Forbidden Fruit: An Unlikely Love Story

by Michelle Fondin

  Still Marissa was disheartened by her experience. “Is it always this hard waiting tables?”

  “It gets easier. You get used to it and you get much faster. And you learn not to take crap from the customers. Some people just go out to complain. They treat you like a servant or worse because they think they can. First, don’t take it personally. Next, learn to walk away from it,” Chip explained.

  Discouraged, Marissa leaned back on the seat. “I don’t know how you put up with it.”

  “Listen, it’s their problem if they’re jerks. Not yours,” then extending a pack of cigarettes to her he said, “Want a smoke?”

  “After this day, yes.”

  A huge crowd of people was waiting to get into The Shelter when they arrived. Marissa blew into her hands as they approached the club. “Man, I didn’t know we’d be waiting. It’s freezing out here.”

  Chip shrugged, “We don’t have to wait.” He wove in and out of people making his way to the front of the line. Then giving a high five to a burly black man at the door he turned to her and said, “Let’s go.”

  Marissa was stunned. They hadn’t paid. Nobody even checked their IDs. They stepped into the dark room with flashing lights. New Order blared over the sound system. They elbowed their way through the crowd. Marissa yelled to Chip over the noise, “Hey how did you do that?”

  “Do what?” Chip yelled back.

  “Get us in.”

  “This is my second home. I know everyone here,” shouted Chip as he led her toward the bar. “My first is the restaurant. Home that is.”

  Marissa laughed. After only four days, she was beginning to feel liked she lived at the restaurant herself.

  Chip stopped at the counter, “Beer?”

  Marissa looked behind her expecting to see someone else. When she didn’t see anyone she answered, “Me?’

  “No girlfriend, Cleopatra. Of course you,” Chip said sarcastically.

  “Chip, I’m only…” eighteen, she was about to say before Chip cut her off.

  “You’re only gonna get a beer if you ask,” finished Chip.

  Marissa tried to look cool, “O.K.” she said taking a five-dollar bill out of her jean pocket.

  Chip paid for two beers and they sat down on a purple velvet couch. Marissa took a sip of beer and watched people on the dance floor. The Shelter hadn’t changed at all since she had last been there. But before, she had always been with Daniel. Even though Chip was a nice guy, it felt weird being there with him. Instinctively, Marissa opened her purse to grab her pack of cigarettes. At once she remembered she had thrown them out the night Nick discovered she smoked. She had done it for him but now she craved a cigarette.

  She turned to Chip to ask him for one, but he was already talking to someone else. Not wanting to interrupt him, she got up to buy a pack at the bar.

  “Girlfriend!” Chip shouted, “Where are you going?”

  Marissa turned around embarrassed. “I was going to buy a pack of cigarettes.”

  Chip motioned for her, “Come here, come here. Why didn’t you ask? You know I have some.”

  Marissa walked back but stayed silent.

  “I want you to meet Marcus. Marcus is from Germany,” said Chip proudly as if he were presenting a new trophy.

  Marissa held out her hand smiling, “I’m Marissa.”

  “Pleased to meet you,” replied Marcus shaking her hand. “You vant cigarette?” he asked holding out his pack.

  Marissa smiled an even broader smile at his accent, “Yes, thanks.” She took a cigarette from his pack.

  Marcus leaned over with his lighter to light her cigarette.

  Chip leaned over and whispered into Marissa’s ear, “Aren’t European men simply irresistible?”

  Marissa chuckled. “So, Marcus, what brings you to America?”

  “I study for one year English,” Marcus answered.

  “That is great,” Marissa answered. “I would love to study in Europe.”

  “Are you student?” asked Marcus.

  “Yes, but I’m still in high school.”

  Marcus looked confused.

  Marissa tried again, “I will go to college next year.”

  “Collage?” asked Marcus bewildered.

  “A university,” said Marissa.

  Marcus nodded his head, “Ah, you vill go to university.”

  Marissa nodded with him, “Yes, next year.”

  “So how you know Chip?”

  “We work together,” answered Marissa.

  “But I thought you said, you vere student.”

  Marissa turned to Chip in exasperation, “Please explain.”

  “Marcus, Marissa works after school at the restaurant with me,” explained Chip. Then he mouthed to Marissa, “Let’s go dance” and motioned to Marcus with a wiggling, dancing motion. All three went out on the dance floor dancing to the tune of This Close to Me by The Cure.

  They were having a blast dancing when Marissa felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see Steve, one of Daniel’s best friends right beside her on the dance floor.

  “Hey Marissa,” said Steve.

  “Hey,” Marissa answered stunned.

  “How are you doin’?” asked Steve.

  “I’m O.K.”

  “Do you talk to Dan much these days?”

  She cringed at the thought of the last time they talked but she answered politely, “Yeah, a couple times a week. And you?”

  “Yeah we talk about once a week. I’m going out to Cali to see him for Christmas.”

  Marissa felt a pang of jealousy. “Really?”

  “Yeah. If I like it, maybe I’ll move out there,” Steve explained.

  Marissa didn’t know what to say, “That’s cool.”

  “Well, see you around,” Steve said coolly.

  Chip moved closer to Marissa, “Who was that?”

  “You know my boyfriend who moved to California?”

  “Yeah.”

  “His best friend,” said Marissa solemnly.

  Chip understood, “Don’t think of him. We’re here to have fun! Right Marcus?”

  Marcus smiled and bobbed his head to the music.

  At around one in the morning, it was time to say good-bye to Marcus. Chip looked sad. “Don’t forget to call me this week,” he said waving.

  Marcus called out to Marissa, “If ever you vant to come to Germany, you have place to stay. You come stay vith me O.K.”

  Marissa grinned, “O.K.”

  Chip looked hurt, “Me too?”

  Marcus laughed, “Yes Chip, you come too.”

  Shivering as they walked briskly to the car, curiosity got the best of Marissa. “Uh Chip, is Marcus, um?”

  “Gay,” he finished. “I don’t know toots, I’m trying to get a feel for it. If you know what I mean. The boy is so sexy, he’s got to be.”

  Through chattering teeth Marissa smiled, “Yes, he is quite good-looking I must say.”

  Chip gave her a little shove, “Hey, hands off he’s mine!”

  Marissa was surprised at how much gay guys could act like girls. “Don’t worry about me,” she said holding her hands up. “My love life is about as complicated as it gets.”

  “You mean with your boyfriend in California?” asked Chip.

  “Yeah and…” she hesitated for a minute not knowing whether or not she should trust Chip. But then she figured with him being gay, he probably knew all about secrecy.

  Chip stared at her, “And?”

  “O.K. open the goddamn door, I’m freezing my ass off. Then I’ll give you the juicy details,” Marissa spouted out.

  “Juicy details? You got it girlfriend,” answered Chip as he rushed to unlock the car door.

  Telling Chip about everything felt good in a way. He didn’t make judgments or give her advice, he just sat attentively and listened to every last detail as if he were watching a movie or reading a captivating novel. The best part was he didn’t think it was weird or abnormal. They both shared the philosophy that
if two people loved one another, there was no harm as long as they weren’t harming anyone else. And apart from Chip and Nick, Marissa couldn’t share that feeling with anyone else because they simply wouldn’t understand.

  By the time Chip brought her back to her car, it was close to two. But feeling inspired by her conversation with him, she wasn’t tired. In fact she ached to talk to Nick, to hold him, caress him and share everything she had learned that week. Frustration filled her body as she realized she couldn’t see him or call him or even be with him. As drove home, she instinctively pushed in the cigarette lighter and reached in her purse for a cigarette that wasn’t there. In doing so, she knocked a book to the floor. Still watching the road, she bent down to pick it up. It was the book Nick had given her the Sunday before. Nick said that if they read a chapter a day for seven days, they would feel connected somehow. Marissa glanced over at the book, which now lay on the seat beside her. It lay stiff, crisp and closed. She hadn’t even opened it since he gave it to her. She wondered if Nick had read his part and if he really believed the book would make them feel connected to one another. For now it was all she had and it was worth a try.

  Her father’s antique grandfather clock struck four. Marissa lay in bed as she finished chapter seven of The Bridge Across Forever. She read, Were I a soulmate separated from my love, I thought, I’d expect her to do the best she could without me, till somehow we found each other. “I’m trying Nick,” she whispered into the empty room, “I’m trying to do the best I can without you.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Marissa!” her father called up the stairs. “Telephone!”

  “Who is it?’ Marissa shouted down the stairs.

  “Some guy named Mike,” he shouted back.

  Mike? Marissa thought. She certainly didn’t know a Mike. Maybe it was someone from work calling.

  “So do you want to take it?” her dad insisted.

  Marissa ran down the stairs still drowsy as she took the phone. “Hello,” she said sleepily.

  “Howdy stranger,” replied a man with a warm voice.

  “Nick?” said Marissa through a hoarse voice.

  “No, Mike,” said Nick seriously.

  Marissa coughed loudly. Her father turned to look at her. “Just a minute,” she said as she ran upstairs with the phone.

  She snuggled back into bed under the warm covers and pressed the phone into her ear. “Am I dreaming? Did you call me?”

  “Not unless you dream at twelve noon,” said Nick.

  “It’s noon!” Marissa shrieked into the phone.

  “We’re you sleeping?”

  “Well, sort of yeah,” Marissa admitted. “I didn’t get to bed until four.”

  “Late night huh?” asked Nick with curiosity.

  “Yeah, I was out partying all night long,” Marissa teased.

  “Really?”

  “No. I went out to the club with a guy from work then came home and read.” Then remembering what Nick was supposed to be doing on Friday night she asked, “So how was your date?”

  “Boring beyond all belief. Were you reading The Bridge by any chance last night?”

  Marissa was relieved he didn’t enjoy his date. “Yes, I was. I’m a bad student. I had a lot of catching up to do.”

  “As did I and I began missing you as I was reading. That’s why I called,” explained Nick.

  “Me too. But then again, I’ve been missing you all week,” said Marissa dreamily.

  Nick reflected on the news he had first heard. “Work? I didn’t know you got a job.”

  “It was kind of quick. I got a job at the medieval steakhouse on Monday, started on Tuesday and I’ve worked everyday since. “

  “Are you working tonight?”

  “Yes, but I have an early shift tonight. I’m off tomorrow and Monday.”

  “It has to be today,” said Nick boldly.

  “Why?” asked Marissa before thinking it through. Was she crazy? Nick wanted to see her and she was asking why.

  “I want to show you my new apartment and I want you to meet my parents.”

  Inside Marissa was jumping for joy. “That’s right, I forgot you were moving today. Why don’t you pick me up from work at nine?”

  Nick hesitated, “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”

  At once Marissa understood. “Listen Nick, if anyone we know is in the restaurant, I’ll have Chip tell you to wait in the car and I’ll follow you to your new apartment. O.K.?”

  “Chip?” asked Nick with bewilderment.

  “Oh, sorry. He’s the waiter I’m training with. He’s really nice. He’s actually the one I went out with last night.”

  “Still Marissa, wouldn’t it be easier if…” Nick began.

  “Nick I want to see you by yourself before meeting your parents. I haven’t talked to you in a week. I think we have some catching up to do.”

  “Indeed we do,” Nick admitted.

  “So nine o’clock then?”

  “Sounds good.”

  Heat poured out of the vents in the truck. Marissa rubbed her hands together as Nick coached her on what to say.

  “Now you’re Samira, right? You introduce yourself as Samira,” Nick told her, his blue eyes sparkled as he prompted her.

  Marissa nodded her head, “Yes, Samira. Right.”

  “And we met…”

  “At Ann’s house, I know,” said Marissa.

  “And you work at the medieval steakhouse…”

  “And I’m studying theatre at the community college,” Marissa finished. “Nick I feel so awful lying to your parents.”

  “Once they realize why I lied, they’ll forgive me. But for now, it’s too risky. I can’t tell them I’m dating a girl named Marissa. They hang out with the same couples that the Kowalski’s do and Marissa is not your every day name,” Nick reasoned as he gripped the steering wheel.

  “Neither is Samira,” Marissa added.

  “I know but you told me not many people know your middle name.”

  “They don’t.”

  Nick parked in front of his new apartment, which surprisingly enough wasn’t very far from St. Mary’s. He grabbed her hand to indicate that they had to be on the same page if they were to make it work. Marissa leaned over to kiss him on the neck. His scent of cologne and after-shave was intoxicating.

  Her drunken desire for him was halted as Nick nervously tugged her hand. “Let’s go,” he whispered. “My parents and roommate are inside.”

  Truth be told, she was extremely nervous about meeting his parents. What if they thought she was too young for him? What if they didn’t believe her? But the fact that Nick wanted her to meet his parents meant something. To Marissa it meant that he wanted her to be a part of his life.

  A plump woman in her early fifties came to the door. She spoke with a low raspy but friendly voice of a person who was afflicted with either asthma or severe allergies, “Well hello, you must be Samira. Come in.”

  Marissa smiled and stepped through the door still gripping Nick’s hand. “Hello,” she nodded.

  “Just come in and make yourself comfortable,” the woman said pleasantly. “We’re getting the last few boxes upstairs.”

  Just then a tall, thin man who must have been Nick’s father bounded down the stairs. As he reached the bottom step and turned the corner, Marissa could see the family resemblance. The man in front of her was an older version of Nick but just as handsome. His blue eyes sparkled like his son’s as he spoke. “Hello there, Samira. You can call me Jim.”

  Marissa thought she might feel a little awkward calling Nick’s father by his first name. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “Nick, help me get these last two boxes upstairs will you,” said Nick’s father.

  Nick turned to Marissa, “Make yourself at home. Grab a couch or something.”

  Discomfort filled the air as Nick and his father disappeared up the stairs. Marissa turned to Nick’s mother who was unpacking boxes. “Can I help you with those?
” she asked timidly.

  “Sure,” said Mrs. Smith moving aside a little.

  Marissa moved in beside her and began unwrapping plates.

  “So,” Mrs. Smith began, “how do you know Ann?”

  Oh God, Marissa thought, I haven’t been coached through this one. “We met through a mutual friend,” she answered hoping her answer was as noncommittal as possible.

  “Samira, now that’s not a name you hear every day,” continued Nick’s mom.

  Marissa blushed. Somehow she new that one was coming. “My father is from the Middle East. It’s a common name over there.”

  “Oh, I see,” said Nick’s mother politely.

  For a few minutes, the two women stood in uncomfortable silence, unwrapping dishes. Then the questions continued. “Nick says you’re studying theatre?”

  Again Marissa felt her cheeks turn hot. She wasn’t used to making up blatant lies. The truth was she studied theatre but in her high school.

  To her relief before she could reply, she heard booming footsteps down the wooden staircase and Nick’s voice call out, “Mom, you’re not giving her the third degree are you?”

  Nick’s dad put an arm lovingly around his wife, “Martha can’t resist finding out everything she can. Right dear?”

  “We were just making conversation,” said Nick’s mother defensively.

  Jim Smith glanced at his watch. “It’s getting late. We should get going sweetheart.”

  Nick kissed his parents good-bye and Marissa shook their hands.

  Before she was completely out the door, Nick’s mother smiled at Marissa and said, “I hope to see you again soon Samira.”

  “Bye, Mom,” said Nick impatiently then closed the door.

  “Are we alone?” asked Marissa playfully.

  “I believe so.”

  “And your roommate?”

  “He seems to have gone somewhere,” answered Nick with a glint in his eye.

  “You mean we’re really alone, like for the first time ever. You mean like we’re not hiding out in a park or a car. We’re actually together by ourselves!” Marissa squealed unable to contain her excitement.

  “Yeah, weird isn’t it,” whispered Nick in a low sexy voice as he took her hand and led her to the couch. He leaned over to turn on the radio. The voice of Tracy Chapman sang tenderly, Forgive me. Is all that you can say…