by Earl Sewell
“You make perfect sense to me. You’ve always cared for him but you were afraid to let him know. Now you’ve found the courage to fight for his heart.”
“Yes, and once I have it, I’ll give him my heart as well, and we can stop pretending that our feelings are only on the friendship level.”
“Okay. So what’s your plan?” Lauren set her empty cup in the cup holder and shifted in her seat.
“I’m going to invite him out for a bite to eat after the concert. While we’re eating, I’ll drop him some serious hints. I also want you to keep saying, whenever you can, that we make a cute couple.”
“What if he doesn’t get it? You know how guys can be totally clueless.”
“He’ll get it. I’ll make sure of that. You just keep mentioning how perfect we look together.”
“You got it,” Lauren said. I continued to search for Jeremy and finally spotted him walking in. He was headed toward the seating on the right side of the theater. I rose to my feet and waved my arms, hoping he’d see me, but he didn’t.
“Jeremy!” I called out his name, but he didn’t hear me over all of the chatter.
“Jeremy!” I yelled louder, but he still didn’t hear me. I was about to call to him again, but felt Lauren tug on my clothing. I turned and looked at her.
“Why don’t you go over there? I’ll hold your seat,” Lauren suggested.
“Good idea,” I said. Just as I was about to do that, the houselights dimmed and the curtains began to open. The show was about to start.
“I’ll wait until the show is over,” I said, sitting down.
“Well, at least you know that he’s here,” Lauren said.
“That’s true,” I said and inconspicuously reached for one of my coat pockets. I pulled out my cell phone and sent Jeremy a text. Then I took a deep breath and waited.
two
Once the stage curtains had fully opened, the stage lights came up and I saw that the edge of the stage had been lined with poinsettias. Several microphones were strategically positioned and there was a black piano situated at the center of the stage. The choir stand formed an arc directly behind the piano. The audience began clapping as members of the choir walked onto the stage.
“Go, Tina!” I heard someone shout out from behind me.
“Let’s go, Nicole!” someone else screamed out from the left side of the auditorium.
I felt my cell phone buzz and took a peek. A text from Jeremy had arrived.
What’s up?
@ the concert. There is an empty seat next to me. Come over.
2 dark. I don’t wanna trip over people.
Now I am sad.
Why.
You need to be near me.
LOL U sound like a pouting girlfriend.
Maybe I am.
Stop playing Anna.
What if I am not playing?
Yeah right. I thought Carlo was your type.
I made a bad choice.
I tried 2 warn u about him. Remember?
Yes. I remember. It was cute the way you acted like a jealous boyfriend when u found out about Carlo. Remember that?
I wasn’t that bad.
Yes you were.
I was trying to protect you from disaster.
I know and I should have listened to u.
Yeah but u didn’t.
Meet me in the hallway when the show is over. I need 2 talk 2 u bout something.
About what?
Something. Just wait 4 me. I will find u.
Ok.
After I put away my phone, the choir began to sway from side to side. They launched into a brilliant rendition of “Jingle Bells” and gave the audience more than they had bargained for. When that song was complete, a girl named Bernita Gilmore, who I once considered to be my friend when we were in eighth grade, came onto the stage. Our friendship ended when I learned that she had told other girls at school that I had allowed a boy to get to second base. I had only let the guy squeeze my behind a few times. When he tried to touch other things, I slapped his hand away. He eventually transferred to another school and I lost contact with him. I had told Bernita about it during a sleepover one weekend, months after the guy had transferred. She was the only person I had told, so I knew that she’d shared my secret and I could no longer trust her. After that secret was set loose, a number of guys at my junior high school perceived me as a fast girl who would allow any guy to touch me anywhere. For weeks, guys would walk past me and gesture as if they were about to smack my butt. Jeremy had come to my defense and had told as many guys as he could that I was a sweet girl. I’d never told him that Bernita was the source of the rumor. He didn’t have to defend me, but I appreciated his effort. Bernita and I hadn’t spoken since.
Bernita was wearing a black gown that was sleeveless and had a scoop neck. It was the same dress that all of the girls in the choir had on. Although I didn’t like admitting it, she looked really good. Bernita was a light brown girl with silky wavy hair that was cut in a style that angled sharply around her cheekbones. Bernita was also blessed with the type of skin that was flawless and glowed like a velvety fabric. She reached the microphone and began to sing. That was another thing about Bernita; she had a beautiful voice that was equal in power and depth to Jennifer Hudson’s. Bernita sang “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” and when she finished, the audience clapped and cheered loudly. I waited for her to exit the stage and was stunned she remained for several more songs. It was then that I realized Bernita was the main attraction and the choir was her backup. I was floored by the fact she led all of the songs as if the entire event was her personal Christmas concert. I held on to my praises because I still hadn’t let go of my grudge against her.
At the conclusion of the concert, Lauren and I walked out into the hallway and stood near a staircase. As the flow of people exited the auditorium, I eagerly searched for Jeremy. When I spotted him I felt elated.
“Jeremy, over here.” I waved so he could see me. When he spotted me, he meandered through the crowd to where Lauren and I were standing.
“Hey, guys.” He leaned into me and gave me a hug and then hugged Lauren. The cologne he was wearing smelled intoxicating.
“Come closer to me.” I pointed to the spot where I wanted him to stand. He did as I asked and I embraced him once again so that I could enjoy the scent of him just a little longer.
“Anna, what are you doing?” Jeremy chuckled as he pulled away from me.
I smiled and said, “I like the cologne you’re wearing. It smells really exquisite.”
“It’s called Eternity by Calvin Klein. I borrowed it from my big brother,” Jeremy explained. “So what’s up? Did you guys enjoy the concert?”
“It was decent,” Lauren said, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.
“It was okay,” I said, smiling sweetly and looking deeply into his beautiful brown eyes. Jeremy stood around six feet tall and had a dimpled smile. He had chestnut-toned skin, an athletic build and curly hair that framed his handsome face. I reached out and took Jeremy’s hand and rubbed the back of it with the tips of my fingers.
“That tickles. What’s up with that?” Jeremy smiled at me.
“I’ll give you two a little privacy. I’m going to go get more hot chocolate.” Lauren pointed toward the concession stand before she stepped away.
“So what did you want to talk to me about?” Jeremy asked.
“I need to ask you something,” I said, placing the tip of my index fingernail between my teeth.
“What is this about?”
“It’s about—”
“Excuse me. Can I speak to you, Jeremy?” Bernita said, appearing from somewhere within the crowd of people surrounding us. I shot her a look that could have withered an evergreen, b
ut Bernita looked back at me with a stone face as if she could not have cared less about the unspoken hostility I had directed at her.
“Give me a second, Anna,” he said as Bernita tugged at his arm.
“Seriously?” I looked at Jeremy, trying to not let my hurt feelings surface and form a wounded expression on my face.
“I’m sure that this will only take a second.”
Bernita rested her back against a nearby wall and pulled Jeremy close and spoke purposely in his ear, all the while keeping her eyes on me. When she finished, she stepped away from him and exaggerated the sway of her hips as she walked away. Jeremy looked at her as if the words she had whispered in his ear had cast some type of spell on him. When the spell had broken, he came back to me.
“What was that all about?” I asked.
“I’m going to hang out with Bernita and some of her friends.”
“Jeremy, why do you think I asked you to meet me?” I asked with fire in my voice as I tried to fight off the feeling of disappointment. Jeremy froze, his face reflecting the fact that he wasn’t reading between the lines very well.
“I just thought you wanted to talk about something real quick. At least that’s the impression that I got.”
“I do but...” I paused, looked into his eyes again and became lost. We’re so perfect together is what I wanted to say, but I somehow couldn’t get the words out.
“Are you okay? Did something happen? Is Carlo bothering you?” Jeremy rested his hands on my shoulders like a concerned brother.
“No, and would you please stop bringing up Carlo?” I said, wondering how I could get him to open his eyes and see me in a more romantic way.
“Sorry. I’ll never mention him again,” Jeremy said. He then reached out and tenderly swept my hair away from my eyes.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked, sincerely wanting to fix whatever my issue was.
“I’m fine. I was hoping that we could hang out tonight,” I blurted. It was a gamble. I hoped that he would choose to hang with me and Lauren so I could execute the plan that I had worked out in my head.
“I already made plans with Bernita. I’m sorry. If I had known sooner—” I put my hand up to interrupt him. I didn’t want to hear about his plans with Bernita any more than I wanted a knife in my heart.
“I guess I’ll catch you later, then.” He was about to turn and run after her.
“Wait a minute. When did you and Bernita, you know, hook up?” I asked, feeling my disappointment snaking up my spine.
“It’s not like that, Anna. She’s just a friend, just like you are.”
“Yeah, right.” My lips formed a hard and unforgiving line because I didn’t believe him. “You’d better watch your back with her,” I warned.
“It’s not like that, Anna,” he said once again.
“You may think it’s an innocent friendship, but she has plans for you. She wants to hook up with you. I can tell.”
“Anna.” He looked at me as if I had blown the situation out of proportion.
“I’m not trying to cause you any drama. I’m just saying, as your friend—” I hated hearing myself say that when I had the desire to be more “—she is a snake and if you’re not careful she’ll bite and poison you. I’m warning you just like you tried to warn me about Carlo. Remember?”
“Bernita is harmless,” he tried to assure me.
“Do you like her as more than a friend?” I asked.
“No, Anna.” He smiled.
“What if you found out that she likes you as more than a friend? Would things become different?” I asked questions my heart did not want to know the answers to, but my mind needed to know.
Jeremy shrugged his shoulders.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“It means that I don’t know.”
“Okay. If you had a choice between her and a girl that you knew was perfect for you in every way, who would you choose?” I asked.
“The girl that was perfect for me. You know that. I’ll catch you later, Anna.” He smiled before disappearing into the crowd.
three
I walked to the concession stand and joined up with Lauren. She was toying with her cell phone and didn’t notice me until I spoke.
“Come on. Let’s go,” I said.
“Where is Jeremy?” she asked.
“He’s not coming because he made plans to hang out with Bernita,” I said, feeling as if I had been scalded by a curling iron.
“Why does he want to be with her? From what you’ve said about her, sounds like being friends with her is like trying to hug a porcupine.” Lauren met my gaze and waited for me to provide her with a reasonable explanation.
“I don’t know. I warned him about her, though.”
“Do you think something serious is going on between them?” she asked.
“I hope not, but if there is, there’s nothing that I can do about it.” I sighed sadly.
“Did you ask if they were dating each other?”
“Of course I did, and he said that they were ‘just friends.’” I made the little quotation-marks gesture with my fingers.
“So what are you going to do?” Lauren asked.
“I don’t want to think about that anymore. I’m sort of confused right now. Let’s just go and get something to eat,” I said.
“Do we have to walk outside for a long time?” Lauren asked, shivering at the thought of staying out in the cold weather longer than necessary.
“We don’t have that far to walk. Here. Take my gloves. They’ll keep your hands warm,” I said.
“Then yours will get cold,” Lauren said, shaking her head.
“No, they won’t. I’m used to chilly weather,” I said and shoved the gloves in her hand as we moved toward an exit.
* * *
Lauren and I arrived at Chili’s a short time later. The hostess gave us a booth near a window. As soon as we were seated, I noticed that Jeremy, Bernita and some other people who had sung at the holiday concert were with them.
“OMG! I can’t believe we’re at the same restaurant,” I said.
“What are you talking about?” Lauren asked, confused.
“Bernita and Jeremy are here.” I tilted my head and pointed my gaze to where they were sitting. Lauren, as inconspicuously as she could, repositioned herself so that she could look over her shoulder at them.
“I’m sorry, but they don’t look all that cute together.”
“Well, apparently he sees something in her,” I said, wishing that I had a car so we could leave and go someplace else. Jeremy must’ve sensed that someone was staring at him. He glanced up from the menu and looked at me. He acknowledged me by waving hello. I waved back and then buried my face in the menu.
“Hey, Anna, how are you doing?” I looked up from my menu and saw that Sabrina and her boyfriend, Mike, had entered the restaurant. The hostess was carrying their menus and waited for them to continue following her.
“Hey, my friend Lauren and I are about to eat. Have you guys met?”
“No,” said Sabrina. “This is my boyfriend, Mike, and I’m Sabrina.”
“Nice to meet you both,” Lauren said with a friendly smile.
“Nice to meet you, as well,” Sabrina said as she removed her hat and gloves.
“How did you guys get here?” I asked.
“Keysha and Wesley are out parking the car. We all decided to come out together,” Sabrina said. “We’re just waiting for them so that we can sit together.”
“Actually, do you guys mind if we sit with you? Keysha and Wesley are arguing in the car,” Mike said.
“That’s fine with me. Are you cool with that, Lauren?” I asked.
“Of course,” Lauren said as she scooted closer to
the window to make room for Mike to sit. The hostess left their menus and then went back to greet the other guests.
“Cool, because my big sister gets on my nerves sometimes,” Mike explained.
“You don’t like your sister?” Lauren asked.
“Yes, I like her a lot. It’s just that sometimes she gets a little bossy, which is why she’s in the car arguing with her boyfriend,” Mike clarified.
“Oh, I know how that can be,” I chimed in. “My sister, Maya, is the queen of bossy.”
“Wow. I can’t believe Bernita is here,” Sabrina said disgustedly.
“Where?” Mike quickly turned around and scanned the room until he located her. “Yo. That chick there has some serious issues.”
“What are you talking about? Did you used to date her or something?” I asked.
“Oh, hell to the no,” Mike said as if I had just poked him with a fork.
“Bernita is crazy,” Sabrina said coldly.
“Did you guys get into a fight or something?” Lauren asked.
“We almost did, but Mike held me back,” Sabrina admitted.
“What did she do that made you so mad?” I asked in search of another reason to place in my grudge bag against Bernita.