“Like the song,” Marissa laughed.
Nick blushed this time, “Exactly.”
“How long exactly?” she questioned.
He counted on his fingers. “Oh, about four years.”
“What? You’re kidding?” shouted Marissa shocked.
“No, why would I kid about something like that?” said Nick offended.
“Because you think it’s something I might want to hear. I find it hard to believe because you are extremely attractive and because you’re young…you’re,” she shook her head in disbelief. “You are kidding right?”
Nick looked at her in earnest. “Marissa, when I was a sophomore in college, I was in a serious relationship. I was really in love. Then it ended and it didn’t make any sense anymore. One day you’re in love and the next day it’s over, boom, like that. It took me a long time to get over her and when I did, I told myself that I wouldn’t have sex with another woman until I was in love again. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve gone out on dates. I’ve fooled around with them but never sex. It was too intimate.”
Marissa continued to stare. “Wow, you are really amazing. I don’t know if I could be that strong. Four years is a long time.”
Nick laughed, “You’d be surprised, it goes by fast. You live your life, you don’t count the days.”
She grimaced. “But most guys wouldn’t last two weeks.”
“In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m not like most guys.”
Marissa shook her head in agreement, “Yeah, I think I’ve got that one.” Then she leaned over to kiss him fully on the lips. As they kissed passionately, she couldn’t help but wonder if she would be the one who would break his abstinence. At that moment, she wanted to desperately.
*****
Pamela and Marissa sat in the living room waiting for their mother and talking in hushed tones. “I just talked to Sara on the phone. She said her sister Tamara stayed after school yesterday to talk to Mr. Smith. It seems she has a little crush on him,” whispered Pamela.
Marissa’s heart began to beat faster upon hearing the news. “Why would she tell you that?”
“Because of the whole rumor thing. I don’t know. Tamara is like completely lusting over him.”
“You don’t think Tamara would have started…” began Marissa.
Pamela shrugged. “I have no idea Mariss. I just wanted to tell you.”
“O.K. That is so unfair. I’m the one who is seeing him and some other chick gets to talk to him after school. What the hell?” Marissa felt a wave of jealousy come over her. Then again, she thought, she was the one who spent the entire evening with him, not Tamara.
“Ready to go girls?” asked Barbara cheerfully.
“Yes,” they answered in unison.
It was a tradition for Barbara to take the girls out to dinner for their birthday, as she hated cooking. The outing this Saturday night was to celebrate Marissa’s eighteenth birthday. Marissa dreaded the outing since Barbara almost always managed to spoil the evening by embarrassing her or lecturing her about something.
She wasn’t sure when her mother turned bitter but perhaps it happened around the time of the divorce. Marissa had been so young at the time, barely five; that she couldn’t remember much of what her mother was like before. But ever since it seemed, Barbara was constantly angry. There were moments of happiness and laughter, but they were completely masked over by the yelling and anger.
They arrived close to six in the evening at the steakhouse. It had been Marissa’s favorite for years. The restaurant, which was shaped like a medieval castle, overlooked a classy part of town. The girls dressed up for the occasion, which was something they had enjoyed since they were little. Barbara, who always looked more serious than fancy, donned a business suit.
A hostess, dressed in a burgundy medieval gown, walked them to their table. On the way, Marissa noticed a table filled with people she had no desire to see. She turned her head quickly hoping they wouldn’t notice her. Unfortunately Barbara noticed them first and walked straight in their direction dragging Marissa and Pamela along.
“Mr. Kowalski!” Barbara cried out extending her hand in the direction of a balding man with square glasses.
Mr. Kowalski stood up with a smile and began pumping Barbara’s hand up and down. “Well hello, Mrs. Belknapp.” Then nodding to Marissa and Pamela he said, “Hello there Marissa and Pam is it?”
“Yes sir,” answered Pamela politely.
Barbara leaned over the table and shook Mrs. Kowalski’s hand. “It’s very nice to see you again Mrs. Kowalski.”
Mrs. Kowalski smiled smugly at Marissa and said, “Don’t you look lovely tonight Marissa?”
“Thank you ma’am,” answered Marissa stiffly.
“We’re celebrating Marissa’s eighteenth birthday tonight,” said Barbara proudly.
“It’s a shame I don’t see Marissa more often,” began Mrs. Kowalski. “I was so disappointed she didn’t want to tutor this year. She is such a fine student.”
Barbara looked with surprise first at Mrs. Kowalski then at Marissa, “I wasn’t aware she gave up tutoring.”
Everyone was silent for a moment until Mr. Kowalski said, “Well, you have a very nice birthday Marissa.”
“Thank you sir,” said Marissa and turned to go.
Barbara took her daughter by the arm and muttered under her breath, “Why didn’t you tell me you gave up tutoring?”
Marissa shrugged. “You never asked.”
As all three of them sat down Barbara asked, “From what I understand, tutoring is a big part of the National Honors Society.”
“It’s O.K. There are other things I can do to get my service hours.”
“It just seems you are so withdrawn these days. Is there anything else you care to tell me?” asked Barbara worried.
Marissa looked up as if she was concentrating and said shortly, “No, I think that’s it.” Then she hastily opened up her menu and began to scan it.
A waiter, dressed in a velvet blouse with gold trim and stockings came to take their order. He introduced himself as Chip. Pamela kicked Marissa under the table, which meant she thought Chip was cute. Marissa kicked her back and the girls giggled.
“May I take your order?” asked Chip cheerfully.
Barbara nodded at Marissa, “You can go first, since you’re the birthday girl.”
Chip looked over at Marissa, “Oh!” he said excitedly. “We have a birthday?”
Marissa blushed, “Yes, it’s my birthday, I guess. A few days late.”
“Oh, that’s O.K., we love birthdays,” Chip said enthusiastically. “May I ask how old you are today?” He said gazing down at Marissa.
Marissa glanced up from her menu and over her shoulder at Chip, “Uh, eighteen.”
“Oh, honey,” said Chip, “You look at least twenty.”
Marissa smiled, “Can we, uh, order please?”
“Sure,” said Chip, “Filet mignon for the birthday girl?”
“No, actually I’ll just have a Caesar salad and a baked potato with sour cream.”
Barbara’s eyes bugged out at Marissa, “What?” she squeaked, “You’re not having steak?”
“No, not tonight,” said Marissa forcing a smile.
Pamela scrunched up her eyebrows. “Why the heck not?”
“I’m just going to try being vegetarian for a while that’s all,” said Marissa softly.
“Well you go girl,” said Chip. “I have to cut down on meat too, it adds the pounds if you know what I mean.”
“Chip,” interrupted Barbara, “why don’t you go ahead and order the filet mignon dinner for her and we’ll save the meat just in case she changes her mind.”
“Mom!” interjected Marissa, “I said I didn’t want meat.”
“That’s O.K. I’ll eat it if you don’t,” Barbara said brushing off her daughter’s request.
After Barbara and Pamela ordered, Barbara turned to Marissa and interrogated her loudly, “What’s this about no
t eating meat all of the sudden?”
“Mom,” urged Marissa, “keep your voice down. It’s not a big deal.”
“What do you mean it’s not a big deal? When I was growing up, eating meat was a privilege. We were so poor. And now you decide, just like that,” she snapped her fingers, “you won’t eat meat. I think I deserve to know why?”
Marissa winced at her mother’s faulty logic. Where in the world did she learn to reason? thought Marissa. “Listen mom, I’ve been doing some reading on the effects of red meat on people’s health and I decided to lay off of it for a while. I don’t know why it’s such a big deal.”
“Well, now that I’m able to afford a decent steak for my children, you’re not even going to eat one?” whined Barbara as tears welled up in her eyes. “It’s like you’re spitting on my generosity. You’re ruining a perfectly good birthday celebration.”
Marissa rolled her eyes, “Mom, come on. I’m not ruining anything. O.K. if it will make you feel better, I’ll take one bite.”
Barbara wiped her eyes with a tissue and nodded her head.
“Besides,” continued Marissa, “a lot of Californians are vegetarians. And since I’ll be Californian soon, I might as well join the club.”
“Oh, that reminds me,” said Barbara calmly, “I’ve been doing a little research myself. And did you know there are several fault lines going through California?”
“Yeah, and?” questioned Marissa.
“Well, that means there are a lot of earthquakes in California.”
“So?” said Marissa disrespectfully.
“So I’m not sending my daughter to a place where there are earthquakes.” Barbara stated firmly.
“Well, unfortunately Mom, that’s not your decision to make,” insisted Marissa, “it’s mine.”
“Marissa, I can decide where to invest my money. So I’ve decided that if you go to State College, I will give you $5,000 per year. And if you go elsewhere, I will give you nothing.”
This time it was Marissa who had tears in her eyes. “What do you mean Mom? You know I’ve always wanted to go to college in California. Why are you doing this to me now? Why, in my senior year, are you telling me you won’t help me out?”
“Well, why don’t you have Dan support you out there since he’s the only reason you want to move to California?” said Barbara haughtily.
Marissa looked her mother squarely in the eyes, “You know that’s not the truth mother! He moved out there because he knew I would be moving there for school. You know I want to become an actress and that’s why I want to move there. Why can’t you at least support me in that?”
“So you can get your degree at State and then move out there to act,” Barbara said matter-of-factly.
Pamela looked at her sister sympathetically, “Well at least there’s Dad. He’ll contribute his half of the money.”
Barbara interjected, “Oh, I’ve talked to your father already. He is willing to support me on this one. No money unless you go to State. Period.”
Marissa choked back her tears, “Well then, I guess I’ll save up the money myself. I’ll get a job.”
“As long as you work only on weekends, that’s fine,” stated Barbara.
“Weekends? I won’t make nearly enough if I only work weekends! If I need to save up for college, I’m going to have to work way more than weekends,” Marissa said bitterly.
“You know the rules young lady, no working on school nights,” snapped Barbara.
“The rules? I’m eighteen years old. You don’t make the rules for me anymore. I don’t see why you’re making it so difficult for me to go to college. I thought you would be happy for me. Instead it seems that you’re jealous of me, since you never got to go.”
Pamela interrupted, “Guys, could we try and have a pleasant dinner for once? Besides, I think our food is here.”
Chip was back with a big smile on his face. “And here you are, filet mignon for the birthday girl,” he sang.
Marissa forced a smile, “Thanks.”
After Chip had served everyone at the table he said, “And can I get you ladies anything else?”
Marissa piped in, “Yes. Could you bring me an application for employment?”
Barbara shot a nasty look in Marissa’s direction.
“Sure, I’ll get that to you A.S.A.P.” said Chip.
“He’s really cute,” said Pamela trying to break the solemn mood.
“Yes, but he’s uh a little too chipper,” Marissa chuckled.
But the rest of the evening was as cold as the crisp autumn night.
When they arrived back home, Marissa could stand it no longer. She needed to get away from the house, away from her mother. She grabbed her keys and headed toward the door.
“Where are you going?” Barbara shouted.
“Out!” yelled Marissa slamming the door behind her.
No one could stop her now. She got into her car and she drove, puffing away and blasting The Cult on the radio. She couldn’t believe her parents were trying to stop her from going to California. It wasn’t fair. She had always done everything right. Why was she being punished now when she was so close to her goal?
After a while she realized she really needed to talk to Nick. He always knew what to say to her. But then again, she had promised not to call him at home. “It’s too risky,” he had said. Yet she couldn’t call anyone else. Daniel would go ballistic if he knew what her parents did. And she had grown so far from Brogan that she didn’t feel like talking it over with her. She came to the sudden realization that Nick was the closest person to her and she needed him.
Nick was having dinner with his parents and some of their friends when Marissa called. It was his mother who answered the phone.
“Hello.”
“Hello, May I please speak to Nick?’
“May I ask who’s calling?”
“A friend of his, Samira.”
“Just a minute.”
“Hello?” said Nick in a confused tone.
“Hi Nick, it’s Marissa.”
“Oh. I should have guessed.”
“Listen, can you meet me somewhere? I really need to talk.”
“I’m in the middle of a dinner party with my parents. I can’t leave,” whispered Nick.
“That’s O.K. I can wait.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“It’ll be over an hour.”
“O.K. How about we meet at the gallery parking lot?” suggested Marissa.
“Fine. Bye.”
“Bye.”
Nick returned to the table and his mother gave him a questioning look. He ignored the look and joined in on the dinner conversation. It wasn’t until his mother suggested he help her get the dessert that she asked sweetly, “So who is Samira?”
“A friend,” Nick answered briefly from the inside of the dish cupboard.
“Is that the same lady friend you were out with the other day?” asked his mother.
“Yes,” he answered not wanting to be forthcoming about any sort of information concerning Marissa.
“How did you meet her?”
He thought for a moment. Dammit Marissa! Why did you have to call here? Now he would have to lie to his mother. “We met at Ann’s house.”
His mother nodded her head with approval. “So what does she do?”
“Could we talk about it later?” Nick answered respectfully. “I believe we should get these desserts to the table.”
Marissa lowered the seat of her Rabbit so it was touching the back seat. The radio host announced it was eleven o’clock. Barbara was going to kill her. But she couldn’t leave now; she told Nick she was going to meet him. She closed her eyes a minute thinking of what she might say to Barbara when she got back.
Tap, tap, tap.
She jumped up in surprise.
Nick leaned over the window looking in. “Hey Samira,” he said jokingly, “Can you open the door?”
Marissa leaned over and pulled up the lock
.
Nick slipped in the passenger seat then immediately wrinkled his nose, “Do you smoke?”
At once Marissa felt a pang of guilt. She had known Nick for nearly three months but she never told him she smoked. He had never said it outright but she had a feeling he wouldn’t approve. “Uh, yeah sometimes. I mean I smoke when I’m partying or when I’m stressed out.”
“It’s rather stuffy in here. Why don’t we move to the truck?” he suggested.
As they climbed out of the Rabbit he continued, “Why didn’t you ever tell me you smoked?”
“I guess it never came up. I never thought of smoking around you. I was pretty sure you wouldn’t approve…”
Nick cut in, “Hey Mariss, wouldn’t approve? I’m your friend not your parent. You don’t have to keep things from me O.K.?” He squeezed her hand. “But having said that I’d prefer you didn’t smoke when we’re together.”
“I know,” said Marissa.
“How do you know?” Nick smiled.
“Cause I’m getting to know you that’s why,” she answered sweetly.
He lightly massaged her shoulders. “So why Samira?”
“Listen I didn’t know what to say so I used my middle name. I know you told me not to call you at your parents’ house but it really sucks not being able to talk to you when I want. We can’t communicate at school and besides fixed meetings, we can’t communicate outside of school either,” Marissa complained.
Nick frowned. “Maybe we should just stop until we can communicate freely.”
“I don’t think that’s a solution,” protested Marissa.
“Why not?” Nick questioned.
“Because we’re already in too deep…’
“All the more reason…” Nick cut in.
“Let me finish please!” exclaimed Marissa. “Do you know what I realized tonight? I realized you were the only person I wanted to talk to tonight. You have become the closest person to me at this time in my life. I don’t want to share my thoughts with anyone else, just you.”
“Marissa, I feel the same. But do you know what happened tonight? I had to lie to my parents about you. And it felt awful. I don’t have the kind of relationship with my parents that you have with yours. We’re open in my family. We share with one another and we don’t lie. But for once I was afraid of what they might think of me if I were dating a student.” Nick appeared distant and pensive.
Forbidden Fruit: An Unlikely Love Story Page 11