“Hello Ryan, can I talk to Mike, please?”
“Sure thing, honey, just a sec.” I hear the hold music come on for about ten seconds before Pops picks up.
“Mike here,”
“Hey Pops, it’s me. I found out who I’m working for and wanted to let you know so you can stop worrying. It’s not a dirty politician. It’s actually someone I knew before I moved in with you.”
“Oh yeah,” comes Pops’ reply. “Who’s that?”
“It’s actually that boyfriend I had that I told you about, Connor Ferguson.” I give him the name Ferguson because I know he’ll remember that. Pops never downplayed my heartache from Connor just because I was also mourning my parents. He just listened to me cry. I will forever be grateful to him for somehow knowing how hard it was to be a teenage girl. It’s not often that a man, let alone an old one, can empathize with a fifteen-year-old girl. “But he goes by Connor Ashley now. He’s in a famous band.”
I’m surprised when Pops laughs so loud that I have to pull my phone away from my ear. I’m even more surprised when Connor laughs just as loudly and hysterically beside me in the store. This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder.
“Pops? You ok over there?” Connor calms down a little beside me, likes he’s waiting on Pops’ reply just as much as I am.
“Just… just… just fine, honey.” comes the answer, followed by more hysterical laughter from both Pops and Connor.
“What the hell is going on?” I say to Pops and Connor, or whichever one of them can calm down enough to answer me at this point.
Connor calms himself a little and reaches over. “Pass me the phone a sec?” he asks.
“Mike, you old bastard, you there?” is what he says into the phone, followed by a little snickering.
“You little fucker!” is all Pops can say before he breaks into more peals of laughter. He’s loud enough that I can hear him, even though I’m not holding the phone. “Put my granddaughter back on the phone.”
Connor laughs even more and passes me back the phone.
“Do you guys know each other, Pops?” I ask when I get the phone back.
“Yeah, we do, Lexi Girl. Connor has been working out at the gym for going on 18 years now.” I look over at Connor and mouth 18 years? And he nods his head. “And that’s the only reason I haven’t said anything yet about how he ditched you when your parents passed away and you moved here. I’ll beat his ass next time he comes to see me.”
“Actually Pops, I don’t think I can let you do that.” I tell him. “Apparently there were extenuating circumstances involving a shitty parent so I can’t blame him anymore.”
“Oh yeah? Well then, maybe only a mild beating.” Pops chuckles. “Listen, kiddo, I gotta go. I have a client waiting for me. Call me tomorrow maybe and tell me more about the new job, now that you know who you’re working for, ok?”
“Ok Pops. Love you. Talk to you tomorrow. Bye.”
“Love you, Lexi Girl. Bye.” Pops says and then he hangs up.
“You asshole,” I say, turning and slapping Connor on the arm. “You set me up. When did you figure out that it was the same gym you go to?”
“Not until you mentioned it was close to the pizza place. Speaking of,” he says, looking a little concerned. “We may need to call Tino and tell him I’m not a sketchy fuck. He is not my biggest fan.”
“Oh? What did you do to him? He’s the nicest guy.”
“Nothing, really. I just called him trying to find you. I knew they named the pizza after you, and we figured you lived nearby because you were on foot when you saw Devon there. Apparently it’s weird for a man to call a pizza place and ask for a customer’s phone number.” He shrugs, but I can tell he’s being sarcastic. He knows it’s weird. “Tino may have also seen me walking around the neighbourhood looking for anyone who might know you,” he says, hiding his mouth behind his hand a little.
I start laughing at him. “Yeah, I could see Tino calling your a sketchy fuck for that. You have to admit, it is a little weird.”
“Hey,” he says, pulling me into a hug. “I was desperate. I finally found you again, and then immediately lost you. I thought you were leaving town and my only chance to find you was by wandering around the neighbourhood I thought you lived in, hoping to stumble on you accidentally.”
“Yeah, that is a terrible plan.” I laugh. “I really should have just talked to Devon when I saw him at Tino’s. But I wasn’t sure you’d even want to see me. I was scared of being rejected, I guess.”
“That is not something you ever have to worry about,” he says. “I will always want you to find me.” He kisses me on the top of the head and lets me go. “Now, what do we need?”
I pull up the grocery list on my phone. “Yeah, we should get moving here, these groceries won’t find themselves.”
Connor starts pushing the cart.
