by R. M. Garcia
“Now you’re talking, let’s eat.” Donnie needed to lighten the mood. He had to let him know that there were no hard feelings. He took Johan’s hand and shook it firmly. Johan smiled, and they entered the house together. He had long wondered about the character of the man who sacrificed his life for his wife. If the boy, no the man, that now stood before him was any indication of that man, then he would have liked to have known him. The ladies were waiting inside. Camille looked very happy that Donnie had agreed to return, and Johan was very relieved that Camille was happy. Abbie just had that crooked little smile that made her so adorable. Dinner was served and was delicious as ever. The four of them enjoyed each other’s company, and the dinner conversation ranged from topic to topic. Johan discovered that he actually liked Donnie which also slightly distressed him.
“Donnie, may I ask you something,” Johan asked.
“Sure, go ahead.” Donnie knew this was coming. The questions about his life, but this time, it felt right to talk about it. For at least one night, he forgot that he was all alone in this world.
“How did you end up alone after your parents died? Don’t you have other family?” Abbie and Camille looked at Johan as if he had asked too personal a question, but Donnie answered the question right away.
“I have a lot of family actually, but no one wanted to take me in.” Donnie could see that Camille was shocked by this. “My mom told me when I was little that my father’s and her families both had been unequivocally against their marriage. So when they decided to marry against their wishes, they were disowned by their respective families.”
“That’s simply dreadful.” Camille became slightly angered by this.
“Why?” Abbie asked.
“Not sure . . .” he replied. “I asked Dad about it once, but all he said was that he made a choice. He said that he had been led to a small town in Mexico by angels and met my mom there, and they fell in love.”
“Aw, that’s so romantic.” Abbie tilted her head and tried to imagine how his parents had met.
“He never looked back, and I can respect that. It was similar for Camille and me,” Johan said. “We came from different faiths. The marriage was looked down upon, but nearly twenty years later, we proved them all wrong.”
“Dad is Catholic and Mom is Jewish,” Abbie explained. Donnie nodded; he understood completely and decided to share.
“Oh, this is also strange. A few months before meeting Mom, Dad was all set to become a Catholic priest.”
“Really,” Camille asked, surprised, and added, “a Catholic priest?”
“Yep, my padre was set to become a Padre. Like I said, he used to say that he had been visited by an angel and given a vision to travel to Mexico, but it gets better.”
“I am intrigued now,” Camille said.
“Me too,” Abbie added.
“Mom was slated to become a medicine woman or shaman for her tribe. From how she explained it, it was to be an important part of her life. She told me that her spirit guide had brought her to the same small town in Mexico that Dad was called to.”
“Wow!” Abbie exclaimed.
“And that’s how they met or at least the story they told me.”
“Forbidden love,” Johan said as he grabbed Camille’s hand affectionately and looked lovingly into her eyes. Donnie watched as Johan’s simple gesture could still make his bride glow.
“Do you think it’s true or just a story?” Abbie asked.
“Misha said that Dad probably knocked Mom up and then did the right thing and married her.”
“What a jerk! I hate that guy!” Abbie scrunched up her face and added, “Ruining a great love story for you.”
“Well, this is what I know for sure,” he said as he leaned forward. “After Dad passed, I had to go through all his documents to find some papers I needed. I found their marriage certificate, and it was dated three years before I was born.”
“There you go!” Johan said, slamming a fist onto the table, “proof of love.”
“I can understand that your family may have been against the marriage,” Camille said. “But didn’t anyone want to come and help you, a grandparent perhaps?”
“Dad only had a brother left, and he’s not what I would call financially stable. And when I called Mom’s family to invite them to the funerals, no one came. They all told me they weren’t going to attend and basically to never call them again. I really never knew any of them before, and I certainly didn’t have any desire to know them after.”
“You never met any of your family?” Abbie asked, surprised.
“I once met my grandfather on my mother’s side when I was fifteen. I think Mom was trying to mend the gap between her and her father.”
“So what happened?” Johan asked.
“He crossed his arms and turned his back on us.” Donnie got a sad look on his face. “It was one of the few times I saw her cry. I felt so helpless. I think she knew way back then that she was already sick.”
“But no one came?” Johan asked.
“I have a cousin that wanted to come. We had spent several summers together as children, but Grandfather forbade him to attend.”
“Foolish stubbornness at a time like that,” Johan merely shook his head.
“So you were alone at the funerals?” Abbie could picture him standing all alone at the graves.
“Only Misha was there by my side both times.”
“Oh . . .” Abbie had never expected that response. She finally began to understand what he meant about Misha being deeper than he appeared. And she could see why he continued to keep Misha close to him.
“How do you survive then?” Johan asked. “How do you pay the bills?”
“Johan, that is too personal a question,” Camille scolded. Donnie chuckled and lightened the mood. It was a logical question, and as the head of the family he could understand why Johan would ask it.
“Dad was successful in business. The house is paid for, and he had enough in the bank to hold me over for a little while.”
“So what will you do after you graduate?” Johan asked.
“Not sure, I’ll look for a job, I guess.”
“When you are ready, let me know. I may be able to get you a position in the mail room where I work.”
“That would be great actually.” That would make it a lot easier, Donnie thought inwardly. MIT had been after him all year. He just wasn’t sure he wanted more school. Donnie looked at his phone and wondered where the time went. “Well . . . It’s late. I should head out.” Donnie began getting up.
“Please come back anytime,” Johan replied surprising himself in the process.
“Drive carefully and call us when you arrive home,” Camille said.
“I’ll walk you out, Donnie,” Abbie said as she got up also. Donnie and Abbie walked out to his car once again. Donnie noticed a tall, thin man standing on the other side of the road. He felt that he seemed somewhat out of place. When the man noticed that Donnie had spotted him, he turned and walked down the street. There was something odd about him. Abbie could see that Donnie was distracted by something, “penny for your thoughts.”
“I had a great time, despite the tear fest and panic attacks.” He leaned back against his car and added, “Been a long time since I felt this normal.”
“I’m happy for you. You sure have been through a lot.”
“And you have been just the best. Thank you so much for being my friend. It means more to me than you could know.” Donnie smiled and could see Abbie was thinking about something.
“Donnie, can I ask you something?”
“Why not, I have been answering a lot of questions tonight, what’s one more.” He never expected what she asked.
“Earlier tonight, when you said that our meeting had not been coincidental, what did you mean by that?”
“Ah . . .” Donnie could not believe she was still wondering about that. He had put it out of his mind hours ago. He debated not telling her anything, but he knew sh
e was not going to drop it anytime soon.
“Please tell me, I want to know.” Donnie could see she was still wondering about it, but he wasn’t sure if he should explain it.
“Oh . . . Wow! Please don’t laugh, OK?”
“I promise.” Abbie tensed up for his response. She was hoping he didn’t get tutoring to try to get a date.
“OK, about four weeks ago I was in the library studying, banging my head against a book.” He couldn’t believe he was actually telling her.
“OK sure, continue.” OK what is it, tell me already, she thought.
“I had been feeling especially lost that day, so I prayed to the Great Spirit for a light to help me find my way back to my loved ones.”
“The Great Spirit, what’s that?”
“The Cherokee believe that the world and everything in it was created by the Great Spirit, Yowa.”
“OK, I understand.”
“When I finished, there was a slight breeze, and then you walked into the library.” He was slightly embarrassed by his admission.
“I don’t understand.”
Crap, crap, crap, Donnie thought to himself, she is going to think I am a freak. “I prayed to Yowa, the Great Spirit, to show me the way to happiness, to family.”
“So wait . . . you think I was the answer to your prayers.” Was he actually saying this, she thought? One look at him, and she knew he meant it; he believed it. She was deeply touched.
“Yeah . . . I guess you are, you make me happy, and now I feel like a have a real family a . . .” Abbie lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Donnie’s neck. He was caught by surprise and was pulled forward by Abbie’s weight. He embraced her as well, and their kiss was long, deep, and warm. Donnie’s heart swelled with joy and excitement. The exchange lasted but a few moments, but it seemed to last much longer, one of those times when time seems to slow to a crawl. Abbie didn’t say another word but was smiling intensely now. Donnie could only muster a few blinks as his mouth remained slightly open. Before he could say anything, she turned and ran inside. Donnie thought that this had been a perfect end to an imperfect day.
CHAPTER 6
The Note
MONDAY MORNING COULD not have come fast enough for Donnie. He woke with a smile and kept it most of the morning. Even the weather was agreeable. It was early March now, and spring had finally arrived. He couldn’t remember any Monday where he had been so happy to go to school. Misha arrived about thirty minutes later to ride to school with him. They had their usual breakfast, frosted flakes with milk and grabbed a few Pop Tarts for the road. As they got into the car, Misha noticed that there was a nutcracker sitting in the passenger seat. “OK, what gives?” Misha asked.
“Why? What do you mean?” Donnie was deliberately trying to be deceitful, but Misha was not buying it.
“Don’t give me that horseshit! I haven’t seen you smile like this in eleven months, and why’s this in the car?”
“Can’t I just be happy for once?” He was still grinning like a kid in a candy store.
“Dude, I have waited for this day, I really have. I just want to know you are OK.”
“I am better than OK. I had a really good time last night.”
“Now I gotta know.” Misha could barely contain his curiosity and shifted himself in the car seat to face his friend better. “You might as well tell me. I’m going to drag it out of you eventually.” Misha was right. Donnie was good at coming up with answers, but Misha had known him so long that he could read his body language like an open book. It wouldn’t be long before he figured it out.
“A gentleman never tells.” It was the best excuse he could muster this early in the morning.
“Fool!” Misha’s eyes went wide as he yelled, “You have revealed everything!”
“Oh, really, you think so?” Donnie knew full well he had placed his friend on the right track. He had intended to tell him later but figured letting him guess would be much more fun.
“Yes, I have cracked the case.” Misha had adopted a British accent for his response, one of many he had mastered. He sat back into his seat and leaned back.
“Oh, really? Mr. Holmes, do tell.” Donnie tried as hard as he could from laughing out loud.
“Elementary, my dear Mr. Watson.” Misha continued the act. Four years of drama club had not been wasted on him. He was actually quite good. “You had been tutoring with Abbie at her house last night.”
“Affirmative,” Donnie was still grinning like a monkey on the verge of giggles.
“You two have been spending more time talking than tutoring. In fact, I’d wager that you could have stopped tutoring after five or six sessions.”
“That proves nothing,” Donnie said smiling. “You got nothing on me, copper.”
“Then there is that never-ending grin of yours.” Misha pulled out an old-fashioned pipe and placed it in his mouth.
“What the hell! Why are you carrying that around?” Misha never ceased to amaze him. He quickly wondered if Misha had this planned all along.
“I’m like a Boy Scout, baby. I’m always prepared. Now quit evading my interrogation.” Misha cleared his throat.
“Yes, sir . . .” he replied, mocking fear.
“I’d like to solve the mystery,” Misha declared once again, adopting the British accent.
“Are we playing Clue now?”
“Shaddup,” Misha said in a thick New York accent.
“OK, just don’t whack me.” Misha placed the pipe back in his mouth and once again got into character.
“As I was saying, Mr. Watson, the answer to this mystery is . . . wait for it . . . wait for it . . . it was Donnie, with the tutor, on the lips!”
“You nailed it!” Donnie waited to see what his friend would say next.
“Wow, man, I am happy for you,” he said and added, “so, details, where, when, and how many?”
“It was one good long one, by Gia, as I was leaving.”
“I told you this car was a chick magnet.” Donnie doubted highly that Abbie was the slightest bit impressed by his little red convertible. “So she’s not gay obviously.”
“No, and I know why she doesn’t date.” Donnie couldn’t wait to tell Misha that he had been right about Abbie, at least to a point.
“Enlighten me.”
“Her father is huge, massive, big, add adjective ad infinitum, and he is very protective of her.”
“Makes sense, so what is your next move?” Misha was beside himself with joy. Donnie had been his oldest friend and at times he had been very afraid Donnie would have tried to take his life. Seemed like now, it was the farthest thing from it.
“I don’t know. You are the Casanova. What do you suggest?” Donnie quickly added a condition, because knowing Misha, the words “edible underwear” might have been his response, “Remember nothing sleazy or underhanded.”
“Dude . . . Come on. I may have had a lot of girlfriends over the years, but while I was with them, I always treated them right.” Misha did his best to try and defend his dating patterns, but Donnie remained unconvinced.
“Sure, you did.”
Misha continued to debate. “I never cheated on any of them ever. I always treated them like queens, and everything was always first class. I never skimped on anything I did or gave them.”
“But you always leave them in tears after you got what you wanted.” Donnie had seen it happen more than once, followed by many, many slaps.
“Yeah, I know. I just lose interest too quick. Maybe one day I will find the right girl, but today is your day, my friend. Let’s concentrate on you.” Misha wanted to change the subject. These conversations never ended well between them.
“So what do you think about flowers?” Donnie envisioned a dozen red roses.
“Needy stalker much,” he replied.
“Write a poem then?”
“Too soon, it was just one kiss after all.”
“One great kiss.” Donnie closed his eyes for a moment and drifted back
to last night, “text a message?”
“Not enough.” Misha had the perfect idea. “Let’s stop by the Hallmark store and pick out a card.”
“A card, really, you think that’ll do the trick?” Donnie asked unsure.
“Yeah . . . slip it into her locker, so she finds it sometime today.” Misha made a fist and raised it into the air, “It will be epic!”
“You know, a card does feel right.” Donnie felt immediately reassured.
“I’ll help you pick it out.” They headed to the strip mall where the card store was located.
“So have you heard from Julliard?” Donnie was excited for Misha. That school had a very low acceptance rate.
“Yes, I did. I’m good for the next four years.” Misha got quiet for a moment, then turned, and looked seriously at Donnie. “I don’t know how to thank you for . . .”
“For nothing, you were there for me, no matter what. You are my best friend.” Donnie didn’t want the moment to get gushy between bros, so he put a stop to it right away.
“I know, but it’s just so much . . .”
“It’s nothing, just do your best.”
“Yeah, but how do I repay you for something like that?”
“Well, let’s see, since you asked. First be one of the greats, up there with Jack, Clint, and Morgan. Next thank me first when you receive you first Oscar. Finally, stop being a man-whore and stick with one girl for more than a minute.”
Damn it! Misha thought, back to the girls. “Well, will you take two out of three?” He waited for Donnie’s response.
“You are incorrigible, you know.” Donnie couldn’t help laughing. Oh well, at least he tried.
“Hey, once I’m a famous actor, I’ll be dating all sorts of hot starlets.” Misha started to fantasize. “I’ll have to churn through as many as I can.”
“Like butter, baby!” Misha and Donnie said together, then burst into uproarious laughter. It was a phrase they had picked up and used since they were boys.
Misha picked up the nutcracker. “Oh, I get it now.”
Abbie woke up Monday morning still with a lot on her mind. She’d barely slept. A young woman’s emotions are like a large ocean; sometimes they are calm, and sometimes they are stormy. Right now Abbie seemed calm, but underneath she was confused about last night. Her emotions had gotten the better of her, and she had kissed Donnie. She still wasn’t sure why. She liked Donnie well enough. He was a kind and sweet person, but it was just not possible right now, and she needed to keep her priorities straight. Donnie simply did not fit into her plans. Her mind considered what she would do next as she readied herself for school. She arrived at school still debating what she would need to do. She was in a haze most of the morning and completely flustered. Before she knew it, her lunch period bell rang. Realizing that she had not talked to her friends today, she rushed to the cafeteria; as she entered, she looked around for her friends Kelly and Trista. She spotted them sitting at their usual table.
