Promise Kept (Perry Skky Jr.) (14 page)

“Boy, get out of here.”

“Is what he said really true?” I asked, sitting beside her. “I saw you looking sad, like you couldn’t believe that he was doing you like he was.”

“I wasn’t thinking about Jordan at all but I was sad. I have been pouting lately because I miss you. So what can I do about that?”

“Tell a brother how you feel,” I said as I held her hand.

“Would that do any good, Perry?”

“You know it would. I came all the way across a dance floor to go off on a guy that I thought was supposed to be true to you, all because I cared in the worst way. If you thought it looked cute, if it made you blush, if it makes you want to get back with me, it was worth the pouting for sure.”

W
hen her lips touched mine it was perfect; I felt so relaxed, so good, so on top of the world. I didn’t want to pull away from her. And don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t about sex and satisfying an urge. No, it was more about the pigheadedness being gone. I stayed away from Savoy because I didn’t want to admit that I could care so much for a girl, have her presence control my happiness like that. And truthfully, sometimes I didn’t want to have to fool with her, but deep down, damn, all of that was worth it. Some way, somehow, that kiss taught me that we would find a way to coexist. There was no way we could be apart; and that every brother deserves someone who cares about him so much that no other guy even has a chance.

“I missed you,” she said with watery eyes. “I never thought we could be together again. I mean we were together, not together, then apart.”

“And now we are together,” I said to her as I held her hand and brought her head toward mine. I mean, what was there to say—her lips could speak volumes.

I was so focused on the emotions I felt, kissing Savoy, that I was startled when my sister called out, “Perry!”

“Oh my gosh!” Savoy said when she opened her eyes and saw her brother and cousin Tad looking at her with displeasure.

“I’m sorry. This is probably embarrassing, huh? Corner of a party making out…nah, we just came over to say it’s about time you get out,” her brother Saxon said, before he turned left.

Payton said, “You two got something special. Remember, Tad and I found a way to work it out as freshmen. Everybody in the world said there is no way that our relationship could work out, and we have had more than our share of almost-never-ever-gonna-stay-together moments. But Savoy, I know you care about my brother. Your cousin tells me you talk.”

“Tad!” she said.

“Payton!” he said to her. “Well, I mean I’m saying.”

My sister looked at me so I stepped in and said, “You talk to your cousin about you missing me and stuff?”

“Well, its not like I can talk to Saxon.”

“Dude, you never told me,” I said to my sister’s boyfriend.

“Wasn’t my place. Prayed for y’all though. Figured if it was supposed to work out it would. Like Payton said, y’all are young and not everybody can try to do what we doing. It ain’t easy for us. But I know what is in Savoy’s heart is real. And from what Payton tells me—let’s just keep it real here—you moping around and all that other kind of stuff, and shucks—I can see for myself this whole night you was staring at my cousin.”

“I was,” I said, looking dead at her.

“So now that y’all got another chance, don’t mess it up,” Tad added.

Payton said, “People will try to break you up, and the feelings you’ll have for each other will sort of mess up your commitment to God. You’re going to be tested on so many fronts it’s not even gonna be funny.”

“Yeah I know, we’ve already been tested like that,” Savoy said. “I just don’t know if we can make it.”

Well thanks y’all for the talk,” I said, hearing enough. I grabbed Savoy’s hand and we headed to the door.

“It’s not too cold out, I wanna talk to you.”

When we got outside I said, “I know we’ve been through a lot and I know I’ve been a jerk through a lot of it, but if you care about me the way I care about you we can make it.”

I took my hand and stroked her beautiful hair, then she rested her head in the palm of my hand and I felt so in control, like she wanted me to take care of her. I didn’t have it all together, I knew that I would mess up even more along the way, I couldn’t say she would be my wife one day. But for right now I was willing to make her a promise that I would give her all I had. I didn’t use the words
I love you
much. But I leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek and said, “Rest assured I’m in this. You won’t leave my soul, Savoy Lee. I love you.”

She hugged me tight and prayed, “Lord, so many nights I cried, missing Perry, hating myself that I had driven him away. But now You have given us new life on this dating journey and he says he loves me, and I love him too. Thank you God. This is what we are feeling; this passion; this excitement; this joy is a gift from You. Help us treasure it.”

I said “Amen” in complete agreement.

Hadn’t been the same around the apartment with Lance out of town in Arkansas for his grandmother’s funeral, no TV blaring loud in the middle of the night, no refrigerator door wide open because he forgot to shut it. Nobody playing practical jokes on folks in the house but Collin, Deuce, and I did miss him.

“Maybe we should’ve gone to the funeral,” Collin said as we sat around our small dinette table eating our ramen noodles.

“Man, I couldn’t go to no funeral in Arkansas. I got classes. You know I couldn’t afford to miss nada one,” Deuce said.

Collin said, “I mean, we should’ve been able to do something, has anybody even called him?”

Deuce said, “I thought one of y’all called him.”

Collin replied, “Nah, I thought y’all called him.”

I said, “Well, I didn’t bug him because I thought you guys did.”

“So nobody has even checked on him?”

“I mean, I prayed for him,” I said.

“If somebody in my family died y’all better show up,” Deuce said.

“Well,” I got up and said, “where’s the phone, let’s call him now.”

Then we heard the rattling of the doorknob.

“What y’all sitting here looking all sad for, y’all should’ve had more food for me to eat—what’s the problem?” said Lance.

We got up to slap his hand and gave him small hugs.

“You appear to be okay,” I said to him as I checked him out.

And Deuce gave him a wedgie, “Yeah he’s alright.”

“See, y’all got jokes,” Lance said.

“For real, guy, we were thinking about you; sorry we didn’t give you a call. It’s not like we wasn’t thinking about you and stuff,” I said to him.

“You guys, I know I was a little weirded out before I left but it was actually a peaceful experience, and I was so busy with all my relatives that I wouldn’t even have heard the phone ring if you called. I don’t think I even checked the messages. My girl is even mad at me.”

“Your girl? What’s up with that?” Collin said, messing with him.

“Yeah, Perry here hooked me up with a chick. She got a few issues but I like her.”

“You’ve gotta girlfriend now?” Collin asked in a way that told us he was a little jealous.

“I guess you can call her that,” Lance said to him.

“Now I’m the only one without somebody, dang.”

“Well if Perry could find somebody for that nut, certainly we can get you hooked up. The honeys are going to be lined up at the door,” Deuce told him. “I’m sure he’s got some sorority girlfriends, all of them are always looking for somebody.”

Collin said in a depressed tone, “Yeah, but as messed up as it was for me, I was the talk of campus last semester with everything that happened with the ambulance and the hospital and me wanting to not…you know all that.”

“Whatever, man, them girls got more drama, bulimia, more operations to add to this and that to take away from that and this.”

“And then it’s rape I threw in there,” I said. Suddenly it got quiet and Lance looked at me.

“I need to see you now, NOW!!” he sort of yelled. He went to his bedroom.

Collin and Deuce looked at me like, “Man, what’s up?”

I threw up my hands like I didn’t know, and went into his room and shut the door.

“What’s up man, you want to talk to me?”

“Why you said rape? Something been going on with Anna. Every time I touch her and stuff…” He turned crazy, grabbed me by my collar and threw me at the door.

“What you do to her, man?”

“Wait, wait hold up, hold up dude, hold up!” I said, pushing him off of me.

“What’s going on in there?” Deuce asked.

“I got it y’all, I got it. Nah, I don’t know if I do have it. Why would you say rape like that Perry? You know something…”

“Yeah, I know something, but it’s not my business to tell you, alright, and no I didn’t rape the girl, but some stuff happened to me before I came here and she’s a part of it.”

“I’m confused…”

“Lance, partner, I’m not going to go into it. You need to talk to her about all that. You need to let her know you really care. I don’t know why she hasn’t shared all that stuff. It’s not my place to say, I was just bringing that up after you mentioned some other things that girls have to stress about…That’s it. For you to think I did something to her, that really offends me.”

“Alright alright, I’m sorry, it’s just I really like her and I’m trying to break through all that, and I thought about it a lot and I thought about that at the funeral, you know? I want my life to count for something, I want my life to stand for something. So many folks said so many great things about my grandmother. And it’s like her presence is with me and I want to make her proud, and part of that is settling down and caring for somebody the way she did for my grandfather. But I can’t do that if Anna won’t let me close. I don’t know…I was wrong for thinking that…I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” said Lance.

“We straight, it’s definitely evident that you care for her, to try and jump me, what…My little roommate growing up,” I said.

“Whatever,” Lance said. “I care about her and I know it. She does make me happy.”

“Then go for it, man,” I replied. “We gotta find Collin somebody.”

“You think we can?” Lance asked.

We both laughed.

It was dead week for students at Georgia and Georgia Tech, which meant there were no classes because it was time to study for exams. I couldn’t believe my first year of college was almost over. I learned so much. I was challenged so much that I had became a tougher man. I learned to care about my brothers as myself. I learned I had to stand up for what was right. And I learned it was okay to give my heart to Savoy. Things might not always go my way, but I could survive it because God is on my side and though I didn’t understand most of what He was up there doing, I certainly knew He had my back, front, sides and all. My angels, Goodness and Mercy, came to visit and the two of them didn’t say anything, but I felt them encouraging me to call my sister and do something with my dad. He was being real tough going through the whole colon cancer thing. I didn’t know a lot, and honestly didn’t really have a desire to get into the ins and outs of the treatment. But one thing I knew was that I wanted my dad to be okay. And I knew he needed to know that I cared more than I could say.

So I dialed her up. “Perry what’s going on? I was just heading to the library.”

“I don’t know sis…This is crazy, but maybe we should go home. I could be there in a couple hours.”

“Yeah I could too…You know, after I pack up some things.”

“You talk to Dad…Is there something I need to know?”

“No, no. Nothing like that. I just thought maybe we can go home, surprise him and mom and maybe make a weekend of it.”

“How much room you got left on the credit card?”

“My Visa still has $2500. You?”

“The same.”

“And they thought we would run their credit up,” Payton joked. “What you thinking?”

“I don’t know, maybe we swoop them up and go to Charleston or something for the weekend. All get massages, just be there for him. I don’t know, what you think?”

“I think he’d like that…But will he take time away from the dealership?”

“With as many people over there and with all he’s going through, we’ll make it so he won’t have a choice.”

“Alright, I’ll call Mom on the way,” she said. “You…can work it out with Dad. What are you thinking, chartering the plane?”

“You got me.”

“Sweet.”

When I got home and went by the dealership, I noticed my dad had a new secretary. She looked more homely and older than my mom. I was so glad that the young chick that he had the little thing with was gone. Just for that alone I wanted to take him out and hug him.

But as he was fussing at some salesman for not meeting their quota, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy to just pull him away. It was the end of the month, a Saturday was coming, he was going to make his hustle and I’m sure the business had been keeping his mind off the physical pain.

I was going to have to pull a fast one to get him to cooperate.

“Son, what are you doing here?”

I bit my tongue, knowing that I didn’t want to freak him out but hoping the stress would be worth it in the end.

“Dad, we gotta fly up to Athens.”

“Son, what’s going on with Payton, where is my phone? WHERE IS MY PHONE?” he yelled out.

“Dad, Dad, it’s all taken care of.”

“What do you mean it’s all taken care of? We gotta fly up to Athens and you’re not making any sense, boy.”

What could I say right then and there, something he could forgive me for? Something that would give him the urgency to move quickly forward.