by Nia Arthurs
But nothing I did could erase the thud in my chest. Over the next few days, I obsessed about Drew’s mysterious date. What kind of girl was she? Was she white? Black? Latina? Was she tall or short? Was she a professional woman or a skater chick? Was she put together and classy? Haughty and prim?
As we all worked hard on the animation finally dubbed, “Mali and Dorian” and visited a ton of radio stations which was a surprisingly painless affair, I buried myself in my work to keep from any unnecessary hangouts with Drew. Obviously, my feelings for him had moved way beyond my initial biological attraction. He seemed to accept the distance without complaint, either because he too was busy with work or he was too busy with another girl.
As Saturday morning rolled into view, I prepared to sit awkwardly next to Drew at the station to watch the premiere of Mali and Dorian. A few hours after the premiere, I would be throwing myself off tall towers with Drew’s new girl.
Whoopee.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Andrea sat to my left and Drew sat to my right. Mrs. Freemont paced the carpet behind us. The video and sound editors and street sketch artist sat in the swivel chairs beside us. We were all pretty nervous. If this show was a flop, all our hard-work would be for nothing. Though we’d already written up the next few episodes and I was already working on some new scenes, if the population didn’t respond well, Mrs. Freemont would have to shut the production down.
I smiled as the theme song came on. The winner of the song competition had done a fabulous job! I bobbed my head to the beat created by the drums and the guitar as the song played. A montage of fun scenes from the upcoming episodes rolled on screen. After the last note of the theme song, Mali and her brother Dorian walked on screen. I’d had tons of fun animating their faces and mannerisms. Mali was a short light brown skin little girl with poofy, curly hair often tamed into thick braids. Her brother was taller than her with a darker skin tone and an amazingly enthusiastic grin. They met their friends at the local park and began to speak about the plans they had for the summer. Mali suggested a hare-brained scheme of swimming in the Blue Hole and the crew asked their lacksidaisical babysitter for permission. She gave her nonchalant approval and the group ended up swimming around in the Blue Hole and discovering the amazing coral formations and variety of fish. Dorian learned to swim and the crew was informed in little baby language the importance of conservation and taking care of the Sea.
When the show was over, everyone clapped.
Given the time and resources we’d had, the animation was surprisingly well done. Drew was a phenomenal leader with a clear vision and I was excited to see where the series would go in the future.
“That was so beautiful.” Mrs. Freemont cried, wiping at a stray tear. “I’m so happy to see my dream become a reality.”
Drew stood and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “You did good, Sharon.”
He squeezed her to his side and then released her.
“Now,” He checked his watch, “Lexi and I need to get out of here.”
“Of course, shoo. Have fun zip lining.” Sharon bid us goodbye and everyone on the team said their farewells too. I walked to the elevator with Drew. As happy as I felt about the success of “Mali and Dorian”, I still felt uneasy about meeting Drew’s date. I had no right to feel this way, but I did.
“See you later!” Drew nodded at me as he dropped me off next to Herbie and ran to his own car. He still had to pick up his mystery date and bring her to Mom and Dad’s.
I drove home and then quickly packed my cut off shorts and t-shirt as well as a comfy pair of slippers in an overnight bag before changing into a T-shirt and skinny jeans.
“I’m too sexy for my shirt. Too sexy for my shirt. Too sexy it huuurts.” My phone bounced around and sang obnoxiously.
I ignored the call. Melody was probably on the other line hoping to remind me about the trip. Like I’d forget. I hopped into Herbie as the song paraded through my car.
The incessant ringing annoyed me and I finally reached over and pressed ACCEPT.
“I’m coming!” I shouted into the phone’s speakers.
“Everyone’s here.” Melody scolded me.
“Everyone?” I echoed, an unspoken query in my tone.
“Yeah,” Melody lowered her voice, “She’s here.”
I knew exactly the ‘she’ Mel was referring to.
“Is she gorgeous?”
“Yup.” Mel whispered.
“Nice.”
“So far.”
“Crap.” I frowned and bounced into a pothole.
“I’ll see you soon.” Mel said sympathetically and I ended the call.
I wanted to throw the biggest temper tantrum in my adult career. I felt unsettled and immature and really, really stupid. Usually, my one-sided romances ended before I saw my crush with another girl. As much as I’d liked Archie, I’d always known that he saw me as a little sister and I knew that wouldn’t change. I hadn’t expected anything from him.
Because I was older now, I’d looked at Drew with the intention of someday exploring more than a friendship. In my made-up world, he’d convince me of his strong faith, confess his undying love for me, and I would grant him the privilege of a relationship.
It sucked that the real world didn’t follow the scripts I made up in my head.
I parked in front of the split level home and hopped out. A long silver mini-van sat behind me. I admired the vehicle and wondered who would be driving it. My dad wasn’t coming as he and Mom were babysitting Ally and most of the men were terrible at driving outside Belize City limits.
“She’s here!” Melody met me at the front door.
“I’m here!” I tapped into my reserve of fake cheer and stepped inside, carrying my overnight bag with the change of clothes on my shoulder.
The gang was bright eyed and bushy tailed lounging around the living room. Spencer dressed in a khaki pants and orange and blue tank top sat on the floor playing blocks with baby Alexis. Peyton and Mia were arguing about sunscreen (they had a thing about SPF protection). Mia wore a gorgeous summer dress with a straight skirt and Peyton wore khakis and a T-shirt. My eyes greeted everyone with a smile until I came to her.
She was a fair skinned Latina, pretty, but not stunning. Her long black hair was tied up in a high ponytail. She wore a black T-shirt over blue shorts. Her eyes were wide and innocent looking. Her smile ready on her lips when she waved at me. I didn’t know her personally, she was a few years older than me, but she had attended my high school.
“Hi.” She stepped up to me and shook my hand, “I’m Catherine.”
“Lexi.” I returned the sincere gesture and tried to find something to hate about this girl.
But I couldn’t.
She wasn’t rude and she didn’t seem fake.
Still, I wasn’t letting my guard down and accepting her into the fold just yet.
Persia and Joshua stood in a corner of the room and it was then that I noticed the tall, handsome brown-skinned man wearing the polo and long jeans pants sitting near Archie’s chair.
Was that the new guy in Persia’s life?
He was cute. I gave him a nine out of ten for appearance.
“What’s going on with them?” I asked Drew who’s blue eyes lighted when he saw me. As my question registered, his eyes dimmed.
“Josh didn’t take meeting Tyrone well.”
“Oh no.” I put a hand to my mouth and sent a sympathetic gaze Persia’s way.
Melody stepped up to the pair and spoke quietly to them. Josh went along with my big sister and left his mom with her shoulders slumped and her head down to be consoled by Tyrone.
“Come on, everyone.” Mel said, hugging a frowning Josh to her side, “Let’s go have some fun.”
We all piled into the silver van. Mia sat in the driver’s seat, brushing off comments from the group about her driving and navigational skills.
“Just buckle up and be quiet.” She shot at Archie who mumbled teasingly about women driv
ers and accident statistics.
Peyton sat beside his wife in the passenger seat. Melody and Spencer sat in the row behind them. Archie and Susan were separated in the individual chairs. Eryn and I sat in the second to last row while Drew and his date sat at the back.
Despite the awkwardness that I hid in my heart about Catherine, it was soon overshadowed by the excitement of this trip and the hilariousness of my family.
“Hey, Susan,” Peyton turned around to face the woman in the third row, “You remember the last time you rode in one of these.”
Susan laughed and yelled back, “Yeah! Ya’ll were so overwhelming.” She addressed Catherine, “Don’t worry, hun. I’ll make sure they tamp down on the crazy for you.”
Catherine grinned her thanks and Drew said something privately to her that made her laugh.
I quickly hid my face from the sight. Thankfully, my family didn’t allow me to wallow in disappointment and sorrow.
“Mel’s going to be a pro at zip lining.” Spencer teased his wife. “I’ve taught her all that she knows.”
“I’m a pro because I have zip lined in all the wrong ways. There’s nothing left in me but a good experience.”
“Let’s keep our fingers crossed.” Eryn poked fun at Melody.
“Don’t let me start on you, Ms. Screams-A-Lot.” Melody threatened with a wagging finger.
We spent the hour and a half making fun of everyone and talking nonsense. It was all with happy intentions. To be a part of our family, you learned very quickly to have thick skin. Of course, there was a line between teasing and hurting someone’s feelings and every so often, someone got offended. It was inevitable.
But we didn’t hold grudges and eventually, we all learned the topics to steer clear of and the ones to pursue. Inevitably, one of my topics that everyone loved to pursue was Jermaine.
“When will you tell the poor boy to leave you alone?” Peyton addressed me. Turning to face, Drew and Catherine, Peyton explained, “He likes every one of her photographs on Facebook the minute she puts them up.”
“Are you kidding me?” I threw a bag of peanuts at the handsome auburn man’s head.
“Did I tell you guys what Lexi did to the rose Jermaine sent her for Valentine’s day?” Eryn piped.
“No. Eryn, no!” I lunged for my sister’s face and tried to cover her mouth but she tenaciously kept me at arm’s length.
My sister laughed manically.
“They’ve all heard that story!” I protested.
“Not them.” Eryn hooked a finger at the couple behind us.
“Lexi really didn’t want to go to prom with this guy. But she didn’t know how to tell him so she just ignored his messages and calls until he stopped. She thought he’d given up.”
Eryn snickered. I always felt guilty when they told this story. I could only imagine how hurt and embarrassed Jermaine must have felt by my actions. Treating him poorly was one of the most immature things I had ever done and it was one of the reasons why I still felt so uncomfortable around him.
How could someone who’d been treated so badly still find it in his heart to smile and be friendly with me?
Eryn continued her story, “On Valentine’s Day, our school usually has a cupcake and rose exchange.”
“Ugh,” Melody groaned and rolled her eyes. “Valentine’s Day.”
“Well,” Eryn pushed through Melody’s whispered rant about how much she couldn’t stand that ‘commercialized holiday’. “Lexi usually didn’t get anything.”
“Hey!” I protested. My lil sis made me sound like a chump.
“You didn’t.” Eryn defended her claim, “So when the teacher called her name to present her with a rose from Jermaine, she was totally embarrassed.”
“Why were you embarrassed?” Drew questioned me. “I thought girls liked flowers and stuff.”
“I was embarrassed because Jermaine was one of those guys that didn’t know how to take hints. He was always in your personal space and he was so innocent and friendly that he didn’t get it when someone was trying to avoid him.”
“Harsh.” Drew shook his head at me.
“Anyway,” Eryn broke up his silent censure, “Her classmates started teasing Lex about Jermaine and how he was telling everyone in his class that he was taking her to prom.”
“So what did she do?”
Eryn grinned as if she was proud of me, “She stuffed the rose into her backpack and zipped it up. After that, whenever Lex would see Jermaine at The Gym, she’d run the other way.”
“That’s so sad,” Catherine expressed sympathy for the unrequited love Jermaine possessed.
“Don’t feel bad.” Melody turned around and smiled at Catherine, “Jermaine still hasn’t let go of his love for Lex.”
“That’s so sweet.” Susan snickered. “It’s kind of pathetic, but it’s sweet.”
“I’m not even going to reply to that.” I shook my head and folded my arms.
“So why don’t you give the guy a shot.” Drew scooted to the edge of his seat and placed his face near mine on the edge of the chair. “Someone that forgiving and in love probably deserves a chance.”
I felt his words like a battering ram. Did Drew know of my crush on him? Was this his innocent way of telling me to let it go?
“I can’t manufacture feelings for someone that I don’t like. It wouldn’t be fair to him.”
“I’m not saying to go profess your undying love.” Drew clarified, sitting back, “I’m suggesting that you at least talk to him once in a while. Get to know him as the person he is now. Maybe you’ll be pleasantly surprised.”
I nodded, feeling grave and allowed the conversation to turn with the tides and move on to something else. It was Peyton’s turn to get roasted for never wearing sunscreen and he received the same kind of good-natured ribbing that was laid on me.
I couldn’t participate in the festivities. I felt all mixed up inside. I believed in being wise, listening to a multitude of counsel and good planning. I didn’t have any control over my feelings and right now, I had feelings for Drew.
They were obviously unrequited feelings, but they were real just the same.
Somehow, a sudden one eighty in terms of my behavior toward Jermaine seemed like a pretty low thing to do, especially when I’d made it clear in the past that I wanted nothing to do with him.
On the other hand, there were many things about Jermaine that met my list of things to look for in a husband. Jermaine was kind. Last year at the bake sale, he donated a hundred dollars to the Cancer Walk fund. He was also talented. His voice could pop goose bumps along my skin when he sang. He was kind to his mama, sisters, and female cousins. They all adored Jermaine and still addressed me with a tinge of ice because of my treatment of him in the past. Jermaine also had a good job as an accountant at the international firm on Daily Street. He was responsible, had a stable job, was a part of the Kingdom and treated his mom right.
An Andrew Darcy, Jermaine was not.
While Drew had drop-dead gorgeous features that made my heart beat just thinking about it, Jermaine was kind of chunky and his shy, insecure demeanor was unattractive to me. Jermaine was not “facially challenged” as Mia would say. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever watched Jermaine in the face and thought about him like that before. So I wouldn’t even know.
But maybe it was time to give him a chance, especially since my heart’s fixation on Drew told me that I was ready to be looking.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
We alighted from the van and stretched our legs. Melody passed around snacks and we ate in the sunshine before treading near the stand that ordered us to rent nasty Crocs shoes.
“It’s so that you don’t fall on the slippery stones when you’re hiking to the caves.” Melody explained to me when I grumbled under my breath about catching a fungus.
I knew what it was for, I’d just forgotten to bring my own. The thought of putting my feet into shoes that someone else’s stinky feet had worn grossed me out. Despit
e my horror, we rented our shoes from the large, dark-skinned man with the dreads and trekked forward to pay for them. Our large group moved through this phase quickly.
My feet squished in the nasty Croc shoes as we stepped forward and met with our tour guide. Mercy was a short Mayan woman dressed in a T-shirt and short pants. Eryn skipped along next to her, asking the woman all types of questions. Joshua was still lagging behind and sticking close to his mom’s side. Tyrone kept his distance out of respect for Joshua’s obvious dislike. Their situation was heartbreaking and I was deeply sorry that Persia’s happy day was turning out so terribly.
Hopefully, Josh warmed up as the day waxed on.
Mercy led us into a hut where we grasped our large orange tubes and then gestured us forward to the trail. Despite the tension between Josh and Tyrone, the rest of the adults got along quite well. Somehow, I started walking beside Catherine. We were both the most out-of-shape people in the crowd. It was pathetic the way we huffed and puffed behind the group, trying to remain alive long enough to take another step.
At first we saved our breath for the hike and didn’t spend it on talking. Eventually, however, Catherine spoke up.
“You’re family is awesome.” She nodded to where Spencer was lifting Melody on his shoulder and running with her like she was a canoe. Their orange inflatable tire, bounced against his back.
“I know.” I smiled at their shenanigans. “How about you?”
“It’s just me my brother and my mom,” Catherine admitted. “But I do have tons of cousins.”
“Cousins are cool.” I thought of some of mine.
“So,” We walked uphill and threw our concentration into the climb. When we were once again on solid ground, she continued, “What do you think of Drew?”
“Huh?” I whirled around, wondering if she had somehow sneaked into my psyche and determined how much I cared about him.
“I was just wondering.” She nodded at the handsome man dressed in a flannel shirt and khaki pants who was messing around with Josh. “He talks about you a lot.”