Chapter 29

I dried off and dressed. Black slacks, a shirt with buttons, if there were belts and shoes I might have looked good enough to serve coffee in an office. The girls fared better. They had dresses, blouses, attempts at class. There were no laces or sashes by which we could asphyxiate ourselves.

“I thought black guys were supposed to be really big,” Marin did not need to enunciate that. She was saying, “Oh, he’s just another Dean.” An under the breath mumble, that’s all it would’ve taken. Dashawn had flashed the room his cock, swaggering out of the shower. Yuming gathered his fractured ego in a towel.

The orange flakes had been swept up, washed off, and flushed away. Renée gave Dashawn one of my sweaters and a pair of my boxers. My legs were too long for him; he looked out of place in borrowed shorts.

Yuming wore a girlish pink dress. She was hot. Suzi punched me. She squeezed me. I kissed her.

“I’m so-oo hungry,” Kia moaned. She had showered with Dashawn and Yuming and was red not from the hot water. “You can’t get food out there.”

“You know where the food is,” Connie waved to the cabinets. “Bring out the Flakes and the Ohs and Renée and I’ll set the table.”

“I’ll put out some fruit!” My sister zipped off to the cabinets.

“We’re on drink duty then?” I rubbed Suzi shoulders. We were smiling. Yuming gave me a look. I caught it a moment later. “She’s not a cripple.”

“I’ll have Ohs.” Was all Yuming replied.

“Am I a guest or is this my home?” Kia grumbled as she slid two boxes of Flakes onto the table. I didn’t answer. I’d let the girls claw her to pieces. I should’ve stepped in. Many of the girls were still in the shower. I noticed Dashawn wide eyed and watching. It was clear that was not appreciated.

“Hey, can you sit on the other side of the table. I think Renée’s feeling self conscious.” I grabbed his shoulder, startling him.

“Oh, fuck, sorry. I just got mesmerized.” He gave a goofy grin and looped the table. He sat in the chair next to my standard. Wanda was in my seat. Connie grabbed my shoulders and sat me in her normal seat. I had a perfect view of Renée with extra soapy breasts. Connie dropped a spoon into my bowl. The clatter shocked me awake.

“Dashawn’s been telling me all about you,” Yuming was seating herself on Dashawn’s lap. Kia kicked my ankle as she sat down. She dove into the food. Yuming ate with grace. Dashawn had to work around her. He didn’t have the luxury to eat as aggressively. “And now we’re going to be family.”

“Yeah,” I frowned. “I’m still shook up about--”

“Well, that’s OK,” she interrupted. “I can only imagine how crazy it is going to get as we live out these alien lives.”

“Thank you, I--”

“What matters is not how adversity gets ahold of you, but how you push through it. I’m seeing a little I like. I’m seeing what Suzi likes. Don’t disappoint her.”

“Everything I can do, I’ll--”

“We can talk after breakfast.” She lifted her cereal bowl and ate it close to her lips.

I ate with slow methodical spoonfuls. Eight seats, fifteen butts. My girls ate a little, made room for someone else. Kia was ravenous. She poured herself a third bowl. I saw it as a challenge and kept up.

Dashawn could eat when Yuming got off his lap. Marin, Hannah, Andrea, or Connie never let his glass drain down or his bowl sit empty. He loved the attention and was all smiles and thank yous. This was my friend. Overwhelmed, gawky, happy, everything he was supposed to be from the man I knew back home. He was a genuine person. I could feel tension I had been carrying since his arrival melting away. The guilt bloomed, I’d not been excited enough to see him. I should trust him. I could trust him.

That was going to make things easier.

I got up to let Zoë snatch my seat. Once she had food in her mouth, everyone had washed up and eaten. Suzi was sitting at the side of the lockers. She was reading Treasure Island. Her mother was standing over Dashawn, never letting go. I could see it as a show of force to all of the girls in the room. She amused Connie and offended Pat.

“Can you stand company?” I asked sitting down next to Suzi.

“Just let me read.” She replied. I almost got up but she snuggled against me, threaded her arm through mine, and put her head on my shoulder. The book was right in front of both of our faces. I could’ve followed along but it was clear she was more comfortable as I reclined. I let the girls clean up.

“Hey, Dean.” Dashawn caught my attention. “I didn’t come visit my best friend to sit in quiet and be waited on by beautiful charming women.”

“Who’s beautiful and who’s charming?” Andrea asked. I laughed. She looked in askance. I smirked. I squeezed Suzi and she let me climb to my feet.

“No one but Yuming, would play anything in the board games locker back in our room.” Dashawn moaned. “What do you say?”

“I know the perfect game!” Pat left the last of the dishes to Marin and zipped around the table. Zoë was chuckling. Renée blushed until she shrieked.

“I’m not playing THAT game with--” She went fully red. “I’m sorry. I just thought--Obviously, she meant--” And the rest was not so much words as mumbles.

“What?” Pat scrunched her nose with Eliminate Others in her hands.

“This game is great. She always loses.” I mussed up Pat’s hair and sat her down. I took the seat next to Dashawn. Pat on my left. Wanda next to my friend. I gestured. “How about the four of us?”

“I’m going to win this time.” Pat announced.

“Ms Lan? Yuming, sorry.” Connie murmured. “We’re going to jump rope if you’d like to join us?”

“I would.” She leaned into Dashawn’s ear and stage-whispered, “Crush him, drive him before you, hear the lamentations of his women.”

“Um...” Pat cocked her head. Dashawn and I were laughing. Renée was smiling.

“Dad loved that movie.” the blonde cheerleader suffered nostalgia. “Mom always got mad at him for watching it with me when I was little.”

Renée sat down across from me. Kia on her right. Connie and Yuming were turning the rope for Xiomara and Zoë. Andrea jumped in as a third. Their bodies moved well together. I turned back from the bouncing. Pat rubbed my side.

“You should get Suzi to shuffle for you.” Yuming grinned at me. Xiomara snorted laughing and was nearly tripped. Marin took her place.

“C’mon X,” Hannah said. “We’ll play something while they Eliminate Others.”

She named the game with such echoing gravitas that I couldn’t help but laugh. Xiomara ran her fingers across my neck as she went to grab a game. Wanda dealt out our cards.

“You know what this game needs?” Dashawn asked after I had re-explained the rules Pat and blabbered out.

“I was thinking a Mexican Western shootout theme.” I suggested.

“I was thinking pitched spaceship battles.” Dashawn agreed. “Show me your hand and pitch all of the pink.”

“Ah!” I acted like he had shot me. I had two good pink cards.

“Chalk.” Hannah beamed smugly, “Thirty-eight! Bam!”

They were playing Scrabble. I played, everyone without a black card must lose a card, to no effect. Xiomara stood up to announce her “Barbaric!” second play of the game, hitting the triple word score at the top middle, and dropping all seven tiles.

“Nice,” I grinned at her as Pat misplayed some blue card.

“You better check that twice,” She grinned, “Cause I can be naughty.”

“Goddamn!” Dashawn grinned. “You know my boy falls head over heels for you at least two three times a month, Xiomara.”

“Oh...” she pouted, “I only needed to fall once.”

“Yeah, that’s all I had been waiting for myself.” I grinned. Wanda slapped a card on the table. We turned our eyes to her. Pat grabbed her own hair.

“Oh C’mon!” She snarled pitching three cards. She was down to one.

“I think I like this game.” Wanda grinned. She elbowed Dashawn. “Your turn.”

“You should like it.” Suzi smiled over my shoulder. “The winner gets favors from the losers.”

“Any game really,” Kia said, “I’m going to make these girls vote for me back.”

“You’re losing miserably.” Hannah said dragging letters from the Scrabble bag.

“I’m voting for you anyway,” Xiomara said. “You’ll make Dean happy and you won’t make me kill you. That’s everything I look for in a girl.”

“Ah, so sweet...” Pat grinned. I looked at her card. I wouldn’t call it a peek. Everyone but her at the table saw me do it. It was an everyone draws 2 cards. I could out her from the game, but I wanted to play longer.

“I’m going to jump rope with my mother.” Suzi squeezed my shoulders. “That’s a weird sentence to say at 18 years old. Thanks for making me help with breakfast.”

I slapped her butt as she walked away. She didn’t jump but I watched her smile beam across the room as she walked over.

“We should keep active too after the game.” Dashawn enjoyed my sister’s bounce a bit too much before he turned his head back to the table. “I’ve been hitting those dumbbells every day. Going from pudgy to muscly ... I’m never going back.”

“I hear you brother,” Hannah nodded. I flipped her off. She blew a raspberry back.

“Oh! For fuck’s sake, another seven letter word drop!” Kia moaned as Xiomara crossed BARBARIC’s first a with ANIMATES.

“I’m thinking foot massages.” Xiomara said.

“How are you winning Scrabble?” Zoë was taking the skip rope handles from Connie letting her in the center. “You don’t read.”

“Doesn’t mean I can’t spell.” Xiomara laughed.

“I don’t think it’s so bad,” Hannah mumbled, “At least her M was a blank.”

I laughed. This room had the feeling of family. I was happy. The banter continued. Pat was soon ejected from our game, but I had been so confident she wasn’t a contender, I had hyper focused on Dashawn. Should’ve kept my eyes open for Wanda.