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JJ always says skating rinks smell like feet and popcorn. He’s right. Out of the many times we’ve been here, that’s exactly what it reminds me of as we walk in. We’d come here almost every day for the past couple of weeks so that we could teach JJ to skate, and so Jessa and I could make up skate routines.
My party is 90’s themed and Jessa and I both wear red tights. Our hair is in a half-up, half down hairstyle. The difference in our clothes is that Jessa wears a shimmering iridescent unitard over her tights and I wear cut-off overalls over mine. Jessa also wears large Bamboo earrings, a white fanny pack, and a white windbreaker jacket. It’s like she stepped straight out of a scene from Saved by the Bell. She whips her long blonde hair over her shoulders. I try to do the same but my hair doesn’t whip like that.
Jessa and I arrive 30 minutes late for more of a dramatic entrance. My parents got here early to get things set up and make sure the rink is ready for my Golden Birthday celebration. The lights in the rink are dim with swirls of color from a disco ball that hangs from the ceiling in the middle of the room. Everything seems perfect.
JJ’s mom had helped with the table décor and she did an amazing job. There are these giant clear balloons with gold confetti inside of them on each table. The balloons are tied at the base with white tulle and gold ribbon. In addition to the balloons, every table has bouquets of tulips in glittering gold Mason jars. There’s a table with red tulips, a table with orange tulips, yellow, green and it repeats the pattern of the rainbow. It’s like a fancy box of Lucky Charms up in here. Mama and Mrs. Jourdan have really outdone themselves.
Jessa nudges me. “Dang, gurl. Your Mama was not playin’ about this party. Everythang is glitterin’ gold and rainbows.”
I continue scanning around the room. “You ain’t never lied.”
Jessa grins at me. “You like it though, don’t you?”
“Yep.” For as long as I can remember I’ve always said the rainbow is my favorite color. And that’s just how Mama and JJ’s mom have decorated this place.
Jessa tugs on my elbow. “C’mon let’s get our skates on.”
That’s when it hits me that I forgot the most important thing to have at a skating party. I bring my palm to my forehead. “Shoot Jess, I forgot the new skates Mama just got me.”
Jessa gapes at me like I’m crazy and she has every right to. Mama gave me the skates earlier today. They were white with red laces, each wheel was a different color of the rainbow, with the eighth one being pink. I wasn’t crazy about the pink, but Mama had them custom made. She even had my name engraved on the outer right side and “Skate Queen” engraved on the outer left.
Jessa clicks her tongue. “Shoot! Now we gotta go alla way back to your house.”
“Chill out Jess, our neighborhood is like three minutes away. It won’t take that long.”
Mama briskly walks over to where Jessa and I stand. If she smiled any bigger, she’d be a Cheshire cat. They hug each other. “Hey Miss Honey,” Jessa says to my mom.
Mama releases her and then puts her fist on her hip. “Jessa, I told you to stop calling me Miss. You’re still family, I don’t care what my sister says.”
Jessa shakes her head. “No, ma’am. I can’t do that. My daddy’ll slap the taste out my mouth if he hears me call another adult by their first name.”
Mama chuckles. “Well, speaking of your dad, is he coming tonight?”
“Um...no ma’am. He said he wasn’t going to come if your sister was here.”
Jessa’s dad used to be married to my aunt so I guess that kind of makes us more cousins than friends. I don’t know. Aunt Didi hasn’t stayed married to any of her husbands long. Mama says it because she’s too “mouthy.”
Mama laughs. “Well, that’s fine. Y’all two come on and skate.” Mama searches me and then behind my back. “Buttercup, where are your skates?”
I purse my lips together. I don’t wanna tell her that I left them at home by accident. But she knows me all too well.
Her shoulders fall and so does her smile, but then she plasters it back on not wanting to show her disappointment. “I’ll go back and get them. Be back in a flash. Go enjoy your party. This is all for you!”
I breathe a sigh of relief. I’m glad she’s not mad.
“Whaddup, Clove?” a voice I recognize speaks from behind me. Trevor Watkins. I didn’t know if he was coming because Mama said he never RSVP’d. Trevor’s tall, dark and handsome. He’s sort of like Xavier except for the handsome part. I can’t see Xavier as handsome because he’s like a brother to me. And then Xavier has dreads and Trevor has a curly high fade. Most girls think his gold tooth is hot but I’m on the fence about it.
“Hey Trevor,” I finally say.
“Thanks for the invite.”
“No problem.”
Jessa elbows me. “Let’s go get some skates.”
“Nah, I’ll wait for Mama to come back with mine. They’ll go better with my outfit.” Plus, I wanna stay here and talk to Trevor. He looks good in his skinny jeans, crisp white t-shirt, and gold Jesus-piece chain around his neck. It’s a nice change from seeing him in the school uniform we have to wear every day.
Jessa pinches my arm.
“Ow,” I cry.
This time she raises her eyebrows. I know she wants me to come with her so I excuse myself from Trevor and follow Jessa to the skate attendant.
“What’d you pinch me for?” I ask Jessa.
“Trevor’s trouble. You need to be careful.”
“How do you know?”
Jessa tells the attendant she needs a size eight. “I just...heard things that’s all.”
I’d heard some things too but they weren’t necessarily bad, just rumors. And you can’t believe everything you hear. For example, I don’t believe any of the rumors I’ve heard about Jessa.
Jessa takes the skates off the counter. “You sure you don’t wanna just get some skates til your mama comes back?”
I’m pretty sure. Why wear those ugly brown skates when I can wear my own brand-new ones? I stand and wait for Jessa to get laced up. There are a lot of people here and many of them come over to tell me happy birthday.
Jessa finishes her laces. “Ok, well. I guess I’mma skate. See you on the floor in a lil bit.”
***
IT’S ALMOST TEN O’CLOCK and Mama’s still not back. Jessa, JJ, and Xavier roll over to me. Xavier and Jessa stop but poor JJ keeps rolling. His arms flail in the air before he falls to the ground.
“You ok?” Jessa asks.
JJ puts a thumb in the air and pushes himself back up.
Xavier puts his hand on my shoulder. “Clove, when are we going to cut the cake? I’m dying to see it.”
I look at the cake table where my dad and Gram are talking to JJ’s parents. It shouldn’t have taken this long for Mama to get my skates. She’s been gone for over half an hour. I know she said this was all for me, but some of this was for her. She’s missing out.
Jessa smacks Xavier playfully in the stomach. “Forget cake. Clove, just put on some skates so we can at least do our routine. I think the DJ is gonna play our song soon.”
I hold up a finger. “Wait a sec.” I walk over to my dad and ask if he’s talked to Mama.
Dad lifts up his baseball cap and scratches his head. He then puts the cap back on and smooths his hand over his goatee. “I called her but... she’s not answering her phone.” He digs his hands in his pocket to reach for his phone.
Gram adjusts one of my overall straps. “Go enjoy yourself baby and skate with your friends. If she’s not back in a few minutes, we’ll go ahead and cut the cake.”
I’m worried but maybe I shouldn’t be. Mama probably just got distracted or something. I ask the attendant for a size ten and sit down to lace the skates up quickly. The song Jessa and I requested begins to play.
I step onto the skate floor and Jessa and I begin to skate to the rhythm of the beat. We skate backward, putting one foot over the other. We dance, dropping it down, and picking it back up. I can tell people are slowing down on the floor to watch us. It feels great to be admired for once.
We skate by JJ and Xavier who are talking to some girls from our Church. I try not to pay attention to the way Hannah Hopper is giggling and touching her chest as she talks to JJ. JJ and I met in third grade when he moved here from France. My family and his family have become very close and we’ve always been really good friends, but lately, he’s been, I don’t know, sort of different. He looks different and—
The DJ abruptly stops the music and announces that we’ll be cutting my cake exactly in ten minutes. As Jessa and I skate around, I hear murmurings from people nearby. Traffic for miles...bad car accident and one of the cars was squished. The word accident echoes in my head.
I get off the skate floor and go back to where I last saw my dad, but he isn’t here. Gram puts more chips in a bowl.
“Gram, you seen my dad?”
She crushes the empty bag and throws it into the trash can. “He’ll be right back. He just went to check on somethin’.”
Maybe Dad’s going to see if he can help. Even so, I have a really bad feeling deep in the pit of my stomach. I touch Gram’s arm. My hand feels clammy against her skin. “Gram, you don’t think that might be Mama in the accident do you?”
Gram reassures me that everything is fine. “Let’s cut the cake. James, can you tell the DJ to call people over now?” she asks JJ’s dad. He nods and walks in the direction of the DJ booth. He doesn’t need to have it announced. People are already swarming over here for the cake like fruit flies. I guess everyone was anticipating what Mama was going to do for my cake decoration.
The music goes down and the lights get dimmer. Gram unboxes my cake and Mrs. Jourdan lights a sparkler to go on top.
Mama really outdid herself. The cake is a navy blue three-tiered cake with gold stars. At the bottom tier is the Pisces constellation. In the middle are gold stars and clouds. And on top is a message that reads, “Always reach for the stars.” The cake is simply magnificent and very creative. Mama is talented and I can only dream of being like her one day.
Gram begins to sing the Stevie Wonder version of the birthday song. Soul claps, singing, and table drum beats fill the air. It all makes me feel bubbly and warm inside. When the song is done, someone shouts, “Make a wish!”
Although I feel like I’m too old for wishes, I make one anyway. I wish that I will always be surrounded and loved by friends and family. I also wish Mama would hurry back. I blow out the sparkler and the lights come back on.
I search around the room. Gram is missing and so is my Aunt Didi. Something is definitely going on; I can feel it.
I skate away from my cake and race to the exit but the attendant stops me. “You can’t wear your skates outside.” Hastily, I unlace them, pull them off, and shove them at the attendant before I run out the door.
Lights are flashing. Police, ambulance, and fire truck horns blare so loud the sounds hurt my ears.
Across the parking lot, I can see Gram and Aunt Didi running. I run as fast as I can, passing them as I go.
My heart is racing, bile rises in my throat and I feel like I can’t breathe. No God Please! Please no! Is all I can think. I see the twisted metal of Mama’s red car. I reach for the black and yellow police tape but my dad grabs me, lifting me away. I kick and flail against him, demanding that he put me down.
“Mamaaaaaa!” I scream. “Mama, please...nooo.”
I feel sick, light-headed and weak. I try once more to run back towards the car, but I can’t, my legs won’t move. I throw up and then everything goes dark