Bobbie cradled her phone between her hands as she stared at her and Anthony's last conversation. Her face aglow in the otherwise dark room, her thumbs hovered over the letters.
She bit her bottom lip, wondering how to start the conversation. 'Hello, I'm sorry my dad said he wouldn't talk with you.'
With a finger hovering over the send button, she closed her eyes and pressed down, and the message went out. She watched the screen intently when suddenly three little dots danced up and down.
'Hello, beautiful, it's okay. I didn't expect him to agree to talk with me.'
'Why not, though? Why does he act like you're such a bad person?'
'I take it you have a pretty good impression of me?'
Bobbie's face burned, and she tapped aggressively. 'I know I just met you, but I've always been a pretty good judge of character. I trust my instincts.'
'I'm glad you have good instincts. I'm a good person now, but I didn't always use to be one. I guess it's hard to trust me after what happened between me and Ben.'
'What happened between you and my father?'
The dots danced on the phone once more, only to disappear for what felt like hours. Bobbie held the phone to her face, waiting for an answer, when finally, she texted out a new message.
'It's okay if you don't want to tell me.'
'I really do need to talk with him.' The message came back almost instantly. 'It's a matter of life and death.'
'I can try asking him again, but I don't think he will agree.'
'I would appreciate that. How about I take you out as a thank you? Anywhere you want to go?'
Bobbie gripped her phone tightly as her stomach fluttered. 'Maybe the park? There is a great nacho stand there that I like.'
'Shall we meet tomorrow?'
'I'd love to!' She watched the screen as the three dots danced again.
'It's a date!'
Kicking her feet, Bobbie fell onto her bed. Her heart raced as she imagined going to the park with Anthony, and she squealed.
"What should I wear?"
Jumping to her feet, she rushed to the closet and started going through all of her clothes. Hours passed as she tried on different outfits to see how they would look in the mirror. Then, around midnight, she noticed the annoying hairs growing on her chin and decided to pluck them.
"If only I weren't like this!" She winced as she pulled another hair, and then sighed. The face in the mirror was red and blistered. "I'll probably get more pimples after this, won't I?"
At two in the morning, Bobbie collapsed onto her bed. Her outfit was sitting on her desk, and she watched the clock as it ticked on. For an hour, she tossed and turned until finally, she was able to fall asleep when an alarm blared. Bobbie rubbed her eyes. It felt like someone had placed weights on her arms, and her bedding was like a chain keeping her from getting up. I'm tired. Groggily, she rose from her bed and sat up, her feet touching the soft rug. Slowly she moved to her bathroom to get ready for the day.
After a shower, she put on some old makeup she hadn't touched in years and did her hair the best she could. Time went by quickly, and before she knew it, she was holding her dress up in the mirror. "What was I thinking?" Setting the dress down, she grabbed her backup outfit and quickly put it on.
"Better!" Bobbie glanced at the clock. Quickly she grabbed her bag and rushed out of her room.
"Where are you going all dressed up?" Her father patted her head. "You look pretty."
Bobbie swatted his hand away. You only say that I look pretty when I dress up, she thought to herself. "I'm going out."
"Are you going somewhere with friends?"
"You know I don't have friends who meet up with me outside our houses."
"That's right, why the pretty clothes then?"
"I can't just wear nice things?"
"You're right." Her father looked away, "Bobbie about last night-"
"I need to go, are you going to be long?"
"No," He rubbed the back of his neck. "I just wanted to apologize. I just… I don't want you to see Anthony again."
"If that's all, I'm leaving."
"Wait! Do you want a ride?"
"No, I'm going to walk there."
"Have fun, Bobbie."
I'm glad I decided against wearing that dress.
Waiting for Anthony in front of the park fountain, Bobbie found herself chewing on her nails, wondering if she had gotten there too early.
"Hello, beautiful," Anthony called out.
"You're here!"
"This is where we said we would meet isn't it?"
Bobbie blushed, "I worried you wouldn't show up."
"Why wouldn't I?" Anthony tilted his head.
Bobbie smiled and Anthony pinched her cheek.
"Why? Why'd you do that?"
"I wanted to make sure you were real."
"No need to pinch my cheek to cheek."
"But now you're awake too. I was afraid you'd fall asleep standing. You look tired."
Looking at the ground, Bobbie could feel her face flush red when suddenly, Anthony grabbed her hand. "Sorry," he said. "Should we get this date started?"
Time went by like a dream, and she would have believed it was one if Anthony hadn't pinched her earlier. Anthony rowed a boat on the lake while she carried a parasol, just like in the old movies she used to watch with her mother. They fed the ducks and rode the old Ferris wheel.
Then, when their date was just about to end, they stopped by Bobbie's favorite nacho stand, and both of them had the loaded nachos. Anthony didn't judge her even once the entire day, no matter how many snacks she ended up getting, or how winded she got while walking.
Anthony leaned back into his chair and loosened his belt. "You were right, best nachos in the city."
"I would say best in the world."
"That's not as much competition as it sounds."
"True, I bet the best nacho chef is now a zombie after all."
"Can you imagine the chef cooking up nachos for other zombies. 'Would you like brains with that?'"
Bobbie chuckled, and her stomach grumbled in pain. "I have to use the restroom. I'll be right back, and then we can walk off our nachos."
"You can still move? I could sleep for days with how full I am."
"Trust me, you will feel a lot better after a walk. I'll try to be quick."
"Come back soon, or I might just pass out here from all the fun we were having."
"I'll be back before you know it."
Using the restroom took longer than Bobbie wanted to admit. And as she rushed back, she noticed a girl flirting with Anthony.
She was tall and slender. Her makeup was flawlessly done, and her outfit was strikingly similar to Bobbie's, yet the other woman looked so much better than her. The woman's silky blond hair caught the sun, and she looked like some ethereal being.
When she placed her hands on Anthony's chest, Bobbie hid behind a tree. She could feel a sadness permeate through her chest as she held back tears. This always happens to me.
"Don't touch me!" Anthony's voice startled Bobbie, and she peered from behind the tree. The woman was sitting on the ground, looking up at the man.
"What's your problem?" She screeched.
Anthony looked at the woman with a rage Bobbie hadn't seen from him before, and her heart clenched in her chest. Can I dare to dream that he only has me in his eyes?
"You weren't like this earlier?"
"I was trying to be polite, but you couldn't get the hint! You w****."
Bobbie's heartbeat sounded in her ears, and she realized she'd stopped breathing. The anger in his voice shook her. Maybe father was right?
Anthony sighed deeply, "Look, you're just not my type."
Clutching her shirt, Bobbie worked up the courage to appear from behind the tree. She looked down as she approached the fight. Finding her courage, she looked up to be greeted by a warm smile and those dazzling blue eyes. I could just fall into those eyes.
"Ready for our walk." All traces of anger escaped Anthony's voice, and Bobbie melted. Closing the gap, he tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.
"You mean to tell me that your type is this fat b****?"
Rage flashed in his eyes, and he gripped the woman's hair, tilting her head up to look at him. "Apologize!"
His words were cutting, and Bobbie looked into the woman's terrified eyes. Tears streamed down as she clenched her teeth and choked out the word, "sorry."
As Anthony let go of the woman, Bobbie could feel her entire body shudder.
"You pervert." The woman said under her breath.
Afraid that Anthony would retaliate, Bobbie grabbed his arm, pulling him away.
"I bet she's still in high school." The woman yelled, more confident than before. "Pedo!"
Anthony stopped, jarring Bobbie, but she held tight to his arm. Biting her lip, she whispered, "Please, I just want to go on our walk."
Reluctantly, Anthony walked away as the woman continued to shout profanities at him.
"I'm sorry. She reminded me of someone I can't stand," Anthony finally said after a long silence. "Plus…" He paused for what felt like an eternity. "I just got so mad when she insulted you."
Bobbie could feel the blood rush to her face. "You shouldn't have hurt her." His clear blue eyes glistened as vibrantly as the lake beside them, and she wavered. "But… I've never had someone stick up for me like that."
"Did it feel bad?"
Thinking back, Bobbie shook her head. "It wasn't all bad. I just wish you hadn't hurt her."
"I'll do better next time. No one talks to my girl like that."
"Thanks."
"It's getting late. Let me walk you home."
Like a perfect gentleman, he walked her to the gate of her house.
"I think we should part ways here," Anthony said. "I doubt your father would like it if I came in."
"You're probably right. Thank you for the wonderful day."
"Anytime, beautiful."
Anthony swept hair from Bobbie's face before leaning closer. Closing her eyes, she waited, and her breath caught in her throat as their lips touched. The world around her spun as she rose to her tiptoes.
And when he pulled away with a smile, he said, "I'll see you next time, beautiful."
She felt like she was walking on air as she went down her driveway. That day had been a rollercoaster, but…
"What were you doing all day?" Bobbie's mood shifted as she came face to face with her father.
"I wasn't doing much."
"Really? You expect me just to say fine and be on my way with that answer? Bobbie, you know we have cameras at the front gate, right?"
"What? Are you stalking me?"
"It's not stalking if…" The president shook his head." I told you not to see him, and now you're kissing him?"
"You're so gross, why were you watching that?"
"You think I wanted to see my daughter kissing a man who's way too old for her?"
"He is only three years older than me."
He's twenty, and you're seventeen. It's inappropriate."
"I like him!"
"He's not a good person."
"How would I know? You won't tell me anything."
"You don't need to know some things."
"I'm not a child anymore." Bobbie pushed past her father and stormed up to her room, slamming and locking the door behind her.