asked.
Tim laughed at my excitement. “Sure. All we need to do is finalize the sale with some paperwork and you can drive it right off the lot, but what about your truck?”
“Oh, I’m giving it to my little brother. He turned eighteen the other day. I figured I would surprise him.”
“That’s a nice gift,” he said. “Well, let’s get this paperwork signed and then you can go surprise him.”
After I signed the papers, Tim tossed me the keys to my new car and I drove it around to the front. I pulled up beside Dorian. He was still sitting in the passenger seat of the Porsche.
I rolled the window down and shouted at him, “Go ahead and get in the driver’s seat!”
“For real?” he couldn’t believe it.
“Yes. That’s yours now. Take care of it,” I said, pulling out of the parking lot.
The look on Dorian’s face was priceless. I loved my little brother.
________
A few days later Jillian woke me out of my sleep when she kept calling my phone at nine in the morning.
“Jillian, it’s nine o clock in the morning, what do you want?”
“Meet me at Raquel’s house, Cherish, hurry up,” she said.
“What happened?” I asked, but she hung up.
I jumped up, threw some sweats and a T shirt on, grabbed a jacket and rushed out the door. It took me fifteen minutes to get to Raquel’s house. When I got there, the front door was open. I walked in and Raquel and Jillian were sitting on the sofa. I could see Raquel had been crying. She had dried tears on her face.
“What’s wrong?”
Jillian looked at Raquel and then looked at me. I looked at Raquel and she burst out in tears.
I’m looking at Jillian for some type of answer, but all she’s giving me is a blank stare.
“Raquel,” I put my hand on her shoulder, “It’s going to be alright… what happened?”
I could see she was trying to say something, but her cries were drowning out her words.
“Calm down, Raq…. every—”
“I’m H.I.V positive, Cherish…” she mumbled, cutting my words short, “That bastard gave me H.I.V! It’s not gonna be alright!” she shouted as get jumped off the sofa and ran to the back of the house.
I watched her storm out of the living room. I didn’t know what to say. The only thing I could do was hang my head and run my hand over my face. This was too much to deal with.
“That shit is fucked up, Cherish…” Jillian whispered. “What are we gonna do?”
“The only thing we can do is be there for her, Jillian. She really needs us right now.”
We sat there in shock, baffled at the news Raquel just revealed to us. It was surreal, like a dream or something. It definitely didn’t feel like real life.
We stayed the night with Raquel, just the three of us, holding each other like we were kids. It felt good to have friends that cared. It really did.
14
A week passed since Raquel had given us the terrible news of her contracting H.I.V. I still couldn’t understand why. I prayed every night, asking God what the reason for this was. Why did he have to choose my friend? Not that I would wish something like that on someone else, but damn, this was real close to home. But the more I prayed on it and the more I kept my faith, the more I realized that God didn’t make mistakes. Everything was done for a reason. We may not know the reason in the beginning, or we may not ever know the reason, but there is a reason; and he knows.
The sweet smell of cinnamon pancakes and honey bacon teased my nostrils, bringing me out of a deep sleep. It was the first Sunday of November, and as usual, my grandmother was in the kitchen, cooking up a big breakfast. Sunday was the best day of the week because she cooked three times; breakfast, lunch and dinner.
I pushed the covers off me, got up, brushed my teeth, washed my face and made my way downstairs to get ready to
Tim laughed at my excitement. “Sure. All we need to do is finalize the sale with some paperwork and you can drive it right off the lot, but what about your truck?”
“Oh, I’m giving it to my little brother. He turned eighteen the other day. I figured I would surprise him.”
“That’s a nice gift,” he said. “Well, let’s get this paperwork signed and then you can go surprise him.”
After I signed the papers, Tim tossed me the keys to my new car and I drove it around to the front. I pulled up beside Dorian. He was still sitting in the passenger seat of the Porsche.
I rolled the window down and shouted at him, “Go ahead and get in the driver’s seat!”
“For real?” he couldn’t believe it.
“Yes. That’s yours now. Take care of it,” I said, pulling out of the parking lot.
The look on Dorian’s face was priceless. I loved my little brother.
________
A few days later Jillian woke me out of my sleep when she kept calling my phone at nine in the morning.
“Jillian, it’s nine o clock in the morning, what do you want?”
“Meet me at Raquel’s house, Cherish, hurry up,” she said.
“What happened?” I asked, but she hung up.
I jumped up, threw some sweats and a T shirt on, grabbed a jacket and rushed out the door. It took me fifteen minutes to get to Raquel’s house. When I got there, the front door was open. I walked in and Raquel and Jillian were sitting on the sofa. I could see Raquel had been crying. She had dried tears on her face.
“What’s wrong?”
Jillian looked at Raquel and then looked at me. I looked at Raquel and she burst out in tears.
I’m looking at Jillian for some type of answer, but all she’s giving me is a blank stare.
“Raquel,” I put my hand on her shoulder, “It’s going to be alright… what happened?”
I could see she was trying to say something, but her cries were drowning out her words.
“Calm down, Raq…. every—”
“I’m H.I.V positive, Cherish…” she mumbled, cutting my words short, “That bastard gave me H.I.V! It’s not gonna be alright!” she shouted as get jumped off the sofa and ran to the back of the house.
I watched her storm out of the living room. I didn’t know what to say. The only thing I could do was hang my head and run my hand over my face. This was too much to deal with.
“That shit is fucked up, Cherish…” Jillian whispered. “What are we gonna do?”
“The only thing we can do is be there for her, Jillian. She really needs us right now.”
We sat there in shock, baffled at the news Raquel just revealed to us. It was surreal, like a dream or something. It definitely didn’t feel like real life.
We stayed the night with Raquel, just the three of us, holding each other like we were kids. It felt good to have friends that cared. It really did.
14
A week passed since Raquel had given us the terrible news of her contracting H.I.V. I still couldn’t understand why. I prayed every night, asking God what the reason for this was. Why did he have to choose my friend? Not that I would wish something like that on someone else, but damn, this was real close to home. But the more I prayed on it and the more I kept my faith, the more I realized that God didn’t make mistakes. Everything was done for a reason. We may not know the reason in the beginning, or we may not ever know the reason, but there is a reason; and he knows.
The sweet smell of cinnamon pancakes and honey bacon teased my nostrils, bringing me out of a deep sleep. It was the first Sunday of November, and as usual, my grandmother was in the kitchen, cooking up a big breakfast. Sunday was the best day of the week because she cooked three times; breakfast, lunch and dinner.
I pushed the covers off me, got up, brushed my teeth, washed my face and made my way downstairs to get ready to
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