Unexpected
Natalie dropped her backpack on the floor and sank down next to it, her sweaty back pressed to the cool wall. Her damp bangs hung in her eyes, and her loose Notre Dame tee-shirt stuck to her sweaty self.
“Good game, Nat,” Delia declared, sitting next to her and chugging her water. Her cheeks were slightly pink from the physical activity of the basketball “practice.” Natalie unzipped her backpack and pulled out her schoolbooks.
“Thanks, Dee,” Natalie replied. “I hope that we do well enough to make the basketball team at tryouts.” Delia gave a short laugh.
“We’ve been practicing hard enough,” she said, waving to their small group of friends who were leaving.
“Hey Nat, I’ll pick you up at six, okay?” Xavier said, running a hand through his blonde, Beatle style hair. Natalie nodded. She and Xavier were the movie critics for the weekly school news show. They went to the movies every Saturday to critique the newest releases for the student body. Natalie knew that he had a crush on her, but she had other things on her mind.
“Yeah, sure, see you then,” Natalie said absently, not glancing up. Delia grabbed Natalie’s paper, erasing her answer. When Natalie looked up again, Xavier was gone. It wasn’t that he was annoying, it was that she had other things on her mind. All I know, she thought as Delia explained the FOIL for what seemed like the thousandth time, is that Tomasz plus Natalie equals looove.
“Nat! Pay attention!” Delia chastised, snapping her fingers in front of Natalie’s face, trying to break her out of the trance. “You’re thinking about him again, aren’t you?”
“Him who?” Natalie asked innocently. Delia sighed and rolled her eyes.
“Duh! Tomasz.” Natalie blushed. “Nat, he’s five years older than you and in college besides.” Delia shook her head. “No, no, no. You can’t add x2 to x. Do it again,” she showed Natalie how to do it. Delia was a whiz at math, and in pre-calculus, even though she was just a junior. Natalie was in Algebra B, the “retard class,” as she so affectionately referred to it.
“Why do you have to bring the age difference up?” Natalie demanded. “I saw this thing on Jerry Springer where the husband was twenty years older than his wife.”
“Yeah, and he was probably an rich old geezer and she just married him for his money. Nat, I hate that you’re doing this . . . you’re just setting yourself up for disappointment.” Delia sighed. Natalie hated that sigh. It was the I-know-I’m-going-to-regret-this sigh. Natalie knew that she was going to help her for tonight. It’s not enough that he goes away to college, but he sees me as his best friend’s pesty little sister . . . now that’s unbearable. Well, I’ll show him.
“Wow, Squirt, you’ve grown,” a voice said. Natalie finally noticed a figure standing in front of her, and she looked up.
“Mikey!” she was on her feet and hugging him in two seconds flat. Delia told her later that she was thoroughly impressed. “Wow, when did you get in?” she asked as he twirled around and then set her on the floor. She suddenly felt short.
“I got an early start this morning; Tomasz is a sickening early-bird.” Michael said, throwing a glance back toward his car. Natalie nervously followed his gaze, but was relieved to see that Tomasz wasn’t there. She didn’t want him to see her like this. “Phew, you stink!” Michael wrinkled his nose, tugging on her sweaty ponytail. She grinned, packing her backpack up again.
“I know, I gotta get home and shower. Delia’s coming with us.” They stepped out of the rec center, Michael’s car keys jangling. Natalie blushed as she thought of Tomasz, and wondered how he would look at dinner tonight. She stepped into her brother’s car, the leather still slightly warm from the heater.
“It’s colder’n the North Pole out here! God, Nat, you must be freezing,” he said, eyeing her black shorts and damp tee-shirt. Natalie shrugged. She was used to the cold.
“That’s what you get for going to school in North Carolina rather than staying in Pennsylvania,” she said, as he started the car. She saw him roll his eyes in the rear-view mirror.
She hadn’t seen her brother since the end of the summer. He never came home anymore. It was hard, yes, but she wished that he would at least call. They had so much bickering to catch up on.
Natalie hopped into a boiling hot shower as soon as they were home. Delia followed as soon as Natalie was out, and they picked out clothes from the closet.
“No, too dressy,” Delia said, throwing the long, lacy black skirt and red silk blouse into the pile of discards.
“Dee, I’m gonna pick out one more outfit, and if you don’t like it, I’m going to show up at dinner like this!” Natalie exclaimed, holding her arms out. Delia smirked.
“You’d certainly make an impression in your underwear,” Delia dodged the pillow. “Okay, here, let me choose.” She closed her eyes and pulled out a pair of black pants and a soft green sweater. It was simple, but elegant.
“I love you, Dee,” Natalie said, sliding into her clothes. Delia posed as if for a magazine cover.
“Well, that just ‘bout makes my day, I do dee-clare!” she drawled with a phony Scarlet O’Hara accent. “Oh, you forgot to tell Xavier that you can’t come tonight!” Natalie smacked her forehead. Xavier. She’d forgotten all about him. It would break his heart to not go out tonight.
“I’d lose my head if it wasn’t bolted to my shoulders. See? I look like Frankenstein!” Natalie moaned, flopping dramatically on the bed. Delia settled next to her, and patted her leg. The doorbell rang, and Natalie jumped up, nearly knocking her best friend off the bed. “Tomasz!” she cried, dashing down the hall and nearly tripping on the stairs. She yanked the door open . . . and there stood Xavier. The smile stayed glued on her face although it lost much of its joy.
“Hi, Nat. You look great. Are you ready to go?” he grinned, his shaggy blonde hair falling in his eyes.
“Oh, Xavier, I should have told you earlier—we’re having company for dinner and I can’t go out.” She bit her lower lip, wishing that didn’t look so crestfallen.
“Is that Tomasz?” Mrs. Cambridge came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her tomato sauce splattered apron. “Oh, hello Xavier, would you like to stay for dinner?” She smiled, and Xavier perked up, like a puppy being rewarded.
“Mo-om,” Natalie hissed, but her mother paid no attention.
“We always have more than enough spaghetti . . .”
“Sounds great,” Xavier said, stepping in the door. Natalie threw a frantic look at Delia, who simply shrugged.
The doorbell rang again, and this time Mrs. Cambridge answered it.
“Mrs. Cambridge! You look superb; the tomato really brings the whole look together,” Tomasz said, handing her a small bouquet of flowers. Mrs. Cambridge laughed, giving him a hug.
“Tomasz, you could charm a snake. Come in, come in. What’s with the formalities; have you forgotten my name is Lynne?” She gave him a kiss on the cheek, which left a little red smear.
“Sorry, Lynne,” he stepped into the house, and Natalie’s heartbeat sped up. He looked totally different. His dark red hair was long and in a ponytail, totally opposite of the current fashion. He’d even grown a goatee that made him look more punk. He hung his leather jacket on the coat rack.
“Hey, Nat, where’s Mike?” Tomasz asked. She looked into his dark brown eyes and was at a loss of words. Michael came sliding down the railing.
“Do you want me to check it out now or later?” Michael asked, glancing out the window next to the door. Tomasz grabbed his jacket.
“Now; I need to know the value before tomorrow,” they walked outside, Michael closing the door behind them.
“Come on into the den, you guys,” Natalie sighed. Tomasz had only said four words to her, and she looked great! You just can’t win, Natalie thought, looking outside. Tomasz had brought his motorcycle. It was a beauty; obviously he took very good care of it. Michael knew a lot about care of cars and such, and, for some reason, Tomasz needed his opinion on it.
Their friendship went back to the fifth grade, when Tomasz was picking on Natalie, and Michael gave him hell for it. For some reason, they’d become the best of friends afterwards.
Natalie kept her friends entertained until dinner, during which, she, Xavier and Tomasz got into a debate about movies.
“Foreign films are the best, especially the subtitled ones,” Tomasz said, pushing his bowl away.
“Subtitles are weird—every time we see a foreign film, I expect to see the words appear in real life for the next hour afterwards,” Xavier replied. Natalie nodded; it was the same for her as well.
“I, myself, prefer horror movies . . . the gorier the better,” Natalie said, dipping her garlic bread into the sauce. Tomasz rolled his eyes.
“You and Mike are both the same. It figures,” he muttered, grinning. The phone rang, and Mr. Cambridge jumped up to get it, giving his wife a break.
“I am so offended by that!” Michael and Natalie said at once. They both started snickering. Natalie loved her brother; that’s why it was so much fun to torment him.
“Tomasz, it’s for you,” Mr. Cambridge called. Tomasz stood and went into the kitchen. Mr. Cambridge slid the door partially closed behind him.
“You’ve got sauce on your chin,” Delia muttered, leaning over to her friend. Natalie’s hand flew to her chin and hastily wiped it away.
“We might still have time to go to the movies if we leave soon; it’s only seven o’clock,” Xavier suggested, looking at Natalie. Her gaze shifted from the partially closed door to her fiend.
“Um,” she said, glancing at Delia. Tomasz was laughing. She loved his laugh; it was so truly happy. “Maybe . . .”
Tomasz came back and slid into his seat. “You two should see the new Mel Gibson movie. It’s getting rave reviews.”
“Thanks for the suggestion, Tomasz,” Natalie replied, grinning impishly. He returned her smile with a brotherly one.
“Lynne, Jared, thank you so much for the dinner. It was wonderful, and you know how I hate to eat and leave, but . . . Amy is waiting.” He stood, along with Mr. and Mrs. Cambridge.
“Who’s Amy?” Natalie tried to keep the jealousy out of her voice, but she didn’t succeed. Tomasz turned back to her.
“Amy’s my fiancée,” he explained. Natalie’s jaw dropped in surprise. Michael laughed in the background.
“Your fian . . . your ffff . . .” Natalie couldn’t get the word out. Tomasz grinned sheepishly.
“I met her at my summer job,” he explained. “We hit it off . . . she actually likes that I’m different, but she doesn’t like my ride.”
“She doesn’t want him to crash and end up in the hospital with mashed brains.” Michael explained, grinning.
“So I’m going to sell my bike to buy her engagement ring,” Tomasz finished. Natalie furtively glanced at Delia, who gave her a c’est-la-vie look.
“Well, good luck, I guess,” Natalie said, giving him a quick hug. She knew now that she was never anything more than his best friend’s pesty little sister.
“Go for it with Xavier,” he murmured to her while he gave her a hug with a slight squeeze. Well, maybe not a pest . . . she thought.
While Tomasz and Michael went outside, Natalie turned back to Xavier. “Are we still on for the movies tonight?” she asked, flirtatiously flipping her curly hair over her shoulder.
“What do you want to see?” he shot back as she took off her bracelets.
“Something romantic. Just lemme change into something more comfortable.” She motioned for Delia to follow her.
As they ran giggling up the steps, she thought; Xavier and I do have a lot in common. Who knows? Maybe he and I will become friends . . . really good friends.
The End
