “John, do you realize back in high school, I was on the cross country team? I won two gold medals.”

“Scardy cat.”

I narrowed my eyes before I stretched my arms, “Let’s do this.”

“On the count of three.” John said, “One, two thr-HEY!”

I started sprinting, laughing loudly as I did so.

“You’re cheating!” I heard John yell as he tried catching up with me.

I continued laughing before responding, “Now who’s scared of losing!?”