Where I Wanna Be

by Vera Roberts

  Everyone piled out of Nick’s car and walked Simone up to the front door, where Joey rang the doorbell. A short while later, Alicia opened the door and smirked at Simone. “You are in big, big trouble.”

  “Is that your sister?” Meredith rushed out from the foyer and saw Simone. She yanked her inside. “You go upstairs right now, missy, and stay up there.” Simone gave a remorseful look to Eli and quickly headed upstairs.

  “Well, well, well…” Alicia straightened out her blouse and licked her lips as she admired Nick and Joey. “…who do we have here?”

  Nick took one look at Alicia and made a final decision. “No.”

  Joey, on the other hand, had other plans. “Show me some ID and I’ll blow your back out.”

  “Alicia, go back inside the house, now!” Meredith ordered.

  “But ma!” Alicia cried.

  “Now!” Meredith yelled. “I’m not repeating it.” Alicia stomped her foot and headed back inside, leaving Meredith in a face-off with Nicola. “I don’t know what type of game you are playing here, but I won’t have that in my house. I have already told Simone she is to not see your son anymore and that is that. Whatever you have to say will not change my opinion. Besides, we have a reputation to maintain around here and I will…”

  “I know who you are,” Nicola interrupted, “you’re the racist trying to keep our kids from dating each other. Have a nice evening.”

  “I resent that remark!” Meredith stated. “I completely resent that. Just because I don’t agree with interracial relationships doesn’t make me a racist!”

  “Okay, it makes you prejudiced, bigoted, and narrow-minded.” Nicola replied back. “So yeah, that’s much better.”

  “Our children will go through a life where they will constantly be judged! Are you ready for them to have people call them bad names? Are you ready for possible hate crimes against Eli? Against Simone?”

  “You act like that’s not going to happen, anyway.” Nicola shrugged. “Tell me, Meredith, what’s the real reason why you left Houston?”

  Meredith’s mouth hung open a little and stammered for words. She managed to find her composure and answer. “As you may have already heard from Kaitlyn, my husband’s job was…”

  “Besides that,” Nicola smiled, “why did you really leave? Was someone getting a little too fresh with the help back in Houston? Did something happen that shouldn’t have happened?”

  Meredith folded her arms and let out a deep, frustrating breath. “I don’t have to reveal anything to you.”

  “You don’t and I’m not going to force you to. But don’t think for a moment your plan of separating our children will not backfire and hit you in the face.” Nicola warned.

  “Did you just threaten me?” Meredith asked.

  “I don’t threaten, Meredith. I just do.” Nicola warned again.

  “Of course, you would,” Meredith shook her head, “your kind would.”

  Nicola’s head snapped back towards Meredith and was held back by her sons. “My kind? My kind? What kind is that?”

  “Oh, please, Nicola…”

  “No, I’m curious.” Nicola smiled and folded her arms. “What kind am I?”

  “You’re not educated. You would rather solve a problem with your fists than with your diplomacy. You’re the type who would probably win the lottery on a Thursday and be broke with the money that following Monday.” Meredith pointed out. “You’re ghetto.”

  Nicola simply smiled though a raging inferno was steadily building inside her body. “The more I talk to you, the more it’s becoming clear to me,” Nicola smiled, “you don’t have a problem with interracial relationships. With your heritage, I would think you would be okay with it. But you definitely have a problem with upper class dating lower-class. But, you see, if you admit that, you would look like the pompous bitch that you are, so it’s better to say that you have an issue with interracial relationships. I’m ghetto? Fine, I can be ghetto. I would rather be ghetto than to have my head stuck so far up my ass, I would constantly think it’s nighttime.”

  Meredith was astonished by Nicola’s harsh words. “Why, I’d never…”

  “And knowing you, you probably never will.” Nicola smarted back. “Now, I expect to see Simone over for Sunday dinner. You can come along as well. Your whole family is invited. If you don’t want to come, suit yourself. But I’m politely warning you—if you think standing between your daughter and my son will make them not want to see each other, you have another think coming. Good day, Meredith.” She then left and her sons followed her.

  Everyone was silent on the way back home. When they arrived, Eli went straight up to his room and closed the door behind him, while Nicola talked to her sons in the dining room. “So what do you know about Houston?” Nick asked.

  Nicola took a sip of a coffee. “According to Moni, the mother was caught up in some sort of scandal with the pool boy.” She said to raised eyebrows. “She said she never saw anything but did notice the mother was awfully friendly to… what’s his name… Javier… a lot. Although Moni doesn’t know for sure what happened between her and her father, me-thinks the father found out and put in a request for a transfer to New York.”

  “Why wouldn’t he just leave her?” Joey asked.

  “Meredith’s vindictive, as you can tell. The father wouldn’t see the girls ever again and plus, it was easier to just move than to break up a family.” Nicola shrugged.

  “So you think Meredith is punishing Moni for her sins?” Kieran asked.

  “Well, it makes sense,” Joey added, “and acting like we ain’t worth a second glance just furthers her case.”

  “I thought that at first,” Nicola took a bite of terra cotta.

  The brothers glanced at each other with questionable looks. “So what is it?” Nick asked.

  “I think Meredith is jealous of Moni for being with her true love,” Nicola answered, “and if she can’t be with her true love, well, neither can her daughter.”

  Five

  “Come on, ladies!” Charles Harris called up to the women of the house. He was a dark-skinned Black man with salt and pepper hair with matching mustache. He stood over six feet tall and had a muscular build. “We’re going to be late!”

  Alicia hurried downstairs, wearing tight jeans and a tighter tank top. “I’m ready.”

  Charles eyed his daughter’s attire. “You’re naked.” He stated.

  “I’m fully covered,” Alicia grinned.

  “Mmm-hmm,” Charles grunted.

  Meredith walked downstairs followed by Simone. Meredith looked like she was wearing her Sunday best with a mid-calf navy dress and pearls. Simone wore jeans and a sweater. “I don’t see why you had to get so dressed up like that, Mother.” Simone commented.

  “There is nothing wrong with what I’m wearing,” Meredith replied. “I’m dressed like I’m always dressed.”

  “Yeah, okay,” Simone knew her mother was intentionally trying to show off in front of Eli’s family. She didn’t know if she was more embarrassed for her or for her mother.

  Meredith walked up to Charles and straightened his attire. “We are only going to be there for dinner and that is it.”

  “Simone, go wait out in the car with your sister.” Charles instructed to Simone, who promptly left. He then addressed his wife. “Don’t you think you’re overreacting here?”

  “How am I overreacting? Are you forgetting what your daughter did the other day? We didn’t know where she was for hours, Charles!”

  “Meredith, I know what Simone did was irresponsible and she is being properly punished. But I think you need to drop the attitude.” Charles warned.

  “Attitude?” Meredith repeated. “What are you…”

  “Meredith,” Charles’s voice lowered and his eyes became dark, “I know what’s going on here and I’m not having it. Now, we are going to go over there and have a lovely meal with some good people. Do you really want to face the same reaction from me that you did back in Houston?�
��

  Meredith could remember the day all too well. She was lucky enough Charles didn’t find them in mid-coitus, but it was still bad when he walked in on them getting dressed. After a screaming match, Charles chased Javier out of the home and made a call to one of his friends at INS to have him deported shortly afterward.

  But that was just the beginning. Charles was so angry at Meredith, she honestly thought he was going to kill her. He even threatened to take the girls away from her and leave. Instead, he did one thing worse: he separated her from her friends and family. If being far away from her lover meant relocating to a different time zone, Charles was all for it. He never told Meredith the reason why he requested to put in a transfer other than ‘it was time for a change.’

  Charles knew Meredith wasn’t going to leave him and she knew it, too. She was going to be stuck, begging for his forgiveness and playing good homemaker to him for the rest of her life. She could’ve just left but she knew how ruthless Charles was and he would pull out all the stops to make sure she wouldn’t be near their daughters.

  She thought maybe she wasn’t being fair to Kaitlyn, forbidding her to see someone she obviously liked and cared for. But she didn’t want her to make the same mistake she did and wanted to protect her katydid from repeating her dreadful history.

  Meredith swallowed her pride and forced a grin. “Understood.”

  ****

  Simone stared down at her plate and her eyes widened by the second. She looked around and was amazed by the heaping portions on the plates of the D’Amatos. They may not have had a lot of money but by the way they ate, she couldn’t tell. It seemed there were endless bowls of pasta, pizza, meatballs, and lasagna. And apparently there was plenty of dessert.

  “Eliodoro,” she spoke quietly to him, “this is too much food on my plate.”

  “Eat what you can. If you can’t finish it, take it home with you. If you leave your plate open, my bros will clean it off.” He instructed to her and gave her hand a quick squeeze underneath the table. “You’ll do great.”

  Simone caught a glance with him. He always knew how to reassure her. “Okay, baby.” She smiled.

  “All right, everyone. Let’s hold hands and say grace.” Nicola instructed. “And then we can start eating.”

  After grace was said, everyone began eating. The table was clearly divided—Eli and his family on one corner and Simone and her family at the other. Still, everyone was polite and friendly with each other. There was much more at stake than just two lovebirds dating. Nicola and Meredith knew how headstrong and stubborn their children could be. Forbidding them to see each other would simply fuel the desire to do so.

  Nicola knew just because Meredith showed up to the dinner it didn’t mean she was at peace with the situation. The Texan woman looked like she would rather be anywhere than at her home, eating a plate full of pasta. Charles seemed to be enjoying himself, engaging in a conversation with Nick and Kieran over current events. Joey entertained Alicia’s constant flirtations and subtle sexual innuendos. Tony had a friend over from school and they were discussing video games. Simone and Eli were too wrapped up with each other to pay attention to anybody else in the room.

  But Meredith, as Nicola watched carefully, was trying to relax. She took slow and long bites of her food as if she had trouble digesting the meal. She occasionally looked around the home, assessing the wear and tear and wondering how anyone could live in that current state. Nicola simply smiled. She dealt with Meredith’s kind at the diner. She cleaned the offices of people like Meredith. She knew exactly who Meredith was before she even met the woman: the type who was quick to point out the faults of others before looking at their own.

  Nicola couldn’t fault her too much, though. It was clear the woman was miserable in St. George and stuck in a loveless and empty marriage. It made Nicola that much more blessed for her life. She may have had it difficult raising five sons on her own but she was alone. It was better than sharing a bed with someone she didn’t like and worse yet, resented.

  ****

  “Nicola, Nicola, Nicola…” Charles shook his head and rubbed his stomach. “Woman, I don’t know how you did it but that was one of the best meals I have ever had.”

  “I try,” Nicola sipped her cappuccino. “I just wanted to show that we don’t bite.”

  “Unless you want me to,” Joey whispered to Alicia, who immediately squeezed her thighs together.

  “It was magnificent! I wouldn’t mind coming back here again for some of your famous tortellini.” Charles smiled.

  “You and your family are invited whenever you want to come over,” Nicola looked over to Meredith. “That also includes you, Meredith.”

  Meredith was in the middle of a bite of tiramisu and quickly wiped her mouth. “Nicola, I wanted to say thank you for inviting us over. It was a lovely meal.”

  “You’re welcome, Meredith,” Nicola replied, “I don’t expect you to change your opinion about my family instantaneously, but I wanted to show you there’s more to us than meets the eye.”

  Meredith grinned. “I would love to return the favor one day and host your family for dinner.”

  “That would be divine,” Nicola smiled. “Me and my boys would really appreciate it.”

  “I would love to stay longer but it’s time we head back home,” Charles interrupted the ladies, “you two settle on a date and we can go from there.”

  Meredith stood up along with Nicola, who gave her a big hug, much to her surprise. “Thank you for putting on your happy face for us tonight. I know it was difficult.” Nicola whispered to her.

  “You’re welcome,” Meredith whispered back.

  Simone and Eli were sitting out on the porch, holding hands when they saw her family getting ready to leave. “It seems like our families like each other,” Simone smiled.

  “With my ma’s cooking, it’s hard to hate her.” Eli rubbed her hand with his thumb. “Say, I was wondering, real quick before you leave, I wanted to ask you something.”

  “Okay,” Simone replied, “what is it?”

  “I was wondering if you wanted to go to prom with me?” Eli asked.

  Simone smiled brightly and hugged her boyfriend. “I would love to, Eliodoro.”

  “Great.” Eli smiled. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow at school, okay, Moni?”

  “Okay, Eliodoro.” She kissed his cheek then left with her family.

  The D’Amatos all stood together on the front porch as they watched the Harris’ leave. Nicola wrapped her arms around Eli and hugged her son tight. “I hope she’s worth the trouble, Eli.”

  Eli breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. “She always is.”

  ****

  “Soo…” Joey began as he sat on the bed watching the action before him. “Tonight’s prom, huh?”

  A few weeks had passed since the family dinner. Simone and Eli were set to go to the junior prom and Eli was nervous. He had heard prom stories from a couple of his friends about how they deflowered their respective girlfriends during that night, transitioning them to womanhood. Eli, however, wasn’t sure. He did want to make love to Simone at some point in their relationship, but they had barely started holding hands and kissing.

  Still, it didn’t stop his brothers from grooming and prepping him for the night’s big event, should there be one. “Yeah,” Eli commented as Nick fixed his tuxedo tie.

  “Are you going to pop her cherry?” Tony asked.

  Kieran brushed Eli’s hair. “Can somebody please…?”

  Joey reached over and popped Tony in the back of his head. “Hey!” Tony rubbed his head. “You all were thinking the same thing!”

  “So what’s the game plan for tonight?” Nick asked. “Are you two going to…?”

  “I don’t know,” Eli shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “Do you want to?” Joey asked.

  “Yes, but I don’t know if I want it to be tonight.” Eli admitted. While a lot of his friends and classmates went on and on about potential sex on
prom night, Eli was perfectly fine ending the night with a kiss. He couldn’t bear to tell the real reason why he didn’t want to have sex with Simone.

  “If you sleep with Moni tonight,” Kieran glanced at his brother through the mirror, “how many girls would this be for you?”

  Eli looked down at the floor and chewed his lips. His brothers caught onto his silence. “Eli?” Nick asked. “K asked you a question.”

  “Mmm hmmph.” Eli mumbled through a closed mouth.

  The brothers looked one another and back at Eli. “Are you trying to tell us you’re a virgin?” Joey asked.