“What did you have in mind?”
Just as I spoke those words, my phone rang and I answered it.
“Hello.”
“Sup, shitface.”
“Wassup, Caleb.”
“You better get your ass down to Mom’s today or she is gonna roast more than that pig.”
“You and Denise going?”
“Of course, you think we could get away with not going to Ma’s cookout? Although I think Denise is gonna throw up when she smells the pig…her senses have been in overload this pregnancy.”
“Who else is gonna be there?”
“Just Callie, Maria, Kurt and maybe Bruno, I think…the usual crew.”
“Okay, we’ll probably show up for a bit.”
“We?” he asked curiously.
I walked into the bedroom so Stephanie couldn’t hear everything I was saying.
“I told you about Stephanie,” I whispered in a barely audible voice.
“Yeah, you did. But you didn’t sound too enthusiastic…so I just assumed—”
“She’s cool,” I whispered.
“Cool…but not—”
“Yeah, yeah…I know what you’re gonna say.”
“You do?”
“I fucking dreamt about her last night…out loud. I fucking wake up to Stephanie asking me who fuck Allison is. How fucked up is that?
“Pretty fucked up.”
“Yeah.”
“Well, it’s good you’re trying to move on. I mean you still haven’t heard from her right?”
“Not a thing. I still don’t even know where she is.”
“Hmmm.”
“Gotta go…I’ll see you later,” I said and hung up the phone.
I waited before going back into the kitchen, sitting on the bed, staring out the window. It was a beautiful cool sunny day where you couldn’t distinguish whether it was late summer or early fall in Boston.
The last time I had seen Allison was the day I gave her the letter five months ago. She looked like an angel that day, wearing a pink dress, her hair blowing in the wind, her cheeks pink from the shock of seeing me sitting on her front steps. Late that same night, I got a text from her.
Cedric, I really appreciate your taking the time to explain everything to me through this letter. I need time to absorb all of this and ask that you please not contact me until I have had that opportunity. Thank you for the ring. It’s beautiful, although I am not sure if I can wear it, but I will cherish it.
It hurt so badly to hear her tell me not to contact her, but I was relieved that she read everything I had to say. I had been completely honest and for the first time since I met her, I had nothing to hide anymore.