47
Anthony
Fireside – Arctic Monkeys
I spend the next few days in Dallas. I was asked to be an announcer for a few small local competitions around the area. Once I am done with these, it will be time to head out to Santa Cruz.
The first competition was small, up in Arlington. It brought back memories of coming here to sponsor both Mateo and Noah. It feels like it's been ages since I was here. They instantly just felt like they were always a part of the Overbear team. As I watch the riders go through the park, unfortunately, none of them really stick out to me–not enough to sponsor, at least. I have to drive to Fort Worth for the second competition. Again, no one really stands out to me at this one, as well. I feel bad for not finding anyone, but that’s how it works. Sometimes I get lucky and find some great riders. Other times, I do not.
I check the time after I watch the small competition and notice that the stockyards are about ready to herd the longhorns down the main street. I quickly jump in my rental and make my way over there to see the longhorns. Parking the car, I walk to the street, and luckily, I spot a space on the curb to go sit on. As I am sitting there waiting for this to start, I look up across the street, and I swear I see Heath walking down the sidewalk. I start frantically looking around him for Ashlynn. I know she would be with him and if I remember correctly, she does have a stop in Dallas, but I don’t remember when the stop is. Was it at the start or at the end of her book tour? I stand to get a better look and hear an annoyed girl behind me. “Ugh, you’re so tall and blocking my view. Could you please sit back down?”
I turn around, look at the girl, and she instantly blushes, stumbling over her words, “You’re…you’re Anthony Ville!”
I give her a smile. “I am. Sorry for blocking your view. You can have my spot.”
With that, I turn and start to walk down the sidewalk, keeping my eye on Heath.
As I walk down the sidewalk, I lose sight of Heath among the crowd. Talking to myself, I say, “Dammit, where did he go?”
I stop and turn to head back to my spot I was at, even though I know it is no longer available. The girl who was there before is now flanked on both sides with a bunch of her friends. Once she spots me, she points me out to her friends, and they whisper to each other and giggle like schoolgirls. Instantly annoyed by them, I try to get past, but they stop and ask if they could have a picture. I hesitate for a minute and think to myself that these girls probably don’t even watch anything regarding BMX. However, I don’t want to be an asshole, so I indulge them and take a quick picture. The girl I stood up in front of tells me, “Thanks, my little brother and his friends are huge fans, and he would never have believed me that I saw you here. Now he has to!”
I smile at her before leaving. “Glad I could help! Have fun!”
After leaving the Stockyards, I head back to Dallas. I can’t know for sure if that was Heath, but it certainly looked like him. On the way back, I sit again in rush hour traffic. It takes me almost an hour to make it back to my hotel. By the time I make it to my room, I feel worn out from the day. I order room service, eat, shower, and lay down. Lying in bed in the silence of the night, I grab my phone and look at Ashlynn’s Instagram. She hasn’t posted much, but her feed is flooded from fans taking pictures with her and tagging the location. It is the last few pictures that grab my attention. Both are tagged at a small bookstore that is downtown Dallas. I only know this because I passed by that same store yesterday morning, walking around before my meeting. I don’t recall anything that mentions Ashlynn being there, though. This doesn’t prove that it was Heath at the Stockyards, though, but I would say it is a strong chance it was. Maybe Ashlynn didn’t want to go with him.
After setting my phone down, I turn the lights off to go to sleep for the night. It is a restless sleep; I toss and turn most of the night. Finally, around 5 AM I give up and get up. I go walk by that bookstore because curiosity is getting the best of me. Still, there’s nothing mentioning Ashlynn Black being there. I guess I missed it. I again stop into a small café and order some breakfast to eat. My flight leaves this morning to head out to Santa Cruz. I feel like I have been anxiously waiting for this one competition all year. Since I told Noah and Mateo about it, I have been just as excited.
By the time I am done eating, Chase is calling me. I answer the phone while walking back. “Hey man! Do you ever go a day without surfing?”
I hear Chase’s deep laugh coming through the phone. “Do you ever go a day without riding your bike?” Touché. “Anyway, I am calling because I got an email from Santa Cruz. They are changing the lineup.,” Chase tells me.
“Okay, what are they changing about it?” I ask.
“Just that it’s not going to be a Pro Rookie Day the first day and then Pro the second day. The first day for street, the Rookie’s will ride first, then the Pros. Same goes for dirt, which has been moved to the second day.”
I nod my head after Chase tells me the changes. “That’s not so bad. I like that setup better. That way, I can help Mateo and Noah before my rides.”
“That’s exactly what I thought, too!” Chase says.
“Well, I will let you get packed, so you can get to the Reunion Tower and see you in California!”
I tell Chase bye and head back to my hotel to do just that–pack to get out of here.
I get back, finish packing, checkout, and make one stop on my way before the airport: the Reunion Tower. It’s been a tradition every time I am in Dallas to stop here. My phone starts ringing, right as I find a parking spot, and it’s Chase again. Usually, we don’t talk this much in the mornings. What could he want now?
I answer the phone. “Chase, I think we have met our morning talking quota today!” I joke with him.
Chase chuckles at my comment, then I hear him take a deep breath. “Do you believe in coincidences?”
What a random question, I think, before I answer him. “Not particularly. I haven’t had any great ones happen recently for me to believe in them. Why do you ask?”
There’s nothing, but silence. What is he afraid to tell me? “She’s there, or at least she was.”
I couldn’t have heard him right. “What did you say?”
Sighing, he says, “She’s there, dude. Or at least she was. She put a picture on her Instagram and tagged the Reunion Tower. Now I honestly don’t know for sure if she is there or took the picture and posted it after leaving.”
I nearly drop my phone after he tells me this. “Shit, I need to go now.”
I tell Chase, and all he says back is, “Yeah, you do!”
I lock up the car and sprint to the hotel that the Reunion Tower is attached to. Then, I go and purchase the ticket to go up. I am standing in line, my patience wearing thin with how long the elevator is taking to come back down. My heart is beating so fast that I can feel the pulse of it in my neck and hear it in my ears. Lost in thought, I don’t notice the dig of the elevator until someone nudges me with their shoulder to get on. I quickly gather myself and get on right before the doors close. I tap my foot the whole ride up, anxious to get out of here and find her. I am hopeful that she is still here. As soon as the doors start opening, I squeeze out being impatient and look around as soon as I get fully out. I see nothing but people sitting around, talking and drinking. I go to my right to look more, and eventually end up outside on the observation deck. I walk around the whole thing, and she is nowhere. She already left, and I missed her. Right then, I get a text from Chase.
I don’t bother responding back to Chase. I am sure he knows how defeated I feel at the moment of being so close and yet still she is out of my reach. I just stand at the rail with my forearms resting on it and hang my head. I talk to myself, not caring if anyone hears me. “You’re not going to make this easy for me, are you Ashlynn?”
I stand for what feels like forever before finally standing up straight to leave to catch my flight. Before I go, I look at her Instagram and sure enough, the first picture is on the observation deck of the tower, showing the morning light. However, that is not what catches my attention. It’s what she wrote for the picture. “Someone I love very much brought me here last year, and it instantly became one of my favorite spots.”
I am just standing here, staring at my screen and hearing the song playing, though I don’t recognize the name or band. I quickly search the group Fazerdaze and the song Bigger to download. Then, I leave to go listen to it in my car on the way to the airport.
I blast the song, so I can hear every single lyric and smile when I get her message from the song.