“I slapped her, but that was as far as I got before AJ grabbed me,” I interrupted.
“Do you want me to cut her?” Angel asked excitedly.
I laughed. “No. She hasn’t even been to school in like a month or something. I don’t know where she is.”
“Well, you know how to reach me. I don’t care if I’m all the way in New York. Call me!” She paused while she bottled her anger. “Now what’s the big deal with him meeting your dad tomorrow? Didn’t he meet Antonio?”
I guess there wasn’t any point in keeping her in the dark. “Angel, he’s……not black.”
Her eyes bucked. “You like white boys now, Sammy?” She asked while smiling.
“He’s not white either,” I replied reluctantly.
“Ok, so he’s Hispanic. I can get down with that. So what’s AJ stand for Alejandro Jose or something? Ooooh! I know let’s make enchiladas for dinner tomorrow!” She teased, but I didn’t laugh with her. My eyes were fixed on the wall. “He’s Japanese.”
Her laughing ceased abruptly as she looked over at me in surprise. “Didn’t see that coming,” she replied.
We both sat there in silence for a minute. “I don’t want daddy to judge him before he even gets to know him. AJ’s a really nice guy and I want everyone to give him a chance.” I paused. “I love him Angel.”
“Wow,” she replied. For the first time ever, she seemed speechless.
I rolled over on my back and stared at the ceiling. Worry began to set in. AJ would not only be facing daddy tomorrow, but my entire family. I wasn’t sure what to expect. Angel reached for my hand. “It’ll be fine Sammy. I don’t think it’s gonna be as bad as you think.”
*****
The next morning I was up before six. My nerves got the best of me, causing me to toss and turn all night until I eventually just gave up. I reached for my phone and was surprised to see that I already had a message from AJ
“Happy Birthday,Beautiful!” was all it said. I checked the time that the message was sent……12:00am. Leave it to him to bring a smile to my face this early in the morning.
I showered while Angel slept. After getting dressed I went downstairs to join Mom and Aunt Lisa who were at it again. There were cakes and pies lined along the counter. They’d probably been up since four, but their excitement overshadowed their fatigue.
“Happy Birthday, Baby!” Mom said from across the kitchen. My expression must’ve alerted her that something wasn’t right with my mood. She looked at me curiously. “Is everything alright, honey?” She asked.
I didn’t feel like talking about it, so I just nodded in response. She stared at me a moment longer and then finished cooking. Daddy came in and walked up behind my mother. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her once on the neck. She dipped her finger in the frosting of the chocolate cake nearby and held it to daddy’s lips to taste. As I watched them smiling at one another and being in love, I had a glimmer of hope that one day AJ and I would beat all the odds and be able to live our lives together in peace. Maybe even my father wouldn’t stand in our way.
He caught a glimpse of my perplexed expression on his way out of the kitchen. I was glad that he didn’t ask me any questions. He leaned down and kissed my forehead and I was tempted to tell him everything then and there, but I was choked by my own fear.
I spent most of the day downstairs with mom, Aunt Lisa and Angel. We put the finishing touches on dinner and cleaned up the kitchen. At 5:00 I went back up to my room to start getting ready. All of our guests were set to arrive at 6:00. Our family was not usually on time, but I figured my friends would be prompt. Angel sat on the edge of my bed putting her ear rings back in.