My aunt, uncle, and cousin were coming in from New York and staying here at the house with us. Angel, my cousin, is two years older than me and I couldn’t wait to see her again. The last time we’d been together was July at our family reunion in South Carolina. Out of all of my first cousins, she’s my favorite. She definitely has a strong edgy personality. Her accent is heavy, but she denies having one at all. I look up to her in a way because she has her life together. She’s in her second year of college and made the Dean’s list every semester. She has a no-nonsense kind of attitude that draws as many people to her as it pushes away. Lucky for me, Angel’s one of the most open minded people I know, so I was probably least nervous about her meeting AJ
They were due to be in at around 10pm, so I was busy setting my room up for her. My Queen sized bed was big enough for her to just sleep with me, so I changed my sheets and made room for her things in my closet before cleaning out a couple of my drawers for her. Angel and her family were visiting for an entire week and she couldn’t have come at a better time.
At around 9:45, my parents and I were sitting on the couch waiting for my aunt and uncle to arrive. When my phone rang, my father glanced down as if he was hoping to catch a glimpse of who the caller was. AJ’s name flashed across the screen and I answered right away.
“Hey!”
“Look, I know your cousin’s coming in tonight, but……do you think you can meet me later? I kinda need to see you,” AJ replied suggestively. Over the past few weeks, he’d developed quite a dependency and I knew exactly why he “needed” to see me. His advances flattered me, but I had to be vague with my father sitting so close.
“Sure. I should be able to work something out.”
“Twelve?” He asked.
“Mmmmmm……,” was all I could say to get him to guess differently.
“One?”
“Later,” I replied, knowing that my mother and Aunt Lisa would probably be up late tonight catching up.
“Two?” He asked, sighing.
“Perfect.”
AJ laughed to himself. “Your dad must be nearby.”
“Sure is,” I replied.
He laughed again and I could imagine him shaking his head at my paranoia. “See you at two,” he said, and then hung up. I could breathe again with the awkward conversation behind me. My father continued to stare at the television which meant that my words had gone right over his head as I’d hoped.
Just then, a set of headlights turned into our driveway. Mom jumped up to her feet. Aunt Lisa’s the older sister and she’d practically raised my mother after their parents died. Mom always looked forward to seeing her around the holidays. As soon as Aunt Lisa walked through the door she dropped her bags and she and mom both started screaming as they jumped up and down in one another’s arms.
Angel came through the door carrying what looked like every piece of luggage from the car. Daddy and I rushed over to her to grab what we could. She took one look at me and smiled.
“Sammy!” She screamed. She’s the only one who calls me that and I was glad of it. Sammy sounds like a dog’s name to me and it still hasn’t grown on me after all these years. I threw my arms around her. Even though it had only been months since we’d seen each other, it felt like years had passed.
“Come on up. You’re staying in my room.” I motioned her toward the steps.
We ran up, carrying her luggage and tossed it all right on the floor as soon as we shut my door. The first thing Angel did was change into her pajamas and then lay back on my bed with her feet crossed and her hands interlocked across her chest. There was so much I wanted to tell her, but it seemed selfish to unload on her after such a long and tiring trip. She looked over at me and smiled as I pulled out a pair of pajamas from my dresser.
“Sooooo…..?”
“Sooooo…..?” I replied.
She sighed and sat up on her elbows. “Are you gonna make me beat the information out of you or are you gonna spill it on your own?”
I smiled. “What are you talking about?”
“What’s going on in your life? What’s up with that boy you were telling me about at the reunion? You still with him? I need to see some pictures or something, now!” She rambled.
I laughed at her. There was that New York charm of hers that I loved so much. “No, we’re not together anymore, but we’re friends,” I replied as I reached into my nightstand drawer and retrieved a picture of Antonio and I that we took at Homecoming.
Her eyes bucked when she looked at him. “Wow, he’s a cutie! So…..ya’ll friends like ya’ll still get busy friends, or friends like let’s braid each other’s hair friends?” She asked.
“First of all, we are friends as in we’re just cool. And second, we never ‘got busy’.”
“Yeah right,” she scoffed as she took a second look at the photo.
“I’m serious. We never did it.” I sat down on my bed across from her.
“You tellin’ me you never ever?”
I smiled. “I didn’t say that. I said that we never did it.”
“Whoa…..Look at you. So tell me about this new dude.”
Angel frowned at how giddy I became when I started talking about him. “His name’s AJ and you’ll meet him Thursday.”
Her expression was thoughtful. “You must really like him, huh?”
“That’s one way to put it,” I replied. When I looked over at her she was yawning again. “Girl, go to bed. I’m gonna take a shower. We’ll finish talking about it tomorrow.
“Fine, but you’d better be ready to give me every single detail by then. I’m not playin’ with you.”
“I will,” I assured her.”
“Good. And I’ll just say goodnight now cause I’ll probably be knocked out by the time you get out.”
I smiled at her, glad that she’d be here with me for a while. Maybe she could help me sort some of my mess out. “Goodnight,” I said, and then turned to walk into the bathroom.
Angel was right. When I came out of the bathroom she was fast asleep. It was only 11:15, so I lay across my bed and turned the TV on low. At ten to two, I’d wasted enough time, so I grabbed my things and eased out into the hall. Uncle Todd was snoring loudly enough that I could’ve fallen down the stairs and no one would’ve heard it. I made it out the door and then walked swiftly down the street.
AJ and I went to our usual spot. He’d barely shut the engine off before he started removing my coat and almost everything else. The back seat was cramped, but we made it work. This was becoming our routine. At least two nights a week we were sneaking out to be together. Even the possibility of getting caught didn’t stop me. AJ had quickly become the single most important thing in my life.
When I finally looked at the clock it was nearly five in the morning. I watched him as he refastened his belt while I dressed. If I was being honest with myself, I still wanted him, but I needed to get back soon. When I finally made it inside the house it was a quarter to 6 and the sun was on its way up. I’d cut it a little closer that I’d planned, but it seemed like everyone was still asleep. I crept into my room, slid my clothes off and changed back into my pajamas, and then tiptoed to my bed and got under the covers.
My head had barely hit the pillow. “Where the heck have you been?” Angel asked in a whisper, nearly causing me to fall off the bed.
“I was just out with AJ.” I paused. “You’re not gonna tell on me are you?”
“Of course not, dummy!” Angel almost said aloud. There was a long silence that followed, and I could hear her smiling when she asked, “What were ya’ll doing?”
“Shut up and go to sleep Angel,” I said as I yawned.
“Mmm hmm. I’ll bet you are tired.”
“Goodnight!” I replied.
“Look at the window Sammy. You see that big yellow thing out there? That’s called the sun,” she said sarcastically. “That means it’s morning!”
I ignored her and fell asleep.
When I finally awoke, it
was noon. Angel was gone. I heard mom and Aunt Lisa laughing downstairs. The day before Thanksgiving, they usually got started prepping the food and getting a head start on the baking. I stretched and went to the bathroom to freshen up. I walked downstairs to find Mom, Aunt Lisa and Angel all in the kitchen. Angel wasn’t helping; she just sat at the table watching. When she noticed me she smiled and raised her eyebrows. I shook my head at her as I returned the smile. I sat next to her at the table and leaned my head on her shoulder. I was still a little groggy, but I’d slept enough to function. She rubbed my hair and leaned her cheek on my head while we sat listening to Mom and Aunt Lisa talking about people that I’d never heard of. They were sharing old stories from back in the day and if I sat there much longer listening to them I’d surely fall back asleep.
“You wanna help me decorate for tomorrow?” I asked Angel.
“Sure. Right about now you could ask me to cut off my thumbs and I’d choose that over this,” she replied.
We went into the dining room where all the decorations were laid out on the table. I pulled the party stuff from the bag and Angel pretended to heave.
“What?” I asked.
“All this pink…..I think I’m gonna to toss my cookies. Please…..hurry…..put it back in the bag.”
“Whatever. Pink is pretty!”
“And what, are you turning eight? What’s with the streamers and banner anyway?”
I stared at her for a minute and we both burst out laughing.
“Are you gonna help me or not?” I asked.
“I guess, but pass me that bag in case I puke from the pink overload.”
I laughed and threw a pack of streamers at her.
We worked until about three before we stopped to take a break. “Isn’t this enough?” Angel asked. “It looks like Barbie’s freakin’ Dream House in here.”
“Yeah. I’m hungry anyway,” I replied.
We went into the kitchen to rejoin Mom and Aunt Lisa who were still preparing for dinner tomorrow. I gathered everything I needed to make Angel and I peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. She laughed to herself.
“It’s official. You are an eight year old.”
I glared at her. “You’re never too old for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.” I finished fixing our lunch and then sat beside her.
“So, you never did tell me what happened to this Antonio guy. Did he cheat or something?” She asked quietly.
I almost choked on my food. “No. It wasn’t like that. It’s kinda complicated.”
From the corner of my eye I saw her roll her eyes at me. “I think I’m smart enough to follow the story.”
I sighed. “At least wait until we go back to my room. I’ll tell you everything then.”
Satisfied with my response, she turned to finish eating. Five minutes later, she got up to put her plate in the sink and then stood across from me impatiently. I’d barely put my last bite in my mouth before she snatched mine too. She dragged me upstairs by my hand. When we reached my room she shut and locked the door.
“Everything,” she stated flatly as she turned to look at me.
I laughed to myself as I got comfortable on the bed. She stared intently as she joined me.
“Well, I met AJ and that’s when things started coming unraveled with Antonio.”
A smile crossed her face. “Oh, so you’re the cheater.”
I frowned. “It wasn’t like that.” After thinking about it for a second I amended my statement. “Well, maybe it was a little like that, but I never meant for it to happen that way. Anyway, Antonio and I were able to salvage our friendship and now everything is perfect.” As I said the word ‘perfect’ I was immediately reminded that the kiss Antonio and I shared was the only blemish in the situation.
Angel stared at me for a few seconds. “You’re holding back on me. There has to be more to this story. Nothing that you just said was ‘complicated’ which means that you’re not telling me something.”
I looked down at my hands for a moment. “Antonio and I kissed about a month ago and AJ doesn’t know. I feel so guilty about it, but it was just the one time.” I took another deep breath before continuing. “Then there’s this chick who’s……a little obsessed with AJ and she’s been causing a few problems. None of my friends are really speaking to me. Not even Leslie. And then there’s the issue with Daddy meeting AJ for the first time tomorrow.”
“Ok. Let’s start with the kiss. Did you kiss him or did he kiss you, because that makes a difference.”
“He kissed me…….but I didn’t stop him.” I replied.
“Still he initiated. If it ever comes up, just put the whole thing on him and deny ever being a willing participant. That was simple. So, moving on to your friends. I don’t get why they cut you off. Are they just die-hard Antonio fans or what’s the deal?”
I laughed. “I think it’s a combination of things. They were worried about me getting hurt when Antonio and I hooked up because he’d been with a lot of girls. They thought that he was going to do me the same way. But they got to know him and became friends with him too. They also don’t really seem to care for AJ and that pushed them away from me too. Not to mention the fact that I hurt Antonio,” I explained.
“Whatever. They’re still supposed to be your girls. I say you’re better off without them if there’s no loyalty. That’s two of your problems that I‘ve solved in less than ten minutes. You definitely needed me here. So, what’s this about this stalker chick?” Angel asked.
I rolled my eyes as I was reminded of Leila. “She’s crazy. She lost her mom and AJ was supportive and they ended up in a relationship. He broke up with her and she wasn’t having it. So, long story short, she hates me, I hate her.”
“Has she tried to fight you or something?” Angel asked with a tone of hostility.
I thought of everything Leila had done and I struggled with whether I should reveal it all to Angel. “I think she’s been following us; she put pictures of them doing it in my locker and I think she slashed my tires.”
Angel was silent for a moment. “Please tell me why you haven’t beat this girl’s…..”
“I slapped her, but that was as far as I got before AJ grabbed me,” I interrupted.
“Do you want me to cut her?” Angel asked excitedly.
I laughed. “No. She hasn’t even been to school in like a month or something. I don’t know where she is.”
“Well, you know how to reach me. I don’t care if I’m all the way in New York. Call me!” She paused while she bottled her anger. “Now what’s the big deal with him meeting your dad tomorrow? Didn’t he meet Antonio?”
I guess there wasn’t any point in keeping her in the dark. “Angel, he’s……not black.”
Her eyes bucked. “You like white boys now, Sammy?” She asked while smiling.
“He’s not white either,” I replied reluctantly.
“Ok, so he’s Hispanic. I can get down with that. So what’s AJ stand for Alejandro Jose or something? Ooooh! I know let’s make enchiladas for dinner tomorrow!” She teased, but I didn’t laugh with her. My eyes were fixed on the wall. “He’s Japanese.”
Her laughing ceased abruptly as she looked over at me in surprise. “Didn’t see that coming,” she replied.
We both sat there in silence for a minute. “I don’t want daddy to judge him before he even gets to know him. AJ’s a really nice guy and I want everyone to give him a chance.” I paused. “I love him Angel.”
“Wow,” she replied. For the first time ever, she seemed speechless.
I rolled over on my back and stared at the ceiling. Worry began to set in. AJ would not only be facing daddy tomorrow, but my entire family. I wasn’t sure what to expect. Angel reached for my hand. “It’ll be fine Sammy. I don’t think it’s gonna be as bad as you think.”
*****
The next morning I was up before six. My nerves got the best of me, causing me to toss and turn all night until I eventually just gave up. I reached for my phone and wa
s surprised to see that I already had a message from AJ
“Happy Birthday,Beautiful!” was all it said. I checked the time that the message was sent……12:00am. Leave it to him to bring a smile to my face this early in the morning.
I showered while Angel slept. After getting dressed I went downstairs to join Mom and Aunt Lisa who were at it again. There were cakes and pies lined along the counter. They’d probably been up since four, but their excitement overshadowed their fatigue.
“Happy Birthday, Baby!” Mom said from across the kitchen. My expression must’ve alerted her that something wasn’t right with my mood. She looked at me curiously. “Is everything alright, honey?” She asked.
I didn’t feel like talking about it, so I just nodded in response. She stared at me a moment longer and then finished cooking. Daddy came in and walked up behind my mother. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her once on the neck. She dipped her finger in the frosting of the chocolate cake nearby and held it to daddy’s lips to taste. As I watched them smiling at one another and being in love, I had a glimmer of hope that one day AJ and I would beat all the odds and be able to live our lives together in peace. Maybe even my father wouldn’t stand in our way.
He caught a glimpse of my perplexed expression on his way out of the kitchen. I was glad that he didn’t ask me any questions. He leaned down and kissed my forehead and I was tempted to tell him everything then and there, but I was choked by my own fear.
I spent most of the day downstairs with mom, Aunt Lisa and Angel. We put the finishing touches on dinner and cleaned up the kitchen. At 5:00 I went back up to my room to start getting ready. All of our guests were set to arrive at 6:00. Our family was not usually on time, but I figured my friends would be prompt. Angel sat on the edge of my bed putting her ear rings back in.
“Aww…..you look pretty,” I said to Angel as I assessed her appearance. She was dressed in a mid-thigh length turquoise top and a pair of black leggings. Her long sandy brown hair was pulled up in a neat bun that accentuated her slender neck and shoulders. She smiled at me revealing her deep dimples that matched my own.
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