The Bet (Persaud Girl)

by Mott, Teisha

  “Nathan!” Dr Persaud said, extending his hand, and giving him a broad smile. “Welcome, welcome. Come on in. This is Christopher.”

  “Good evening again, sir,” Nathan said, accepting his handshake, and then turning to shake Christopher’s hand. “Thank you for allowing Andie to go out this evening.”

  “Thank you for helping her get an A for her paper,” Dr Persaud responded. “Professor Brown told me she did a very good job.”

  “That was all Andie, sir,” Nathan said bashfully. He followed Dr Persaud into the house, and to the den. “I only helped her put her ideas together.” He looked around. “Your house is very nice, Dr Persaud.”

  “Thank you,” Dr Persaud said, smiling all the time. “Christopher, go and tell your sister that Nathan is here. May I offer you something to drink, Nathan?”

  “No, thanks.” He took at seat at Dr Persaud’s gesture, and watched as Christopher scampered out of the room. “Will Andie be ready soon?”

  “I’m sure she will,” Dr Persaud assured him. “You know how women get. They take forever to get dressed.” He smiled at Nathan. “You know, I waited almost an hour for my wife to get ready on our wedding day. The longest one hour of my life, I tell you!”

  Nathan smiled nervously. “I hope Andie won’t be an hour,” he said. “We have reservations.”

  “Where you taking her?” Dr Persaud asked.

  “Bella Mia,” Nathan said, then hastened to add, “If that’s all right by you, sir.”

  “Stop calling me ‘sir’, Nathan! I’m not a British Knight, for heaven’s sake. I told you and all your classmates that on the first day we met.” He poured himself a brandy. “Bella Mia sound fine. It is a lovely spot. Do you have money?”

  “I – yes sir – Dr Persaud,” Nathan stuttered. That was a weird thing he was being asked.

  “Good,” Dr Persaud said. “You need money for Bella Mia. Are you sure I can’t offer you a drink?”

  “Maybe some water?” Nathan asked. He glanced at his watch while Dr Persaud poured the water. He hoped Andie would be ready soon. Dr Persaud was smiling, and being all too agreeable. He wondered at what point he would start threatening him. Although he liked her, Nathan began to feel sorry he had asked Andie out. He took the glass of water Dr Persaud offered him, and took a big gulp.

  “You know, Nathan,” Dr Persaud began, and Nathan felt his heart drop. “I have waited for a very long time to send Anne Dru off on her first date.”

  Nathan nodded, because he did not know what else to do.

  “She is my baby daughter, and a very special little girl,” he continued. “She has a lot of idiosyncrasies. She hurts easily, cries at the drop of a hat, and never tells us – her mother and me – what she is really feeling.”

  Nathan nodded again. He was certain the “hurt her and die” part of the speech was coming next.

  “I was hoping we could put off her first date for the next few years,” Dr Persaud continued. “But her mother thought now was the right time.”

  “I like her mother,” Nathan put in cheekily, and Dr Persaud smiled.

  “If I had to send her out so soon, I’m glad she’s going out with you,” Dr Persaud said. He patted Nathan’s shoulder. “You’re a good young man, Nathan. I’ve known you for two years now, and I know people. You’re bright, and polite, and I’ve never heard anything unsavoury about you – and believe me, I checked you out. Plus, I don’t think anyone who can get a hundred on one of my tests can be anything but a good guy.”

  Nathan was pleased but embarrassed. He wondered what Dr Persaud would say if he knew about the bet. He felt like such a hypocrite. There was no way he could sleep with Andie and not call her again. Not that he wouldn’t want to call her again, but that was not something Nathan did. It was a weird sort of irony, but he did not sleep with girls he really cared about. It was going to be more difficult to sleep with a girl whose father trusted him so explicitly. He took another sip of his water, wishing for the millionth time he had never made the bet with Jeremy.

  ***

  “I cannot go out of the house looking like this!” Andie told her mother and her sister.

  “You look beautiful, Andie!” Mrs Persaud assured her. “Trust us!”

  “I can’t trust the people who did this to me!” Andie exclaimed. She looked at herself in the mirror. “Nathan is going to think I look like a Barbie doll!”

  “If Nathan has any sense, and I know he does,” Samantha put in, “he will think you look stunning!” She was particularly impressed with Andie’s hair, which she had fixed. She looked at her mother. “We did a fabulous job, didn’t we, Mommy?”

  “We certainly did,” Mrs Persaud agreed. She sniffled. “Look at my baby, all grown up and ready for her first date!”

  “Mommy, don’t even bother with it!” Andie said tartly.

  Christopher burst into the room. “Andie, your boyfriend is here!” He announced.

  “Christopher!” Andie shrieked.

  “I know, I know!” He said. “Knock before I come in here. Daddy is downstairs in the den interrogating your boyfriend.”

  “How do you know the word ‘interrogating’?” Mrs Persaud asked incredulously.

  “I dunno,” Christopher said, shrugging. “I must have heard it somewhere.”

  “What do you mean Daddy is interrogating him?” Andie asked.

  “I don’t know everything!” Christopher said. “I’m only eight!”

  Mrs Persaud rolled her eyes. “Sammy, take Christopher downstairs, please, and tell Nathan that Andie will be right down.”

  “Okay, Mommy!” Samantha said. She took Christopher’s hand. “Come Christopher. Let’s see if Daddy can make Nathan cry.” She turned to her sister. “Andie, you look beautiful,” she told her. “You’re going to have a great time.”

  Andie smiled weakly. Soon she was alone with her mother.

  “You really do look lovely, Andie,” Mrs Persaud said, giving Andie’s shoulders a squeeze.

  “If you say so, Mommy,” Andie said sadly.

  “And you are going to have a great time.”

  “I don’t know about that!” Andie shook her head.

  “Yes you will!” Mrs Persaud assured her. “You just go and be yourself, you’ll be fine. Nathan already likes you, so you don’t have to do anything further to eke that along.”

  Andie did not comment. She knew, as she had told her mother earlier, that before the night was out, Nathan would not like her anymore. “Remember that errand I had to run earlier?”

  Andie nodded.

  “I got you something.” She retrieved a red and gold gift bag. “This is for you. It is your dating pack.”

  “My dating pack?” Andie questioned, peering into the gift bag. She pulled out what looked like a tiny pen. “What’s this?”

  “Pepper spray, if he tries any funny business that you’re not up to,” her mother explained.

  Andie did not think she would need it. She pulled out a cell phone. Andie’s eyes opened wide. “A cell phone? Finally!”

  “You have been hounding me for one forever. Well, now you have one, in case you need to call me or your father to come pick you up. There is something else in the bag.”

  Andie pulled out the last item. It was a Visa Classic credit card. She turned the card over in her hands. It had her name printed on it: Anne Dru Persaud.

  “My own credit card?” Andie questioned.

  Mrs Persaud nodded. “You are still a couple years away from your Persaud Enterprises charge card, but now that you’re dating, you have to understand that a girl needs her own money - vex money, as your grandma called it. That reminds me…” She pulled out a couple thousand-dollar bills. “Taxis don’t take credit cards.” She smiled.

  Andie smiled back, taking the money, and giving her mother a hug. “Thank you Mommy! Everything is so cool. By t
he way, what’s the limit on the credit card?”

  “You don’t need to know that,” Mrs Persaud kissed her forehead. “You just know that you can’t go to Europe on it, and it’s for dates only. Come, let’s go down. You’ve kept Nathan waiting long enough.”

  ***

  “And I don’t want you kissing my sister, or holding her hand either!” Christopher was giving Nathan his long list of warnings.

  “Okay, Christopher!” Nathan said humouring him. “Can I at least talk to her?”

  “Of course you have to talk to her!” Christopher said. “It’s a date, isn’t it? Jeez! Daddy, for someone you say is really bright, this one certainly is daft!”

  Samantha and Dr Persaud smiled. Nathan faked a hurt look.

  “Christopher, I hope you aren’t the one in here interrogating Nathan!” Mrs Persaud said, entering the den. She gave Nathan a brilliant smile. “I’m Janise Persaud. You must be Nathan.”

  “Nice to finally meet you, Mrs Persaud.” Nathan shook her hand. “Dr Persaud talks about you all the time! And he’s right – you are beautiful!”

  “Thank you, Nathan!” Mrs Persaud said. “Andie’s ready. Come in Andie!”

  Andie came into the den, and Nathan felt his heart fall to his feet. She was absolutely gorgeous – incredible was the word that came to his mind and stuck. She wore a dark jade ombré mini dress with an empire waist and asymmetrical strap. The green silk made her skin look fairer, and her hair even redder. The strappy, jade high heeled sandals she wore made her long, shapely legs look even more alluring, and her full bosom and narrow waist were dizzying. Her hair was done in a sort of girly upsweep, with a loose curl swept across her forehead. Nathan wondered where those perfect cheekbones had come from. She was wearing makeup, but just enough to open up what was already an almost perfect face, with dark brown, almost black eyes, and her lips were highlighted with a pale pink lipstick that made Nathan want to reach over and kiss her. Andie was positively gorgeous.

  “Hi Nathan,” Andie said, smiling bashfully.

  “Hi, uh…” He blanked. Name, name, name. He could not believe he had forgotten her name. “Andie!” He blurted out, feeling his ears grow pink. “Hey Andie. You look… really nice.”

  “Thank you,” Andie said, smiling. “So do you.”

  Andie looked at her family standing around and smiling at them. She began to feel uncomfortable.

  “Are we ready?”

  “Oh, sure,” Nathan answered. He noticed the Persauds’ pleased expression, too. He almost expected them to start taking pictures, or break out into song. “It was nice meeting you Mrs Persaud, Christopher. Dr Persaud, Sammy, I’ll see you at school.”

  “Bye!” Mrs Persaud said. “Have fun.”

  “Don’t stay out late!” Dr Persaud added. “And no drinking and driving, please.”

  “We know, Daddy!” Andie said, rolling her eyes.

  Nathan ushered her out the front door and into the car. He opened the door and allowed her to get in.

  “Can you tell me where we’re going now?” Andie asked when he had gotten in.

  “Um, I made reservations for Bella Mia,” Nathan said. “You like Italian Food?”

  “I love it,” Andie said, smiling.

  Nathan looked at her again. She was putting on her seatbelt. She looked so beautiful. All he wanted to do was reach over and touch her. He realised then that he was in big trouble. There was no way he could win the bet with Jeremy. He had gone above and beyond the call of duty. He was beginning to fall in love with Andie.

  “Why you looking at me like that?” Andie asked. She brushed her tendril from her eyes.

  Nathan did not know what to say. If only she could see what he saw.

  “I’m just wondering if you know how beautiful you look tonight,” he said.

  “My mother and my sister had fun playing dress up with me,” Andie confessed. “I was really feeling uncomfortable.”

  Nathan understood all about feeling uncomfortable. That perfectly described what he was going through at that moment. He managed to smile.

  “We’d better go,” he said. “Our reservation is at eight.”

  ***

  Nestled in the hills of St. Andrew, approximately ten miles out of Kingston, Bella Mia was a charming little 1860s gingerbread house with a view of Kingston city. The Restaurant featured the haute cuisine from Northern Italy, and, based on the photographs on the wall, was patronised by celebrities like Michael Bolton, Naomi Campbell and the Rolling Stones. By the time Andie and Nathan strolled in, they had both relaxed enough to begin enjoying the evening. During the drive from Norbrook, they chatted about nothing in particular. Andie, was beginning to feel more confident in the dress that she had felt revealed more than it concealed, and her sister’s five-inch Christian Louboutin leather and python platform sandals. She was grateful that Samantha had coerced her into wearing them, because she certainly had not realised before how tall Nathan was. If she were flat on the ground, he would have been head and shoulders above her. She was also extremely grateful that her mother and sister had dressed her up. Peering into the Bella Mia, she saw that the patrons were all immaculately attired. Nathan, too, looked quite dashing. She would have seriously embarrassed him and her family if she had worn her stupid school jeans, plaid shirt, and Miu Miu thongs.

  “Good evening,” the smiling hostess greeted them at the door.

  “Reservations for ‘Hansen’?” Nathan said. He smiled casually, and Andie was convinced he had done that a million times before. She could not help wondering how many girls he had taken to Bella Mia.

  The hostess checked her reservation book. “Of course, Mr Hansen. This way, please.”

  Nathan and Andie followed her, meandering their way across the dimly lit room. They got to their table, which was next to a huge bay window, with a view the gardens that were a feature of Bella Mia. Nathan pulled out Andie’s chair.

  “Thank you,” Andie murmured, sitting.

  “You’re welcome,” Nathan returned, sitting, too.

  “Your waitress will be right over,” the hostess said. “Enjoy your evening.”

  “This is my first time here,” Nathan confessed. “It’s nice.”

  “I’ve never been here, either,” Andie said. “But I heard the food is very good.” She watched Nathan as he unfolded his blue linen napkin, then proceeded to organize the silverware on the table. She smiled. He was actually polished. He reminded her a little bit of Grandpa Moreno. He was like a black James Bond – smooth and refined. It was nice to see a boy with good table manners.

  “You should be accustomed to these high society places,” Nathan said.

  Andie shook her head. “Actually, I don’t go out fine dining a lot. Samantha does more than me. She is the social butterfly. I am the recluse.”

  Their waitress came and gave them their menus.

  “There’s this one time I remember,” Andie continued, “my Grandpa James took me to an embassy dinner. I was about eight, and everyone there made a fuss over me. I ate too much, got to taste wine and got terribly drunk. That was special.”

  “It must be so good having a career diplomat for your Grandfather,” Nathan remarked. He eyed the menu.

  “Except when Dr Miller says unflattering things about him,” Andie told him. “I think it was actually more interesting for my mother. Grandpa served at many different Consulate offices when she was a little girl. My mother has lived in Belgium, El Salvador, Brazil, and Italy all between eight and eighteen. She speaks Spanish, French, Portuguese and Italian, and it’s a good thing, for being multi-lingual helps her in her job.”

  “That’s nice,” Nathan said.

  “What does your grandfather do?” She asked him.

  “My grandfather is – was—a painter. He’s retired.”

  Andie’s eyes lit up. “A painter? Like an artist?”r />
  “No,” Nathan corrected. “A painter, like he paints people’s houses.”

  “Oh.” Andie was a little bit embarrassed.

  The waitress returned with rolls, butter and water. “Are you ready to order?”

  “Oh, everything looks so good,” Nathan smiled at the waitress. “Andie, do you know what you want?”

  “No idea!” Andie said. She wished she had a menu with the prices. It would have been easier to decide if she knew what everything cost. She knew that Bella Mia was not cheap, and she did not want to break Nathan’s pocket.

  “Do you want a few more minutes?” The waitress asked.

  Nathan looked at Andie. “Would you mind if I ordered for you, Andie?”

  Andie smiled and closed her menu. “Go right ahead, thanks.”

  Nathan placed their order with the waitress. All the time he was still looking at Andie. She felt her face begin to burn. He was looking at her as though he truly liked her.

  “I thought you said that it was your first time here,” she said, as soon as the waitress had left. “You knew exactly what to order.”

  “I did my research,” he said, with a smile. “I had to find out what was edible before I took you here – couldn’t have you eating goat’s brains or anything like that.”

  “Well, my limited experience with Italian Restaurants tells me we’re pretty safe from goats’ brains, or anything equally yucky.” Andie took a sip of water.

  Nathan split a roll, buttered it, and handed it to her. “And for that I’m grateful. It’s a good thing we did not go French.”

  Nathan was relieved that it did not appear they were heading down the same mundane ‘first date’ route – “What’s your favourite colour?” “What’s your favourite movie?” and all that jazz. He was well beyond that with Andie now. He felt like they were friends. There was a period of silence.

  “You’re quiet,” Andie noted. “Where are you?”

  “When is your birthday?” Nathan found himself blurting out.

  “Huh?”

  “Your birthday. When is it?”