“You have no idea,” Maravelle says. “I couldn’t go on a date so I did it behind her back. I went crazy wild.”
So of course Maravelle worries about the beautiful Jasmine, closing in on seventeen. That’s why Shelby has been summoned out to Long Island on a Saturday rather than for the usual Sunday dinner and why she can’t take the train back to the city until Maravelle returns from her first date in nearly ten years. Mrs. Diaz works evenings at the intake desk in the ER at the local hospital, and Maravelle doesn’t want the kids home alone. She found evidence of a romance. First there was the gold necklace, then gifts of perfume and cologne. Then she found a man’s sweatshirt in Jasmine’s bureau drawer. She’s afraid of what she’ll find next.
That afternoon they go to the mall so Maravelle can look for something to wear. Her date is with the lawyer who handled the trans-action when the house was bought. Maravelle thinks he warrants a new dress. The mall is Shelby’s idea of hell, walking along with Dorian and Teddy, both now fourteen and ridiculously tall, over six feet. Jasmine and Maravelle duck into stores with names like Dressbarn and Forever 21. No one is twenty-one forever, Shelby knows that for a fact. She has turned twenty-five and will soon be graduating from college. A little late, but better late than never. Teddy is browsing through the Gap. He’s a clotheshorse and looks great in everything he puts on. He’s got a lethal grin and the girls are all wild about him. Unfortunately, he’s lazy and he can be selfish. As far as Shelby can tell he’s hanging out with a rotten crowd. Guys in fast cars pick him up without bothering to come to the door. “See you later,” he’ll call, but he won’t introduce his friends to his family. Dorian is more low-key; he’s the captain of the swim team and excels in just about everything. He and Shelby are having frozen yogurt. It’s filled with fruit and little mushy white things that have no taste.
“This stuff is terrible,” Shelby says. “Why don’t people just eat ice cream?”
“Because this is good for you,” Dorian says. “Low carb.”
“Right, like I care about that.” Shelby loves this kid. He’s still a tender sweetheart even though he looks so grown up.
“What if I told you something I don’t want my mother to know?” Dorian looks into his yogurt cup as he speaks.
“Are you using drugs?” If anyone were to get into trouble she’d always thought it would be Teddy.
“No!” Dorian looks seriously offended. “It’s not about me.”
“Teddy,” Shelby says.
They can see Teddy looking through racks of Tshirts. The boys are equally good-looking, only Teddy happens to know it. He has the kind of charm that makes people notice him.
“No,” Dorian assures her.
“Okay. Go ahead. I won’t tell.”
“There’s a guy bothering Jasmine.”
“Your mom moved here to get away from that crap. Is it someone she’s serious about?”
Dorian shakes his head. “Used to be. He’s the guy from Queens she was dating. Marcus Parris. Jaz broke up with him but he keeps going after her. He’s coming out to the house when my mother isn’t around even if Jaz tells him not to. The other day she went out to scream at him. He got out of his car and grabbed her and she ran back into the house. The car’s out there almost every day. He’s got a blue Toyota. The windows are tinted black.”
“Oh great,” Shelby says. “A gangster.”
“And now Teddy’s hanging out with him.”
Shelby watches Teddy through the window as he flirts with a salesgirl at least ten years older than he is. “They’re friends?”
“Teddy thinks so. Marcus is using him to get to Jasmine.”
Maravelle waves from the doorway of Dressbarn wearing a slinky red dress. Shelby gives her a thumbs-up.
Dorian is tapping his feet, anxious. “I don’t want to get the cops or my mother involved. Am I supposed to beat Marcus up or something?”
“No. Definitely not.” That’s all anyone needs. Dorian getting into the mix. “Let me think,” Shelby says.
It’s not easy to think with the noise and crowds. Malls are all pretty much the same. They really could be anywhere. Maravelle and Jasmine signal to Shelby again. Shelby makes her way through the crush of shoppers. Maravelle has on a black and white dress that looks great on her. But it seems like something she’d wear to a parent-teacher conference, not on a first date.
“This is the one, right?” Maravelle asks.
“Sure,” Shelby says. She’s busy thinking about the gangster and the fact that she’s going to keep something this big a secret from Maravelle.
Maravelle gives her a look. “You’re not lying?”
“Actually I am. Get the red one.”
“I told you the same thing!” Jasmine says. “Why do you only believe Shelby?”
Maravelle gets dolled up, and they all watch through the window when she goes to meet her date. He comes to open the car door for her. He looks like he’s about fifty, more dating material for Mrs. Diaz than for Maravelle.