The Pledge

by Chandra Sparks Taylor

  “Okay.”

  We walked in just as Momma was finishing up.

  “Courtland,” she said, spooning mashed potatoes into a serving bowl, “why don’t you show Allen where the bathroom is so he can wash up?”

  “Okay,” I agreed.

  I led him down the hall to our guest bathroom and stood in the doorway as he washed his hands.

  “So did you really mean what you said earlier?” I asked, my stomach tightening at how he might respond.

  “Said about what?” he asked. I thought he was serious until I saw his dimple appear.

  I popped him on the arm. “Why are you teasing me?” I asked.

  “You thought I really wanted to come over here just to study?” he said.

  “Yeah,” I admitted. “You said this wasn’t a date. Besides, I’m just a junior.”

  “Well, I want to date you,” he said. He looked like he wanted to kiss me, but then he changed his mind.

  “Why?” I asked, really wanting to know.

  “Because I think you’re something special. I’ve been checking you out since last year, but I didn’t know how to approach you. Word is that you’re stuck-up, but I know now that’s just a cover.”

  “Really?” I asked.

  He nodded as he dried his hands on a paper towel. “I also know that you’re into me just as much as I’m into you. My spies have told me about some of the conversations you and your friend Bree have had about me.”

  My mouth dropped open in shock, and he grinned.

  I didn’t think I could be any more surprised than I was at the moment, but I realized I was wrong when Allen took my hand and looked deep into my eyes. “Courtland, will you be my girlfriend?”

  four

  Sometimes I wake in the middle of the night wondering if I dreamed the night Allen asked me to be his girlfriend, but then I slip one of the letters he’s written me from under my pillow and reread it or look at all the text messages he’s sent me over the last month and realize that it’s very real.

  Allen Benson, star basketball player, likes me, and although I haven’t told him yet, I love him. Since that first night he came to my house, he’s been here every chance he gets, and we get together during lunch and study hall and whenever we have a few free moments. We’re the new it couple at school, and I can’t believe it.

  Momma thinks it’s cute what Allen and I have. She says he’s a nice guy who comes from a good family. Cory likes him, too. I’ve never seen my little sister open up to someone as quickly as she’s done with Allen. They spend time playing video games and the three of us shoot hoops.

  Even Daddy came around. The few times he was home when Allen was there, they actually held decent conversations. Daddy even came to see Allen play, which surprised me because it had been a while since he came to any activity I participated in.

  I guess Daddy was really feeling Allen because a few weeks before my seventeenth birthday, Aunt Dani, who was thrilled I was dating a baller and who had decided to stay in Birmingham indefinitely, stopped by and went off on my parents for not letting me date. Daddy came into the kitchen where Allen and I were studying for finals, which were going to take place the week after Thanksgiving, which was only a few days away.

  “You can go out with her,” Daddy said, “but Dani has to go with you.”

  It took a second for his words to register, but when they did, Allen and I looked at each other in surprise.

  “Thank you,” he said, getting up to shake Daddy’s hand.

  I walked over and hugged Daddy, trying to ignore the alcohol I smelled on his breath and trying not to think about how awkward it felt. The last time I had really hugged Daddy was at my junior high school graduation. That night had been one of the best of my life. Daddy hadn’t stopped grinning the whole time, and as I was getting ready for bed, he came into my room and told me how proud he was of me and how much he loved me. We had really talked that night. He had told me how he felt about finding out right after he finished high school he was adopted and how he always dreamed of becoming a police officer.

  His faith in me that night was what made me decide I was going to lose weight, and I vowed I would always pursue my dreams.

  “Thank you, Daddy.” I looked over his shoulder to where Momma and Aunt Dani were standing, and Aunt Dani winked. I reminded myself to thank her later.

  Daddy just kind of grunted.

  Allen kissed me on the cheek, then we both walked over and gave Momma a hug.

  “Thank you,” I said. “I know you had something to do with this.”

  She grinned at us both. “You’re welcome,” she said. “I remember what it was like to be young and in love. You guys behave yourselves, and don’t make me regret this.”

  “I promise to take good care of your daughter,” Allen vowed.

  “So, Allen, why don’t you hook me up with one of your fine baller friends?” Aunt Dani said. “Make sure he’s older, though, and has plenty of money. At my age, I don’t have time to be dating little boys.”

  Allen grinned. “I know just the guy.”

  Aunt Dani called me a couple of days later and told me she was going to treat me to a new outfit for my date. Allen and I had decided to go out to dinner then to the homecoming dance, and Momma and Daddy had agreed we could go to the dance without Aunt Dani and her date. I was all for something new to wear, so we headed to the Galleria mall the weekend before homecoming.

  “How’s my favorite niece?” she asked, and I laughed, knowing that’s really how she felt.

  My grandparents had three children together, and Aunt Dani was my grandfather’s daughter from another relationship. It didn’t take a genius to figure out my granddaddy had cheated on my grandma, but for as long as I could remember, Aunt Dani had always been at family events, and although there were several other grandkids, including a few more girls, I was the oldest, and my grandparents and my aunt spoiled me rotten.

  “Hey, Aunt Dani,” I said, giving her a hug.

  “How was the game yesterday?” she asked.

  I filled her in, and she promised to come see me before the end of the season.

  “You’re coming to regionals when we make it, right?” I asked.

  “Where’s it going to be this year?” she asked.

  “It’s actually in Birmingham, at the Civic Center,” I said.

  “It’s on like popcorn,” she said. “I’ll be there, just let me know when.”

  I cracked up. Every now and then, Aunt Dani would use these outdated phrases, and I just found them funny.

  “Aunt Dani, nobody says that anymore,” I said.

  “Then I’m just going to bring it back,” she said.

  We laughed and talked all the way to the mall. It felt good to be with my aunt again, just the two of us.

  “Do they have Chanel here?” Aunt Dani asked as she pulled into a spot. She put the car in gear then reached into her Coach bag for some lipstick.

  “No,” Cory said, springing up from the trunk area of Aunt Dani’s SUV. Aunt Dani and I both screamed.

  “Girl…” Aunt Dani said, clutching her chest.

  “Munchkin, what has Momma told you about hiding from people and scaring them?” I said. Cory hadn’t done it in a couple years, and Momma said it was just a phase she had been going through, but obviously not, since she was doing it again.

  Cory was laughing so hard as she tried to climb over the backseat that she fell on the floor.

  “That’s not funny,” I said. “You’re gonna get hurt doing that.” I shook my head and looked at the floor. Aunt Dani was still trying to recover. Her eyes were huge like she’d seen a ghost, and the lipstick she’d been putting on when Cory scared us had ended up on her cheek like a bright red jagged scar. “Say you’re sorry.”

  “Sorry,” Cory said, but I knew she really didn’t mean it.

  “What are you doing here, anyway?” I asked.

  “I wanted to come, too, and I knew if I asked you’d say no.”

  I ju
st shook my head, knowing she was right. “Come on,” I said before turning to Aunt Dani. “You ready?”

  She looked in the mirror. “Do I look ready? I should spank you, Cory, with your bad behind.”

  Cory looked really hurt.

  “She’s not bad,” I said, jumping to her defense.

  Aunt Dani started to say something, but decided to repair her makeup instead. We sat there for about twenty minutes waiting on her, and Cory played her Game Boy while Allen and I texted each other, mainly about our date. Finally he called me.

  “Where are you?” he asked.

  “At the mall,” I said. “Where are you?”

  “Just chilling at home. Who are you with?”

  “My aunt and sister. Why?”

  “I just wanted to make sure ain’t nobody hitting on my baby,” he said. He got quiet, and I heard loud music then someone talking in the background, but I couldn’t hear what the person was saying. “Hey, my mom is calling me,” he said after a few seconds.

  “I didn’t know you were seeing your mom this weekend.”

  “Yeah,” he said. “I’ll call you later.” He turned up the music, then whispered, “I love you.”

  “I love you, too,” I said. It was the first time I had said the words to him, and it felt good knowing he felt the same way and he had said it first.

  “Ain’t that sweet?” Aunt Dani said, ruining the moment. “You ready?” She looked at me like she’d been waiting on me.

  “Yes, ma’am,” I said, and she looked at me like I was crazy.

  “I know you didn’t just call me ma’am.”

  “Sorry,” I said. Sometimes I forgot she was only a few years older than me. I mean, she had lived in New York and L.A. She had dated celebrities. Sometimes it just seemed like she was older.

  Until she stepped out of the car.

  Then I thought she was my age, if not younger.

  She had on these tight pants with something written on the butt and a too-little T-shirt with BABE across her breasts and some high-heeled sandals, although it was November.

  Momma didn’t let me wear clothes with writing on it because she said it caused people to stare at body parts they shouldn’t be focused on, and I realized she was right because I couldn’t help but look at Aunt Dani’s butt and breasts.

  It was noon before we finally made it into the mall, and it was packed. We found my outfit in the first store we went in, Forever 21, but Aunt Dani insisted on going in almost every store, and she used her American Express in each of them. We stopped at the jewelry counter in Macy’s because she said we had to accessorize my outfit, and although I was tired, I agreed.

  We parked Cory at one of the makeup counter chairs with all our bags and a new PlayStation Portable, complete with nine or ten games, courtesy of Aunt Dani, then went to look at the jewelry.

  Aunt Dani picked out three or four necklaces and showed them to me. “Which one do you like for your outfit?”

  “Oh, I don’t need a necklace,” I said, fingering my purity pearl. “I’m going to wear this.”

  She looked at my necklace and wrinkled her nose. “You can’t wear that ugly thing.”

  “Why not?” I asked, a little insulted. “This is really special to me.”

  Her face lit up. “Did Allen give it to you?”

  Before I could respond, she said, “I knew I’d rub off on you. I’m glad to see you’re learning how to get things from men while you’re still young.”

  “What?” I asked, confused.

  “Girl, now that you’ve lost all that weight, you can hang with me, and we can pull all types of men. I can hook you up with one who will get you diamonds.”

  “I don’t want you to hook me up with anyone else,” I said. “I want to be with Allen. Anyway, he didn’t give me this necklace. This is my purity pearl.”

  She turned up her lip and rolled her eyes at someone who was trying to sidestep her. “It’s a what?” she asked.

  I explained about Worth the Wait and what the pearl represented, and she laughed so loud people stopped and looked at us. I guess she liked the attention because she started laughing louder and bent over, slapping the glass counter so hard I thought it would crack. She looked at me after she finally caught her breath with tears in her eyes. “Let me guess, your mother made you join?”

  I pretended to study some earrings so I didn’t have to respond. “Girl, your mother is tripping. I can’t believe she made you join a virgin club. Has she told you anything about sex?”

  “Yes,” I mumbled, not believing we were having this conversation in the mall.

  She shook her head. “I don’t want to know what she said. Obviously the two of us are going to have to talk so I can school you on the real deal about men. What are you doing tonight?”

  “Bree and I are going to Spinners,” I said, referring to the skating rink where everyone hung out.

  “Well, we’ll do it some other time,” she said. “So which necklace are you going to get?”

  “I’ll just wear this one,” I said. “Allen likes the necklace and the fact that I’m a virgin, so that’s all that matters to me.”

  “You told him you’re a virgin?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” I said.

  “And he liked it?” she said thoughtfully. “Interesting.”

  The night of the homecoming dance, Allen was still pumped because our team had won the homecoming game, and I was excited because despite my dream the first day of school, we had nailed our halftime show.

  I wanted Bree to come over to help me get dressed for my date, but she was out of town with her family, so I asked Candy, the co-captain of the cheerleading squad, to come over since Aunt Dani said she’d meet Allen and me at the restaurant.

  “So are you excited?” Candy asked.

  “Yes and no,” I said as I stood in the mirror combing my hair.

  “Why yes and no?” Candy asked curiously.

  “Yes because it’s my first date, and no because I’m so used to being around Allen that I don’t think it will be any different.” I looked at my hair and threw the comb down in frustration.

  It had grown some more, and I felt as though there was nothing I could do with it. I was seriously thinking about getting it cut.

  Candy eased me into the chair in front of my vanity and picked up the comb.

  “So where did you guys decide to go for dinner?” she asked, plugging in a curling iron.

  “I have no idea. Allen said he wanted to surprise me,” I said.

  Candy nodded.

  “You really like him, huh?” she said.

  I blushed. “Yeah, I do,” I admitted. “I still can’t believe he likes me. He doesn’t even mind my being in Worth the Wait.”

  “Why would he?” she asked curiously.

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. Some of the girls who are members say their boyfriends have a problem with them being in a virgin club. Have you ever thought about joining?” I asked, realizing I had never asked her.

  She laughed. “I thought about it for a minute, but I decided not to.”

  “Why not?”

  “It just seems to be the in thing right now. I’m secure enough in my virginity not to need a club to back my decision.”

  I nodded. I hadn’t thought about it like that.

  We sat in silence while she worked on my hair before we finally made eye contact in the mirror.

  “Are you okay?” I asked. She looked like she had something on her mind.

  “Sure,” she said, tapping my shoulder to let me know she was done. I looked in the mirror, and my hair looked amazing. Candy had parted it differently, and done it in spiral curls that really complemented my face.

  “This looks great,” I said, getting up to hug her. “Can you help me into my dress?”

  Aunt Dani and I had settled on a navy dress and some matching heels. I wore my purity necklace, although Aunt Dani continued to try and talk me out of it. I thought I looked really good—mature but not too old—and
Momma agreed when I modeled the outfit for her. Candy seemed to like the outfit, too.

  “Well, I guess I’m ready,” I said, glancing at the clock. Allen was supposed to arrive at seven, so I still had a few minutes. “Do you think we should add some extra practices next week? I want to make sure we’re ready for regionals,” I said.

  “Sounds good,” Candy said, looking distracted.

  I touched her shoulder. “Hey, what’s going on with you? Are you sure you’re okay?”

  Candy took a deep breath. “I need to tell you something,” she said, “but I don’t want you to get mad at me or think I’m trying to ruin your relationship.”

  “Okay,” I said slowly. For some reason the way Candy had acted toward Allen when we saw him near the fountain flashed through my mind. I wondered if she was going to tell me she liked Allen—or worse, they had dated.

  “I know someone who used to date Allen,” she confessed.

  “Girl, is that what’s been bothering you?” I said, and laughed. “Everybody has history. What Allen did before we dated doesn’t concern me.” I picked up my purse and checked it to make sure I had all my essentials, including my cell phone and my emergency twenty-dollar bill.

  “But that’s just it, it does concern you—or at least it might,” she said.

  “Candy, what’s going on? Just tell me,” I insisted, tired of her beating around the bush.

  She grabbed my hand. “Courtland, my friend said that Allen used to hit her.”

  I couldn’t help it. I burst into laughter. “That’s your big secret? Girl, please. Allen wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

  “But why would she lie about something like that?” Candy asked.

  I stopped laughing, realizing she was serious. “Let me ask you something,” I said. “Did Allen break up with her, or did she break up with him?”

  “What does that have to do with anything?” Candy asked.

  “Just answer the question,” I said.

  “I think he broke up with her,” she admitted.

  “Just what I thought,” I muttered before looking at her. “Don’t you see what’s happening?”

  “No,” Candy said.

  “She’s angry Allen dumped her, and she’s trying to get back at him. She probably heard we were going together and didn’t like it, so she told you that stupid mess trying to break us up so she could get back with him.”