Angie And Gio

It was Thursday afternoon and I'd been wandering around in the mall for a good two hours before I decided to abandon the mission. Stacey, one of my best friends, was getting married on Saturday and I still hadn't bought her a gift yet. Even though we'd been good friends for six years, I still wasn't sure what to get her for her big day. She had sent everybody a gift registry but I wanted to get her something memorable. I sighed and decided to go get myself an ice-cream in the hopes that I would think of something good to buy her.

I was a regular at the ice-cream parlour so I was a bit nervous when the guy smiling at me from behind the counter wasn't the one that I was used to. Being around handsome men always made me nervous and self-conscious. All the fat in my body always felt like it was in the wrong place and it was as if somebody was hovering a huge magnifying glass over me. I'd just come from work so my pencil skirt and blouse made me feel even more frumpy. He was definitely hotter than the regular guy, with his pitch-black hair and chocolate brown eyes. To be honest, I thought he was way too hot to be working there. His chiselled jawline belonged in the pages of a magazine somewhere. A quick glance at his name badge told me his name was Mason.

"Hi there," he said in a smooth baritone voice. "What can I get you?"

"Um, just a cherry ice-cream in a cone please," I said, trying my best to smile back.

"Cherry ice-cream in a cone coming right up!" he said with a wink.

I wondered if he was flirting with me. I hoped he was and wasn't all at once. I was awful around guys but my best friend getting married was making me more and more unhappy about still being single. Often, I'd wonder why that still was. I mean, I was doing pretty well for myself. I had a job at one of the top engineering firms in the city, I had my own place and I was smart too. I always thought I was a pretty good catch. Yet there I was, standing in line at an ice-cream parlour, pathetically hoping that the guy behind the counter was flirting with me. I mentally shook myself to get my shit together. Why the hell was I doing this again? On my way out I pushed Mason From the Ice-cream Parlour out of my mind and tried to focus on something else because I knew that once I started lamenting on how sad me being single was, I'd never stop. It was a vicious cycle that I didn't feel like getting into. I'd had a very long day and I needed to get home and relax.

Thankfully there wasn't any traffic and the moment I got into my condo, I kicked off my shoes and threw myself onto the couch. We'd just landed a huge contract at the firm so I was running around like a mad thing most of the time. That was one of the downsides of being a junior there; everybody always gave you the grunt work. But I had no reason to complain because I was earning good money and in a better situation than most 23 year-olds. Just as I was starting on dinner, Stacey called me. I put her on speaker so I could chop vegetables.

"Angie!" she squealed excitedly over the phone. There had been a lot of that since she'd told me that she was getting married. Everything seemed to excite her. Even though I was a bit jealous that she'd found the love of her life, I still couldn't help but be happy for her. She was my best friend after all.

"Hey Stacey," I replied with a smile. "How are you doing?"

"I'm great! Listen, are you home? I want to come over. I have something to tell you!"

"Are you sure you have to drive all the way to the other side of town to tell me this big piece of news?" I asked, not really sure if I could handle her insane level of excitement after such a long day at work.

"Well I guess I could tell you over the phone but I haven't seen you in so long Angie! I miss my best buddy. These wedding plans are driving me crazy and I just want to come chill with you. So, are you home or not?" I sighed quietly.

"Yeah I am. I'm just getting started on supper actually. You can join me for supper if you want to."

"Awesome! I'll be there in a bit."

The phone clicked as she hung up. Stacey Lewis and I had met in our first year at university and we just clicked. It was weird for me because before that, I'd never had any female friends before. For some reason I just never got on well with girls. But Stacey was down-to-earth, loud and crass; just the kind of person I got along with even though I wasn't like that myself. She was also the pretty half of our friendship, I thought. She had long, flowing, blonde hair and a sinfully curvaceous body. Her eyes were sea-blue and she always had a smile on her face that would light up her features. I loved her to bits but my self-esteem couldn't help but take a knocking whenever we were out together. All the guys would flirt with her and she'd get all the dates.

In my 23 years of life, I'd still never even kissed a guy. More times than I could count, I was just used as a conduit to get her number or something like that. I couldn't even really be mad at her because in spite of all the attention she got, she'd always politely turn them all down, insisting that she was waiting for the right guy. That was something I had to respect. I don't know if it was just me being desperate but I thought I'd find it difficult to say no to a guy who was throwing himself at me, as timid as I was. Obviously she was doing something right because two years ago she'd met Alan Evans who was as dreamy as guys get. I thought they were really good together. And he was loaded so that didn't hurt either. I'd just put the lasagne in the oven when my doorbell rang. Stacey burst through the door when I let her in and basically jumped onto my couch.

"Oh my word!" she said with a huge sigh. "Why did I insist on being so involved in this wedding planning?" I laughed.

"I don't know, maybe because you're a control freak."

"Fuck you," she said, sticking her tongue out at me.

"You know you want to," I said winking at her. "This thing with Alan is just a cover!"

"You wish! Talking about Alan, that's why I'm here."

I looked up from setting the table when she didn't continue. Stacey was a real fan of drama.

"Well, are you going to keep me in suspense any longer?"

She took a deep breath as if readying herself for a marathon. "We did it last night!" she finally blurted out.

"Did what?" I asked, confused.

"Like, sex!" I raised my eyebrows.

"Oh wow. I thought you were waiting until the wedding."

"I thought so too but I don't know. He came over last night and one thing just led to another."

"Well, how was it?" I asked, not sure if I wanted to hear the details of it.

"I've never had such great sex in my life. I thought I was going to die. He is such a freak. I mean, who knew that a lawyer could be like that in bed? We've been together forever and I never once saw this coming. And he's absolutely massive -"

"Oh my goodness," I interrupted with a cringe. "Can you not? I still have to look this man in the eye on Saturday. It's like hearing about my brother's sex life."

"Yeah whatever Angie, you know you want to hear the rest!"

"Actually, no I don't. Come eat, you crazy blonde."

"So, do you have a date for Saturday?"

I took my time pouring a glass of wine before I looked at her disdainfully.

"No," I answered finally.

"Why not?" she asked, loading her fork full of lasagne.

"Because I don't have men falling at my feet wherever I go like you, Stacey. It's just difficult."

"No, it isn't. You think of somebody you like, tell them your best friend is getting married and ask them to come with you."

"Look," I said. "We've been over this a million times. Men just aren't into me that way. It's been like this my whole life so I don't even know why I'm expecting it to be different. Besides, I don't even fancy anybody at the moment. I don't have time for that shit. Work is killing me."

"Well, you can't hide behind your work forever. You're a catch and sooner or later somebody's going to see that."

I knew what she was trying to do. Like any good friend, she was trying to make me feel better. I felt bad for throwing myself a pity party just before her wedding but before I could apologise, my phone rang. It was my dad so I ignored it.

"Are you going to get that?" she asked.

"No," I said shortly. Suddenly, she grabbed my phone off the table and answered it.

"Hey, what the fuck?" I hissed. I hated that she was trying to force me to talk to him. He didn't deserve any of my time.

"Yes, I'll accept the charges," replied Stacey to whoever was on the phone.

She then handed it to me with an expectant look on her face. I had a good mind to hang up but I knew she was just trying to help. I bit the bullet and took the phone.

"Hello?"

"Sweetie, it's so good to hear your voice again," said a gravelly voice on the other side of the phone.

I flinched at the term of endearment. I hadn't spoken to him in months but his voice still sounded the same.

"How have you been?" he asked. The sincerity in his voice made me feel a pang of guilt for ignoring his daily calls.

"I'm fine, just busy at work." I heard the smile in his voice when he replied and I didn't know how to feel.

"I'm so proud of you Angie, I hope you know that. I know I'm not the father you deserve but don't you ever doubt how much I love you. You hear me?"

I swallowed hard, trying to keep my emotions in check. This is why I hated speaking to him. It made me want to care again. I didn't want to go through all that crap.

"Yes Daddy, I know. How are you?"

"As good as can be expected for a man behind bars," he said with a chuckle. "I'm just happy you finally picked up. I think about you every day. You are my only daughter after all."

I kept quiet, not knowing what else to say.

"Angie sweetie, I have to go now. Keep well and don't forget; I love you."

"Me too," I said softly. The phone beeped after he hung up. I lifted my eyes to see Stacey looking at me.

"See? That wasn't so bad, now was it?" I didn't say anything. "I think you should go visit him," said Stacey simply.

"Are you fucking serious? No!"

"Angie he's your dad! I know he's done some fucked up shit but he still cares about you, even you can't deny that! He's sorry, what more do you want from him? He can't give you much more from behind bars! Just give him a chance!"

"Stacey, I can't -"

"Come on, Angie. You really have nothing to lose. And you never know how much time you have left. What happens if he dies in there with you still not talking to him?"

"Okay fine! I'll go if means you'll leave me alone about it!" She smiled smugly at me from behind her glass of wine.

"I'll go with you, if that makes you feel better. I have some time tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" I asked incredulously. "Your wedding is on Saturday, remember?"

"They can do without me for a few hours. You need me more. Don't worry love, it'll be fine."

"Yeah, I hope so."

******

"I'll wait here," said Stacey as she shut off the car.

We were in the prison parking lot and I was seriously regretting my decision to visit my dad. I knew Stacey was right about him being sorry but it was still difficult for me. He'd been absent for most of my life and I just didn't feel like attaching myself to somebody who never did anything for me. I'd had to grow up in a foster home because my mother was a druggie and my dad was a gangster who was locked up for the rest of his life for murder. The man had killed somebody, hell, he'd probably killed tens of people and now he wanted to get back into my life. I didn't want anything to do with it. Everything I had in my life, I had because I worked for it myself. Now he wanted to fuck it up. I also knew that Stacey wasn't going to let it go until I saw him so I nodded and made my way inside.

The concrete walls were dark grey, stained with God knows what and everybody had an angry air about them. I tried not to make any eye-contact with any of the inmates as I made my way into the visiting room. I could feel their eyes on me and heard a few catcalls shouted my way. I'd never been so uncomfortable in my life. I sat at an empty table near the corner and waited for them to bring my dad in. Eventually, my eyes wandered and stopped on an inmate who was looking right at me. I averted my eyes for a little bit and then I risked another peek. I didn't know why he was sitting by himself but he was giving me the most unrelenting stare in the world. My brain told me to be scared because this man was a prisoner and he had more than likely seriously maimed or killed somebody to land up in here. My body, on the other hand, did not agree. It felt like he was staring right through my clothes, my soul. I shifted slightly in my seat and pulled my blazer closer to my body. I'd never been on the receiving end of such an intense look in my life before.

He was handsome, there was no denying that but he was almost unrealistically good-looking. Even though his head was shaved clean, I could see that he usually had a head full of what looked like black hair. His eyebrows were thick and expressive but it was the eyes that drew me in. They were large and were an unusual shade of green. I found it strange that so much emotion could shine from the eyes of an inmate. One of them shut quickly in an inconspicuous wink and his full lips turned up into a small smile. Before I knew what I was doing, I was smiling back. I could tell that he was massive. His jumpsuit was done up but it did nothing to hide the huge body beneath. Tattoos peeked out at the neck of his jumpsuit and at the wrists. I wondered if he was covered in them. Soon I was wondering what was beneath all that orange material. I shifted in my seat again, feeling very warm in my work clothes. This mysterious inmate was having a strange effect on me.

Suddenly, the door to the visiting area opened and I looked up to see my dad walking in. He looked better than I thought he would. He and my mum had had me early in life so he was still only forty-two and I could see that he obviously spent his time working out. I hated how much I looked like him. We had the same eyes, same dark brown skin and the same nose. I hadn't seen him in over two years but he didn't look much different from my last visit. He just had a little more grey hair than before. I could see why my mum fell for him. He was a good-looking man who carried himself confidently, even though I hated to admit it. He smiled when he saw me and I weakly returned it. I was glad that no physical contact was allowed because I didn't feel like hugging him. I tried my best to smile at him even though I didn't really feel like it.

"Hey sweetheart," he said, sitting down opposite me.

"Hey Dad," I replied quietly, suddenly feeling very emotional.

"You're looking good."

"Thank you."

"Still as polite as always, even to a screw up like your old man," he said with a wry smile.

I sighed. "Don't say that Dad," I said in spite of myself.

"No, don't defend me. It's my own fault that I'm here and to be honest, I don't deserve your kindness. I've had some time to think in here. I don't know if it counts for much but I think I've really changed. I just want you to give me a chance again. I've already missed out on so much of your life. So...do you think that maybe we could start over? I really do miss you Angie."

I sat in silence, not exactly sure how to respond. It was hard for me to shut him out now that he was sitting in front of me and telling me all these things. I would've been lying if I said I didn't miss him, regardless of the way I felt about all the things he'd done to land himself in prison. What's the worst that could happen, I thought to myself? I mean, he was locked up. I could just stop seeing him if things got too much. At that moment, Stacey's words came back to me and I thought of how much I'd regret not trying if, God forbid, something happened to him. I nodded slowly, wondering if I was making the right decision. I guess I'd have to find out.

My father and I spent the next forty-five minutes talking about my life mostly. I couldn't believe it but it actually felt good to tell him about all my achievements and how well things were going for me. I still wanted him to be proud of me I guess. Eventually I had to leave. I still wasn't ready to hug him so I just waved goodbye instead. On my way out, the inmate with the green eyes caught my eye again. He was giving me the same intense stare as before but this time he didn't hide his appraisal of my body. He looked at me up and down before that smirk returned to his face. Again, I wondered why he didn't make me feel uncomfortable the way the other inmates did. Flustered, I looked away and rushed to the door. I needed to get away from the sexy prisoner. My love life, or lack thereof, just seemed to go from on disaster to another.