Destiny (9 page)

“It’s
a long story. I’m sorry about coming in so late. I didn’t know if you guys
would mind. I probably should have called.”

“It’s
okay. We expected you to be in a little earlier than one, but I’m not going to
complain, as long as you have a good reason for being out that late. So what
did you do tonight?”

I
didn’t know where to begin. I was coming in late, I had a black eye, and to top
it all off, I was speechless. What must my uncle have been thinking?

“Well?
You’ve got to give me something. I know I’m not your dad, but it’s my
responsibility to make sure you don’t get into any trouble. That bruise says
that you definitely got into something,” he said while standing and grabbing me
an icepack.

After he had put it on my eye, I began telling
him everything. I told him about the party and how I had gotten into a fight
with Richard. When I was done, he looked troubled. He took a second to collect
his thoughts, and then Uncle Gary said something that made a lot of sense.

“So let me get this straight. He hated
you because he thought you were after his girlfriend, which you were. Then you
taunted him with the fact that she was with you last night. Afterward, he
punched you, like most guys would have. Then your friend attacked him, and when
he finally fought him off, he turned around to feel a knee in his groin. After
that, you and your friend beat the crap out of him, and at the end of it all,
you ended up kissing Olivia in our driveway.”

“Yeah,
that pretty much covers it.”

“You
need to apologize to him.”

“Why
would I do that?”

“Because
you were wrong. You’re the one who stole someone’s girlfriend, and you and your
friend beat him up. You need to try to make amends.”

“I
don’t regret it, though. I actually care about Olivia.”

“Let
me tell you something. Sometimes we do the wrong thing for the right reason. We
make a choice to do something that we normally wouldn’t because it gets us
someone we love. I understand
why
you
did what you did, but it still doesn’t make it right. He’ll probably never
forgive you, and he might just punch you again, but I think it’s important for
you to explain why you did it and how you know you were wrong.”

“That’s
the thing. I
wasn’t
wrong. Olivia
deserved someone better than him. She doesn’t even care about him. The only
reason she was with Richard was because everyone around here loves the guy.”

“That
might be true, but let me ask you something. What if someone comes along who’s
a little better for her than you? Do you think that gives them the right to step
into your relationship?”

“That’s
different.”

“How
so?”

“I
don’t know, but . . .”

“If
I don’t ever teach you anything else, learn this. In life, you should always
weigh the cost of right and wrong in every situation. I’m sure you did that in
this one. That girl meant more to you than wronging someone you don’t even
know. That’s somewhat understandable. Here’s the thing. You still have to own
the things you do to others. They have an affect on them and you. If you don’t
at least try to make those things right, then you’re not much of a man. Then
again, you’re still growing up. No one would expect you to already be the man
you should be, but part of growing up
is owning
what
you do, even if you don’t regret it. Do you understand?”

“I
think so. I suppose I was wrong on some level. Are you disappointed in me? I’m
not that same kid you and Aunt Kristen got to know before, am I?”

“I’m
not disappointed at all. We do strange things for the women in our lives. I
would literally kill for your Aunt Kristen. That doesn’t make it right, though.
I might have done the same thing in your situation. I’m just glad you’re okay.
I’m sure you’ll do the right thing when this is all over. I’ll explain why you
have a black eye to Kristen so you don’t have to do it in the morning. For now,
get some rest. It sounds like you’ve had
some
night,” he said and gave me a pat on the back.

He
had shared a lesson that I wouldn’t forget. Everything we do has consequences.
The key is learning what we can live with. For Olivia, I would have done
anything, and if you asked me now what I would have done differently, the
answer is simple. Not a single thing.

Chapter 9

The
First Date

The
following morning, I woke up late. In fact, it was almost lunchtime. I quickly
got ready and headed for the door. My aunt stopped me and examined my eye for a
moment. She gave me an earful about getting into trouble so soon, but she let
me go so I could take Olivia out.

When
I got over to Olivia’s, a new challenge presented itself. Her mom answered the
door. She didn’t look happy to see me either. She actually looked like she
wanted to kill me. I understood. In her eyes, I was messing with her daughter’s
future.

“Is
Olivia here?” I asked.

“She
is. She’s been expecting you. Olivia is in the back getting ready. Why don’t
you come inside? I think we need to talk, Eric,” she said.

“Okay,”
I said and walked inside to the table. There, her mom asked me some questions.

“You
do know what Olivia is giving up to be with you, right?”

“I
don’t understand what you’re saying. I know she’s giving up a chance to be with
Richard, but is that really such a bad thing?”

“He
has a good future ahead of him.
People around here talk about
him making millions one day.
I’m not so sold on that. Anything can
happen, and there’s always a chance that he’ll get injured or just not be good
enough. Still, he’s a bright kid, and he’s going to get a college education for
free. He has a good start and a plan in life. Did you know he wants to be a
dentist if football doesn’t work out? Richard has a plan for his life. What do
you have?”

“I
have plans, too. I’m still working a lot of it out, though.”

“So
you see my concern. She just went from a boy who might be exactly what she
needs to someone who isn’t even sure of what he’s going to do in life. I really
gave her an earful last night about her choice to pick you, but it’s her
decision. I realized that this morning. If she sees something in you that would
make her turn away from him, then there has to be something great about you.
I’m just trying to figure out what it is.”

“Let
me tell you then. I’m not a lot of things. If you’re comparing me to Richard, I
would fall short in most ways, but I would do anything for Olivia. I care about
her, and she cares about me. I don’t get the feeling that she ever
really
cared about Richard. I think she
was with him because it seemed like she was supposed to be. Here’s the question
you have to ask. Do you want your daughter to be with someone who makes her
happy, or do you want her to be with someone who takes care of her materially?”

“Shouldn’t
I want both for her?”

“I
suppose you should. Here’s the thing, though. She made the right choice to
break it off with Richard. He was never going to make her happy. I can. As for
taking care of her materially, give me time to develop into who I’m supposed to
be. I’m only sixteen, and I’m still trying to figure out what I want out of
life. Do I want to go after a stressful career that pulls me away from my
future family, or do I want something simple that gives us what we need but not
necessarily everything we want? I’ll decide that in time, but know this. I’ll
always give her everything she needs as long as we’re together. I’ll make her
happy, too. I promise you that.”

“Okay,
Eric. I can’t really argue with that statement. I’ll give you a shot, but if
you don’t make Olivia happy, just know that it’s going to be an uncomfortable
two years for you living across the road. I take her happiness pretty
seriously.”

“What
are you guys talking about?” Olivia asked as she walked up.

I
turned to see Olivia. She looked stunning. She was wearing a button up shirt
and a skirt that showed her perfectly toned legs off. It was all I could do to
keep from staring. Her mom was in the room, so I quickly turned my gaze away.

“We’re
just talking about Eric dating you. He passed my test. Don’t worry. I hope you
two have fun today. Be sure to have her back early. We have church in the
morning,” Ms. Winters said.

I
nodded, and we made our way out to my car. Olivia smirked as we were getting
in. I didn’t know what that was about, but I thought I’d better mention a
couple of things before I asked her.

“I’ve
got to tell you that you look amazing today,” I said.

“Oh,
really? What’s so amazing about how I look?” she asked with a smile.

“First,
you’re always beautiful. Besides the obvious, though, you just look like you
spent a lot of time picking out the perfect outfit. I’m not going to lie
either. I’m really digging the skirt. I didn’t know I liked your legs so much.”

“And
there it is. It’s always the legs with guys like you,” Olivia joked.

“Hey,
what is
guys like me
supposed to
mean?”

“Poor
innocent virgins. I really feel for you, Eric. Last night, you got a black eye,
and now you’re having to stare at me knowing that you can look but not touch.”

“Who
says I can’t touch? We’re definitely more than friends now. You didn’t break up
with your boyfriend for us to be in a platonic relationship.”

“Maybe
not, but here’s the thing. When we first met, what did I tell you about
myself?”

“A
lot of things. What are you talking about?”

“I
told you that I was a bit of a tease. I think I’m going to enjoy holding out
and making you wait a
long
time
before our relationship goes past holding hands and innocent little kisses.
Then again, an innocent guy like you is probably relieved.”

“All
right, I didn’t know you were going to be making fun of me the whole time. Is
that why you were smirking earlier?”

“Yeah,
but I’m only doing it because I can get under your skin so easily. You
shouldn’t take me seriously.”

“Oh,
thank God. I thought for a minute there you were serious about everything.”

“Well,
I was about part of it. Making fun of you for being innocent was the joke, but
waiting wasn’t. I’ve been thinking about it. I want to have what you described
with your ex back in Miami. I need to know you can wait on me until I’m ready,
and more than that, I just want to take everything slow. I like being around
you. I have since the day we met, but I want everything to develop without
expectations. The other night in the car was a bit much. I think it was too
soon for us to be that close. I hope that doesn’t disappoint you.”

I
thought for a second. I had just gotten back into town, and I didn’t even know
Olivia that long before. Sure, we had talked on the phone a lot during our
lives, but our real life interactions were very limited. It probably made sense
for us to take our time and not act like we were two people deeply in love.
What we were in was closer to a puppy love stage. Simple was probably best.
Then again, I
was
sixteen. A part of
me was disappointed. I thought I was going to have this relationship that moved
quickly and with no work. It turned out that plenty of work was going to be
involved. While I was thinking of a response, what was important came to me.
Did I love this girl? If I did, I wouldn’t care how slow we moved. All I would
care about was that we spent time together.

“Well,
are you going to say anything?” she asked.

“Yeah,
I’m sorry. I think slow is good. I’ve never even taken you on a proper date, so
let’s
do that
today, and we’ll just see where things
go down the line. I like you
for a lot more than physical
things
. I’ll wait however long it takes.”

“Great.
Where are we going, though?”

“That’s
the other thing I need to talk to you about. I looked up Richard’s address.
Last night, my uncle and I talked, and I think I owe him an apology. I don’t regret
doing whatever I had to in order to get you, but it still doesn’t make what I
did right.”

“Okay.
Have you gone crazy right now?”

“Maybe.
I don’t know. I just feel like it’s the right thing to do. I think I have to
take responsibility for what I did, even if I wouldn’t change any of it.”

“Do
you have a death wish or something? He’s going to make your other eye match your
right one if you go there. Just stick with me for today, and if you still feel
strongly about this later on, you can do what you want. I’m asking you to hold
off, though. If you approach him now, he’ll be sure to go off on you. It’s
still fresh.”

“Maybe
you’re right. We’ll just enjoy today. I don’t want to ruin our first real date.
Going back to something that was said at your house, though, I really didn’t
expect to have to get you home early for church.”

“Why
is that?”

“I
don’t know. You just didn’t seem like the typical church girl to me.”

“What
does
that
mean? My mom has suggested
that we go to church over the last year, and for your information, I fit in
just fine among believers.”

“Hey,
I’m not judging. My parents used to take us to church on occasion. It’s really
weird to think about, considering what they were doing behind the scenes. My
experience with church girls might be a little skewed. You don’t seem uptight,
and most of the ones I ever met were.”

“You
don’t have to be perfect to go to church. I can be fun and show up on Sunday
mornings.”

“So
party on Friday and Saturday and repent on Sundays? That sounds like an easy
way to live.”

“I’m
starting to think your issue might be with religion as a whole. What’s going on
with you?”

“Forget
I said anything. We need to talk about where we’re going.”

“Well,
as the girl, I thought you would have everything planned out. It
is
a date.”

“I
have forty dollars and no idea what’s in this town. Sorry if I’m not up to
par.”

“That’s
great. I just found out that my new boyfriend hates church and is poor. I got a
real winner, didn’t I?”

“I
just got here. I’ll get a job soon so we can do more, but right now, we’re just
going to have to make do. As long as you’re around, I don’t think it’ll matter
where we go. It’ll be fun anyway. I’m glad to hear you calling me your
boyfriend after only one day. A little quick for taking it
slow
,
don’t you think?”

“Hey,
I didn’t choose you so we could be friends. I thought that was implied. If you
just want to be friends, though . . .”

“No,
I think I like this,” I said and grabbed her hand.

“Me,
too. I’ve got a plan. I know we were supposed to eat lunch, but why don’t we go
to the movies? We can get some food there and watch something good. I hear that
the new Rising Fang movie is out. I’ve been wanting to see it.”

I
didn’t know what to say. Rising Fang was a movie about a werewolf who fell in
love with a human. To make a long story short, it was packed with cheesy lines
that only thirteen-year-old girls should like. Was Olivia really into those
kinds of things?

“Oh,
my God! You should see your face! I’m just joking with you. Did you actually
think I watched that crap?” Olivia asked.

“I
didn’t know, but I didn’t want to hurt your feelings. Thank God!”

“Oh,
so he
does
praise God for some
things!”

“Hey,
what does that mean?”

“It
means that you’re going to tell me what’s up with you and church at some point.
You don’t have to answer now, but I’ll figure you out sooner or later. In the
meantime, I think we should go see something funny. There’s a comedy with Jeff
McCarthy that I’ve
been wanting
to see. What do you
think?”

“I
think I might have found the perfect woman. I’ve been wanting to see that,
too.”

“So
you didn’t know I was perfect before? Wow.
Some
first date I’m having.
First, all you notice is my legs, and then you try to confront my ex again. Now
my value is attached to my taste in movies. I don’t know about you, Eric,” she
joked.

About
that time, we pulled up to the movie theater, and she started to get out. I
grabbed her and pulled her close to me before she could. Then I planted a
passionate kiss on her. After a few seconds, she pulled back.

“Okay,
that wasn’t exactly taking it slow. I could get used to it, though,” Olivia
said.

“You
should. I just wanted to show you that you mean so much to me. I think I might
love every part of you.”

“Get
to know me a little more. I’m not as perfect as you might think.”

“Now
that, I don’t believe,” I said and gave her a gentle peck on the cheek.

We
walked inside hand in hand. The movie was great, and the popcorn was even
better. While we were watching the movie, I couldn’t help but keep coming back
to one thought, though. Could any of this last? I had the perfect girl next to
me. Olivia was the woman I had been dreaming of for almost two years. In my
experience, what goes up always comes back down, and I was waiting on the other
shoe to drop. Before, I had what some might call the perfect life. My parents
were rich, I was getting the best education possible, and I had a girlfriend
who loved me. All of that was gone now, though. My parents were behind bars,
and their bank account had been wiped out. It didn’t seem fair. My family was
gone. I had always felt like an outsider, but now I didn’t know what to think.
In that movie theater, it hit me all at once. Everyone I had ever loved besides
Olivia was out of my life now. What if I was only heading toward inevitably
losing her, too?