As I looked at Wayne, I felt the bed shake and turned to look at Sarah. I saw Sarah bouncing on the bed. She said between breaths, “I told you I don’t like to sit down.”
We all laughed at her antics. Rachel tackled her and held her down as I moved in and started tickling her. Rachel joined in. Sarah squirmed but couldn’t get away. Wayne just sat there and laughed at us.
Four of us were laughing and enjoying life, but where was Jessica? Rachel touched my arm caringly and said, “You will get to laugh with her again.”
——————————————————————
I held my phone nervously as I tried to text Keisha again. Before I sent it, I showed it to Rachel, “What do you think? I didn’t want to sound too desperate, but I wanted to let her know about us.”
Rachel took the phone and hit send with barely a glance at the message.
“Wait! I wanted you to look at it.”
She just shook her head and handed the phone back to me. She took my hand and dragged me to the kitchen to help with lunch.
“I miss her, but I am just afraid that she has moved on. She is the one friend out there that I have left.”
Rachel looked up at me with a contented look on her face. She was calm and serene. I was all nervous, wondering if she would even respond. I messaged Keisha that I have a girlfriend now and asked her to visit us.
Rachel came over to me and put her arm around my waist. As usual, Rachel wasn’t saying much, but her calming presence soothed me. Pulling me toward the kitchen, she handed me a potato to peel and cut up. She gestured to some more potatoes to prepare.
“I am hoping to invite her to the wedding. At least, I would have a friend there, not that Wayne and Sarah aren’t my friends.”
I paused for a moment, and Rachel looked at me, listening intently. “I miss Jessica, and I am hoping that Keisha will be here. Well, maybe sharing this moment might be like sharing it with–”
Rachel set down her knife, stepped toward me, and hugged me. “I want Jessica here for the wedding, too.”
Before I started getting emotional, I said, “Yeah, maybe we can set a wedding date later when we know more about Jessica.”
Rachel kissed me on the cheek and went back to preparing dinner.
———————————————
Well past ten, I was getting nervous and jumpy. I had not received a reply from Keisha. I was pacing up and down. Even Sarah probably would not be able to keep up with me.
While I was waiting, I told Rachel all about Keisha. I admitted that she was my first and described how that turned out. Rachel patiently listened and would ask a few questions.
“Keisha could enjoy the fun conversations and laugh with us at Jessica’s jokes. She was not as flighty as Jessica, but was more practical. When something needed to be done, Keisha would just do it. I remember when she ‘kicked my ass’ when I was unsure if I had romantic feelings for Jessica. She told me to either marry or go to college.”
I started to get emotional at the memories. “Well, now I am here, and Jessica’s gone. I don’t blame Keisha, but sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I stayed at home.”
I looked at Rachel. She didn’t betray any hurt feelings. She just listened to me rant on and on. “But I am glad I came here, or I wouldn’t have met you.”
“Mr. Powell would have arranged for us to meet,” Rachel said.
That burst my bubble of star-crossed lovers, but I understood that she would have come looking for me when she was old enough.
For some reason, I started worrying about not hearing a word from Keisha. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, but she is the most beautiful woman I have ever met. She is like an ebony goddess. I hope you are not jealous.”
Rachel looked a bit amused and said, “Only jealous that you have met an ebony goddess, and I haven’t.”
“I hope you are not jealous that I hooked up with her because I don’t want her in that way anymore. I just don’t want you to think–”
Rachel put her finger to my lips to quiet me and said, “I know your heart.”
Then we kissed. Keisha was still the most beautiful, but love and beauty were not the same things. Rachel was the one I loved the most.
Then the doorbell rang.
————————————–
I went to answer the door, wondering if Sarah had forgotten her keys again. But there in the doorway– stood Keisha. She seemed to hesitate for a moment, but I gave her a big hug and pulled her inside.
“I am so sorry, Jake. I am sorry for running out on you.”
“You are here, and that is enough for me.”
As we broke the embrace, Keisha said, “I should have been there for you. Instead, I left you to grieve alone. I shouldn’t have done that.”
Rachel had moved in beside me, and I said, “It is okay; she has been taking care of me.”
Rachel stepped forward boldly and hugged Keisha. After they stopped hugging, Keisha took a step back, held Rachel’s hands up, and spun her around once to get a good look at her.
“She is adorable. I love her already.”
Rachel blushed a bit. Still holding Keisha’s hand, Rachel led her into the house.
Keisha explained, “I got your text, Jake. I am sorry that I didn’t respond. When I saw it, on an impulse, I decided to come here directly.”
“You drove all the way here?” I asked.
“Sorry, I didn’t give you any warning, especially since it is so late.”
“You are fine. Let’s go sit down in our room and talk. Rachel will take you. I will go get your bags.”
“I don’t want to impose on you. I will get a hotel room. I–”
“Please stay. We want to talk for a while.”
“I would like that.”
Rachel took her by the hand and led her back to our room to settle in. I went to get her bags. When I came back in, Rachel was waiting in the living room while Keisha stayed in the room.
“Do you want to try this now?” I asked Rachel, and she nodded with a grin on her face.
I had told Rachel that Keisha was sharp and very observant. She would probably guess the connection of the drawing to Rachel right away, unlike me, who took months to figure out, perhaps because I am slow.
Rachel and I walked into the room, hand in hand. Rachel’s drawing of us holding hands as kids was hanging right next to the door. Keisha looked up as we entered.
“Do you guys have any toothpaste? I forgot–”
As she saw us enter the room hand in hand, she gasped, “Oh my God! Jake! Is that–? Is she–?”
The look of surprise and recognition on her face was worth the wait. Rachel extended her hand, showing Keisha the ring.
Keisha’s eyes went wide with surprise as she looked at the ring, “Oh my God! Jake! It is her, isn’t it?!”
Rachel had a big smile on her face as Keisha hugged her again. “But how?” she asked, as she looked at me.
“My mom kept in contact with her.”
“Even from the grave, your mother is watching over you,” Keisha said. Then turning to Rachel, she said, “You are so precious.”
“I gave her the ring as an engagement ring. We are going to get married.”
“Oh my God, Jake! You have to tell all about how this happened.”
We sat in my room late into the night, and I told our story. Keisha’s reactions amplified my own. She gave me a big hug and said, “I am so sorry that I messed things up for you. I should have been there for you.”