Piecing Me Together(15)
I don’t say no, but I don’t say yes.
“I have good taste,” Maxine says. “Plus, I’m not that much older than you.”
Before Maxine leaves, she talks to Mom about taking me to a bookstore downtown. I hear her say, “I’d like to buy her a few art books if that’s okay with you. Your daughter’s got real talent.”
“I know,” Mom says. “She’s very talented—and book smart, too.” Mom always makes it clear that I can do more than draw. Whenever someone tells her how good I am at art, she reminds them that I’m good at science and math, too. Mom says I can go. She tells me to write it on the dry-erase board so she doesn’t forget. “Nice to finally meet you, Maxine. I hope you know I wasn’t trying to give you a hard time. I just care about my child. This is the only one I got,” Mom says. “And at the end of the day, when this program is over, she’s not going to be anyone’s mentee, but she’s still gonna be my daughter.”
14
feliz cumplea?os
happy birthday
I wake up to the smell of pancakes and bacon. Mom is fixing my favorite breakfast. E.J. is at my door, banging like he’s the police. “Come on, birthday girl. These pancakes are getting cold.”
I get out of bed and open the door. “Morning.”
“Happy birthday,” E.J. says.
“Thanks.”
When I walk into the kitchen, Mom is standing at the stove, working her magic. Strawberries are cut and already on the table in the bowl she uses only on special occasions. “There’s my baby girl.” Mom smiles at me and kisses me on my cheek. “Hope you’re hungry.” She adds more pancakes to a pile that is already on a plate. E.J. sets the table and we eat.
Mom asks, “So, what are your plans?”
“I’m supposed to go out to eat with Lee Lee and Sam.”
“Oh, that’s great, Jade. That’s really great,” Mom says.
“Told you I had friends,” I tell her. I roll my eyes—just a little—then smile. “I keep telling Lee Lee about Sam, and Sam about Lee Lee, so they’re finally going to meet today.” I pour more syrup onto my pancakes. “And Dad said he was coming by tonight to drop off my gift,” I tell her.
E.J. gives Mom a look. She puts a forkful of pancakes into her mouth.
“What?” I ask E.J.
“Your dad said he’s coming, huh? Said he got you something?”
“E.J., don’t start,” Mom says.
“That sorry—”
“E.J.” Mom stares him down. “Don’t. Start.”
“I’m just asking what is he going to buy you a present with? Wishes? Or is he going to use that white lady’s money?”
“E.J.!” Mom is yelling now.
I get up from the table. “She’s not some lady. She’s his fiancée. And my dad isn’t working right now because he got laid off—you never even had a job to get laid off from.”
“He’s using her, Jade. They’ve been engaged for, what, three years? That man is not marrying her. He is living off her.”
“And what if he is? You’re living off my mom!”
“Jade!” Now Mom is yelling at me.
I leave my half-eaten plate of pancakes on the table and go into my room. I don’t come out until it’s time for me to get ready to go meet up with Lee Lee and Sam. By then E.J. is gone and Mom is off to Ms. Louise’s house. As I am changing my clothes, the phone rings. It’s Lee Lee. She can’t go. She got into an argument with her aunt, and now she’s on punishment. As soon as I hang up, the phone is ringing again. This time it’s Sam telling me she is sick, so she can’t come either.
I know I can’t blame Lee Lee and Sam for not being able to celebrate my birthday. I mean, Lee Lee’s aunt is always overreacting and fussing and putting Lee Lee on punishment for something. And Sam can’t help that she’s sick. But of all the days for them not to be able to hang out with me, why this one? I spend the rest of the afternoon watching TV and sleeping on and off.
E.J. comes home as the sky settles into its blackness. We don’t speak to each other. He has a Safeway bag in his hand. He goes to the fridge and puts away whatever it is he bought.
Dad hasn’t come, hasn’t called.
Once it’s eleven o’clock, I go into my room and dress for bed. I can feel the tears trying to come, trying to work their way out, but I distract myself by listening to music. I put my headphones on, find the playlist E.J. made for the end-of-summer BBQ at the rec center. Nothing but fast songs, some of them I don’t even like that much, because they were overplayed during the summer, but I listen anyway. Because a fast song you kind of like is better than a slow song you love when you’re trying to keep your heart from exploding. I turn the volume up and lie on my bed.
I’m almost asleep when E.J. starts banging on my door. I take out one earbud. “What?”
“Come here for a sec,” he says.
I step into the hallway and follow E.J. He walks to the kitchen. On the table he’s placed two slices of cheesecake. One has a candle in the middle. “Can’t go to bed without some birthday dessert,” he says. He pulls me into him. “We good?”
I nod and hug him back tight.