Ian stared in disbelief at his computer screen. Shock was clear on his teenaged face. Quickly he typed a message back.
‘y did u?’ He felt like the world had shattered around him like a broken mirror. The reply flashed up on his screen,
‘it just happened’ Ian started to feel the anger bubble up inside him and viciously stabbed his answer back,
‘damn you anna’ and with that, he turned off his computer.
He sat there for a while, staring at the blank screen, replaying the conversation in his mind, over and over again. She, Anna, his girlfriend, now ex-girlfriend, the girl he thought he could trust, and the girl he loved, had cheated on him. And to make things even worse was pregnant by this other guy. And she hadn’t even apologised.
‘Damn you Anna’ he whispered as he felt a single tear dripped down his face.
Six months later
He dreamed about her, in his dreams she had not cheated and everything was great. Whilst he was awake, he went out with a couple of girls, hoping to forget her, looking for happiness in his life once more. But he still loved Anna. Even after all she had done to hurt him. She was with the guy she was pregnant to. And kept the baby. When Ian was angry he felt sorry for the baby, when he wasn’t he felt sorry for himself.
Another month later
Ian met up with a girl he had talked to on the Internet. At first he carried on walking past her. She was chubby, had bright tango-orange coloured hair and smoking a cigarette. However, she rang his mobile number and saw him answer.
‘Ian? I’m Jessica,’ she yelled as she ran over to him.
‘God, no’ he thought as he smiled in desperation.
Jessica took him to a party; the promise of free alcohol lured him to go with her.
‘Another chance to get pissed and forget about Anna’ he thought as he nodded agreement.
So they went, she picked him up from his job and her Dad dropped them off in a small village.
‘Come and meet my friends’ she bubbled as she lead him inside by grabbing one of his arms.
‘Alcohol… Alcohol…’ his mind screamed as he wondered why he’d agreed to this. As he walked through the house to the garden, he spotted a table with Pringles on, along with a girl in a bright pink t-shirt and pale pink trousers. She was already eating the Pringles and had a drink in her hand. Around her stood several other girls, and a couple of guys. But it was her that held his attention.
He smiled and sat down next to her,
‘What flavour are these?’ he asked hoping to get her attention. It worked, she turned smiled and replied
‘Cheese and onion, and those, over there, are original, but I don’t like those, so you can eat them all’ She smiled again. He suddenly felt a dash of happiness, and laughed. Jessica sat down next to him, and said,
‘Ian this is Gina, one of my friends, then there’s’ she named all the people there and he nodded, said hi to a few, but took no notice of the other names.
‘Gina… Pretty name’ he said and she blushed, smiling yet again. Jessica scowled.
‘Gina? Would you like to get a drink?’ Jessica asked plainly telling her to go away. Gina looked up and cocked her head slightly to one side
‘I’ve got one here,’ she replied holding up a bottle of Smirnoff. Gina didn’t want to leave the table just yet, the Pringles might all be eaten. Jessica scowled again and Gina realised what she meant.
‘Oh, I’ll just get another one’ she said as she blushed again. Standing suddenly she tripped over the chair and Ian caught her before she fell.
‘Thanks’ she whispered, as she blushed even more.
‘I’ll come with you… To make sure you get there safely’ Ian replied smiling, he liked her when she blushed and smiled. Gina smiled back and knew she should say she could manage, but instead replied
‘Okay.’ Jessica scowled again.
Ian and Gina chatted for the rest of the night, with Jessica trying to get Ian’s attention back on her, but he just nodded in her direction and carried on talking. They danced and he felt happier than he had for a long time. When the night ended, she gave him her e-mail address and he saved it on his phone. The car journey back with Jessica was awkward. She had spent the last hour crying in the toilets and wouldn’t speak to Ian at all, but he didn’t mind. His thoughts were free to think of Gina.
Gina smiled as she got in her Dad’s car.
‘I met a boy tonight’ she told him.
‘Thought that’s what normally happened at parties’ he said grinning at her.
‘Yes. But he was… Different. Almost exactly like me, except male of course’ she replied. Her Dad smiled at her. ‘Gina is one of a kind. No one could be that strange’ he thought, as he drove off in the night.
Three months later
They went to the beach together, just Gina and Ian. Jessica had left the area, to live in Germany with her Dad. Gina smiled as she got on he bus and handed him a squeaky Pikachu key ring.
‘Got you a present’ she told him as she flopped on the seat next to him. He smiled and squeaked it in her ear. She squealed and tried to fend him off. He loved it when she tried to do that.
The sun shone down on the two as they built sandcastles, his were better but she didn’t mind. She felt happy and peaceful. He also felt happy and then thought
‘I don’t love Anna anymore… I love Gina.’ He knew it was true, he hadn’t thought about Anna since he’d met Gina at that party. He looked up from the castle and said
‘Gina.’ She looked back at him and tilted her head. Ian smiled and then asked
‘Will you go out with me?’ Gina grinned and threw herself on top of him, knocking him over, saying
‘Yes,’ and then kissing him.
For over an hour they sat they kissing, hugging, playing in the sand, and feeling ecstatically happy. She blushed slightly whenever people looked their way. He smiled and kissed her again. Gina melted in his arms.
Five years later
Ian stood, feeling a mix of fear and a mix of happiness. He turned to Gina and smiled uttering
‘I do.’
She blushed again and whispered
‘I do,’ as well. The vicar announced they were now married and Ian gently lifted her veil, raised her chin with one hand, and kissed her. Gina threw her arms around him and kissed him back and grins.
A year later
She’d rung. A voice from the past.
‘How the hell did she find my number?’ he yelled at the phone. He grabbed his coat and slammed out the front door. Gina was at work so he didn’t leave a note to tell her where he was going. He pulled on his coat and stormed down the street. Anna. She had been crying on the phone, telling him that she had made a mistake… The guy had left her after the baby had arrived.
Ian suddenly stopped in the middle of the street.
‘I love Gina’ he yelled and people paused to look at him and then hurry by. Smiling at them, he walked to the park and saw her there.
‘Anna, whatever you’ve got to say, I just wanna say something first.’ She looked at him hopefully.
‘I love Gina; she makes me happy in a way you never managed. She’s never hurt me the way you did, and the only thing I feel for you is pity.’ Anna nodded and tears began to form in her eyes.
Two years later Gina yelled in agony and gripped Ian’s hand tightly. He grimaced but nodded encouragement.
‘Almost there’ the doctor called. Ian was worried about Gina; it was their first child. He also worried about being a father. His childhood had not been great, but with Gina, he was sure everything would be okay. The grip on his hand lessened, and he realised he was a Daddy. Ian smiled at Gina and she smiled wearingly back.
‘Congratulations, you have a healthy boy,’ the doctor announced as he handed over the wailing baby to Gina. She smiled and whispered,
‘Hello Mike’. Ian smiled and felt deliriously happy again.
