Destiny

by Mitchel Grace

  “Is Olivia here?” I asked.

  “She is. She’s been expecting you. Olivia is in the back getting ready. Why don’t you come inside? I think we need to talk, Eric,” she said.

  “Okay,” I said and walked inside to the table. There, her mom asked me some questions.

  “You do know what Olivia is giving up to be with you, right?”

  “I don’t understand what you’re saying. I know she’s giving up a chance to be with Richard, but is that really such a bad thing?”

  “He has a good future ahead of him. People around here talk about him making millions one day. I’m not so sold on that. Anything can happen, and there’s always a chance that he’ll get injured or just not be good enough. Still, he’s a bright kid, and he’s going to get a college education for free. He has a good start and a plan in life. Did you know he wants to be a dentist if football doesn’t work out? Richard has a plan for his life. What do you have?”

  “I have plans, too. I’m still working a lot of it out, though.”

  “So you see my concern. She just went from a boy who might be exactly what she needs to someone who isn’t even sure of what he’s going to do in life. I really gave her an earful last night about her choice to pick you, but it’s her decision. I realized that this morning. If she sees something in you that would make her turn away from him, then there has to be something great about you. I’m just trying to figure out what it is.”

  “Let me tell you then. I’m not a lot of things. If you’re comparing me to Richard, I would fall short in most ways, but I would do anything for Olivia. I care about her, and she cares about me. I don’t get the feeling that she ever really cared about Richard. I think she was with him because it seemed like she was supposed to be. Here’s the question you have to ask. Do you want your daughter to be with someone who makes her happy, or do you want her to be with someone who takes care of her materially?”

  “Shouldn’t I want both for her?”

  “I suppose you should. Here’s the thing, though. She made the right choice to break it off with Richard. He was never going to make her happy. I can. As for taking care of her materially, give me time to develop into who I’m supposed to be. I’m only sixteen, and I’m still trying to figure out what I want out of life. Do I want to go after a stressful career that pulls me away from my future family, or do I want something simple that gives us what we need but not necessarily everything we want? I’ll decide that in time, but know this. I’ll always give her everything she needs as long as we’re together. I’ll make her happy, too. I promise you that.”

  “Okay, Eric. I can’t really argue with that statement. I’ll give you a shot, but if you don’t make Olivia happy, just know that it’s going to be an uncomfortable two years for you living across the road. I take her happiness pretty seriously.”

  “What are you guys talking about?” Olivia asked as she walked up.

  I turned to see Olivia. She looked stunning. She was wearing a button up shirt and a skirt that showed her perfectly toned legs off. It was all I could do to keep from staring. Her mom was in the room, so I quickly turned my gaze away.

  “We’re just talking about Eric dating you. He passed my test. Don’t worry. I hope you two have fun today. Be sure to have her back early. We have church in the morning,” Ms. Winters said.

  I nodded, and we made our way out to my car. Olivia smirked as we were getting in. I didn’t know what that was about, but I thought I’d better mention a couple of things before I asked her.

  “I’ve got to tell you that you look amazing today,” I said.

  “Oh, really? What’s so amazing about how I look?” she asked with a smile.

  “First, you’re always beautiful. Besides the obvious, though, you just look like you spent a lot of time picking out the perfect outfit. I’m not going to lie either. I’m really digging the skirt. I didn’t know I liked your legs so much.”

  “And there it is. It’s always the legs with guys like you,” Olivia joked.

  “Hey, what is guys like me supposed to mean?”

  “Poor innocent virgins. I really feel for you, Eric. Last night, you got a black eye, and now you’re having to stare at me knowing that you can look but not touch.”

  “Who says I can’t touch? We’re definitely more than friends now. You didn’t break up with your boyfriend for us to be in a platonic relationship.”

  “Maybe not, but here’s the thing. When we first met, what did I tell you about myself?”

  “A lot of things. What are you talking about?”

  “I told you that I was a bit of a tease. I think I’m going to enjoy holding out and making you wait a long time before our relationship goes past holding hands and innocent little kisses. Then again, an innocent guy like you is probably relieved.”

  “All right, I didn’t know you were going to be making fun of me the whole time. Is that why you were smirking earlier?”

  “Yeah, but I’m only doing it because I can get under your skin so easily. You shouldn’t take me seriously.”

  “Oh, thank God. I thought for a minute there you were serious about everything.”

  “Well, I was about part of it. Making fun of you for being innocent was the joke, but waiting wasn’t. I’ve been thinking about it. I want to have what you described with your ex back in Miami. I need to know you can wait on me until I’m ready, and more than that, I just want to take everything slow. I like being around you. I have since the day we met, but I want everything to develop without expectations. The other night in the car was a bit much. I think it was too soon for us to be that close. I hope that doesn’t disappoint you.”

  I thought for a second. I had just gotten back into town, and I didn’t even know Olivia that long before. Sure, we had talked on the phone a lot during our lives, but our real life interactions were very limited. It probably made sense for us to take our time and not act like we were two people deeply in love. What we were in was closer to a puppy love stage. Simple was probably best. Then again, I was sixteen. A part of me was disappointed. I thought I was going to have this relationship that moved quickly and with no work. It turned out that plenty of work was going to be involved. While I was thinking of a response, what was important came to me. Did I love this girl? If I did, I wouldn’t care how slow we moved. All I would care about was that we spent time together.

  “Well, are you going to say anything?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I’m sorry. I think slow is good. I’ve never even taken you on a proper date, so let’s do that today, and we’ll just see where things go down the line. I like you for a lot more than physical things. I’ll wait however long it takes.”

  “Great. Where are we going, though?”

  “That’s the other thing I need to talk to you about. I looked up Richard’s address. Last night, my uncle and I talked, and I think I owe him an apology. I don’t regret doing whatever I had to in order to get you, but it still doesn’t make what I did right.”

  “Okay. Have you gone crazy right now?”

  “Maybe. I don’t know. I just feel like it’s the right thing to do. I think I have to take responsibility for what I did, even if I wouldn’t change any of it.”

  “Do you have a death wish or something? He’s going to make your other eye match your right one if you go there. Just stick with me for today, and if you still feel strongly about this later on, you can do what you want. I’m asking you to hold off, though. If you approach him now, he’ll be sure to go off on you. It’s still fresh.”

  “Maybe you’re right. We’ll just enjoy today. I don’t want to ruin our first real date. Going back to something that was said at your house, though, I really didn’t expect to have to get you home early for church.”

  “Why is that?”

  “I don’t know. You just didn’t seem like the typical church girl to me.”

  “What does that mean? My mom has suggested that we go to church over the last year, and for your information, I fit in just fine a
mong believers.”

  “Hey, I’m not judging. My parents used to take us to church on occasion. It’s really weird to think about, considering what they were doing behind the scenes. My experience with church girls might be a little skewed. You don’t seem uptight, and most of the ones I ever met were.”

  “You don’t have to be perfect to go to church. I can be fun and show up on Sunday mornings.”

  “So party on Friday and Saturday and repent on Sundays? That sounds like an easy way to live.”

  “I’m starting to think your issue might be with religion as a whole. What’s going on with you?”

  “Forget I said anything. We need to talk about where we’re going.”

  “Well, as the girl, I thought you would have everything planned out. It is a date.”

  “I have forty dollars and no idea what’s in this town. Sorry if I’m not up to par.”

  “That’s great. I just found out that my new boyfriend hates church and is poor. I got a real winner, didn’t I?”

  “I just got here. I’ll get a job soon so we can do more, but right now, we’re just going to have to make do. As long as you’re around, I don’t think it’ll matter where we go. It’ll be fun anyway. I’m glad to hear you calling me your boyfriend after only one day. A little quick for taking it slow, don’t you think?”

  “Hey, I didn’t choose you so we could be friends. I thought that was implied. If you just want to be friends, though . . .”

  “No, I think I like this,” I said and grabbed her hand.

  “Me, too. I’ve got a plan. I know we were supposed to eat lunch, but why don’t we go to the movies? We can get some food there and watch something good. I hear that the new Rising Fang movie is out. I’ve been wanting to see it.”

  I didn’t know what to say. Rising Fang was a movie about a werewolf who fell in love with a human. To make a long story short, it was packed with cheesy lines that only thirteen-year-old girls should like. Was Olivia really into those kinds of things?

  “Oh, my God! You should see your face! I’m just joking with you. Did you actually think I watched that crap?” Olivia asked.

  “I didn’t know, but I didn’t want to hurt your feelings. Thank God!”

  “Oh, so he does praise God for some things!”

  “Hey, what does that mean?”

  “It means that you’re going to tell me what’s up with you and church at some point. You don’t have to answer now, but I’ll figure you out sooner or later. In the meantime, I think we should go see something funny. There’s a comedy with Jeff McCarthy that I’ve been wanting to see. What do you think?”

  “I think I might have found the perfect woman. I’ve been wanting to see that, too.”

  “So you didn’t know I was perfect before? Wow. Some first date I’m having. First, all you notice is my legs, and then you try to confront my ex again. Now my value is attached to my taste in movies. I don’t know about you, Eric,” she joked.

  About that time, we pulled up to the movie theater, and she started to get out. I grabbed her and pulled her close to me before she could. Then I planted a passionate kiss on her. After a few seconds, she pulled back.

  “Okay, that wasn’t exactly taking it slow. I could get used to it, though,” Olivia said.

  “You should. I just wanted to show you that you mean so much to me. I think I might love every part of you.”

  “Get to know me a little more. I’m not as perfect as you might think.”

  “Now that, I don’t believe,” I said and gave her a gentle peck on the cheek.

  We walked inside hand in hand. The movie was great, and the popcorn was even better. While we were watching the movie, I couldn’t help but keep coming back to one thought, though. Could any of this last? I had the perfect girl next to me. Olivia was the woman I had been dreaming of for almost two years. In my experience, what goes up always comes back down, and I was waiting on the other shoe to drop. Before, I had what some might call the perfect life. My parents were rich, I was getting the best education possible, and I had a girlfriend who loved me. All of that was gone now, though. My parents were behind bars, and their bank account had been wiped out. It didn’t seem fair. My family was gone. I had always felt like an outsider, but now I didn’t know what to think. In that movie theater, it hit me all at once. Everyone I had ever loved besides Olivia was out of my life now. What if I was only heading toward inevitably losing her, too?

  When we got out of the movie and were walking back to the car, Olivia wrapped her arm around me. She didn’t say anything about my sad expression, but I think she knew that something was wrong. She simply did what any good girlfriend would do. She gave me time to gather my thoughts and let me know that she was there for me, even if she didn’t do it with words.

  “Hey, I think we should get some coffee now. I know the movies wiped you out, so it’ll be my treat,” she said as we got into the car.

  “No, that’s all right. I don’t want you to have to pay for anything on a date. We can . . .”

  “I insist. Besides, now I have to pay for it.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because I don’t really believe in doing things traditionally. Just because you’re the guy doesn’t mean you have to pay for everything. I do expect you to be a gentleman, but that doesn’t mean I can’t get us a cup of coffee so we can continue our date. Besides, there’s something I want to talk to you about when we get there.”

  Once we were at the coffee house and were seated, Olivia decided to ask me what was really going on. She had given me time to gather my thoughts, and now she wanted me to let her in. The only problem was that I wasn’t ready to let her in on my problems.

  “Nothing. What are you talking about? I’m having a great time,” I said.

  “I’m not so sure about that. You’ve expressed a lot of doubt about church today, and you’ve looked sad since we left the movies. Let me in. What’s going on with you?”

  “Are you sure you want that? I’m pretty complicated at the moment.”

  “I’m positive. You’re my new best friend. If we’re going to be really close, then we need to talk to each other about these things.”

  “I don’t like church or religion because I feel like God let me down. That sounds terrible, but it’s true.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “You know what? Forget it. This isn’t how we talk. We flirt and joke, but we don’t talk about things this personal.”

  “That’s not true. I told you about my dad when we were fourteen, and you told me about how you felt insecure back at home. I trusted you with the last thing my dad gave me, too. I would say that goes a lot further than flirting.”

  “You’re right. I didn’t feel at home with my family when we first met, but a lot changed over the next year and a half. I grew into a better-rounded person. I felt like my family was finally accepting me. We were rich, our lives were going better than ever, and I was driving an insanely expensive car for a sixteen-year-old. Life was pretty close to perfect, but then it all changed in an instant. My family was taken from me. Now, I know it was because of my parents’ choices. God didn’t have much to do with it, but I’m still mad. Half of the people in our church were crooked, and the God who was supposed to be so merciful was nowhere to be found when my sister and I needed Him most. Then Catherine left for college, and now I’m here. I don’t show it to anyone, but I’m really angry. I’m glad I’m here with you now, but I hate the way it happened.”

  “I never told anyone this, but there was a reason my mom and I didn’t go to church until a year ago. She must have suggested going a thousand times before that, but I refused. I was angry after my dad left. I was angry with God, and honestly, I was angry with everyone here. A part of me still is. I don’t have it all figured out. I look at this place, and all I see is the family I lost. I see a restaurant or a toy store, and I have a memory of the father I don’t have anymore. I don’t know why God allows things like this to happen or why pe
ople make the choices they do, but I do know this. You’re here with me, and nothing else matters. The family you had is gone for now. Some day your mom and dad will get out, and you can see them again, but until then, you’re going to have to make do. My dad might never come back, but I’m getting by all right. I’ve got my mom, and I’ve got you now. You’re not alone. Your aunt and uncle are with you, and more than that, I wouldn’t mind being family with you. I’ve never liked using the term boyfriend or girlfriend very often because it seems like an understatement for what I’m looking for. I need someone I can be at home with. I’ll be that home for you, if you’ll let me.”

  “Of course I will. Thank you. I probably look pathetic right now talking about missing my parents.”

  “No. If you weren’t torn up about the situation, then I would be worried about you.”

  “You really are perfect. Thanks for talking things through with me. So what do you want to do now?”

  “I was thinking we could go back to my house since we’re both broke. Maybe I’ll let you help me write a paper for Monday.”

  “Oh, joy. Writing papers. This is the best first date ever,” I joked.

  “I mean, if you do a good job on the paper, there will be a reward. If you don’t want it, though, I guess you can just go home.”

  “Wait a minute. What kind of reward?”

  “Well, that depends. How good are you at art history?”

  As we walked to the door, I knew only one thing. We weren’t moving slow. We were just moving in a different direction than most people do. Most explore the physical long before they get to know a person’s soul. We were doing it in the reverse order, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

  Chapter 10

  Back Up Plans

  The following morning, I woke early to hear my uncle getting ready to go to another game. I had learned from phone conversations in the past that he never missed one. It seemed like a good idea to go with him. I didn’t really watch football or even care to go, but what else was I going to do all day? I walked downstairs and asked him if he had an extra ticket.