The Art of Life (10 page)

               
She
crosses her arms.
 
“What did you do!?”

               
“Hi,
I am Jeremy.”
 
Jeremy walks over to my
mom and sticks out his hand.
 
I quickly
run after him.
 
“I took Isabelle to get
her hair done today.
 
Doesn’t she look
beautiful?”

               
I
watch with horror as my mom eyes Jeremy.
 
Suddenly, she gets a really wicked smile.
 
“Aren’t you scrumptious?
 
You said your name is Jeremy?”

               
“Yeah,”
he replies.

               
“I
am Isabelle’s mom, but you can call me Deanne.
 
Does anyone ever tell you, you have beautiful eyes?”

               
Oh
great.
 
“Mom, I just came to ask if I
could have some money”

               
“For what?”
She asks, turning to me.

               
Grimacing,
I say, “I need a flat iron, and well, a blow dryer and some brushes.
 
I just learned how to do my hair, but I don’t
have anything to do it with.”

               
“You
took her to get her hair done?” My mom inquires, looking at Jeremy.

               
“Yes,
I did.
 
I mean, I can buy her the
stuff.
 
It’s no problem,” he replies.

               
My
mom shakes her head.
 
“No, I will give
her some money.
 
I guess I should have
been the one who took her.”

               
“It’s
alright,” I say.
 
“I had fun.”

               
“Well,
you do look pretty,” my mom sighs.
 
“Why
don’t I just give you my debit card?
 
You
know the pin.”

               
Jeremy
steps forward.
 
“You are more than
welcome to come with.”

               
NO!
 
JEREMY!
 
I quickly stutter, “It’s alright.”

               
“Yeah
..well
, no, I am going to the bar…I mean, I am going to see
some friends.
 
I won’t be home until real
late,” my mom says quietly.

               
“It’s
fine.
 
I think we are going to get
something to eat, too.
 
Unless you want me to cook something?”
I ask Jeremy.
 
“I did just go grocery shopping.”

               
Smiling,
Jeremy says, “No, you look wonderful.
 
We
have to show you off.”

               
“I
think she needs to show you off,” My mom laughs.
 
“You sure got yourself a yummy boyfriend.”

               
“Oh,”
I interrupt, “He’s not my…”

               
Stopping
me, Jeremy says, “Thank you, but I am the lucky one to have such a beautiful
girlfriend.”
              

               
“Thanks,”
I whisper, looking at him.
 
He just winks
in reply.

               
“Let
me get my debit card,” My mom mumbles, as she steps to the front door.
 
Her footing slips a little.
 
Oh no, she has been drinking already.

               
I
run up to her.
 
“Mom, umm, do you want us
to drive you to your…friends?
 
Maybe you
shouldn’t drive.”

               
In an instant her personality changes.
 
“Why would I need a ride?”

               
“Mom,”
I hiss quietly.
 
“You can’t drive like
this.
 
What if you get pulled over?”

               
Pulling
the door open, my mom growls, “I will call a taxi.”

               
My
heart
 
breaks
.
 
I look at Jeremy.
 
I can only imagine what he is thinking.
 
His eyes lock on mine, and he gives me a soft
smile.
 
As my mom walks into the house,
he simply walks up to me.
 
Wrapping his
arms around me, he whispers, “See, I am not going anywhere.”

               
Wrapping
my arms around him, I reply, “Thank you.”
 
As I let go, I say, “She is having a good day.
 
Most of the time she is mean and nasty.”

               
“Well,
we will get going and finish having a great day.
 
We don’t need to think about this.”

               
“Thanks,”
I sigh.
 
“Come on, she gets distracted
easily, usually by a liquor bottle.
 
It’s
the weekend.
 
There isn’t anything to
hold her back.”

               
Opening
the door, I step inside with Jeremy right behind me.
 
“So, this is my house,” I say, shutting the
door.
 
“I do all the cleaning, so if
something is messed up.
 
I am sorry.”

               
“I
want to see your room,” Jeremy states.
 
“Is it upstairs?”
 
He starts to
walk to the steps.

               
“Why
in the world would you want to see my room?” I ask, dodging in front of him to
block his way.

               
He
keeps walking, pushing me to the stairs.
 
“Because, we are friends now, and friends need to see each other’s
lives.
 
I will show you mine, if you show
me yours.”

               
“What!?”
I gasp.

               
“I
will show you my apartment, if you show me your room,” he laughs.

               
Trying
to hold him still, I say, “No.”

               
Suddenly,
he picks me up and throws me over his shoulder.
 
“Yes.”

               
“Jeremy!”
I try to not yell so loud.

               
He
laughs and just goes up the steps.
 
He is
so going to drop me. I am going to die.
 
I am going to fall down the steps and die.
 
“Which door is it?” Jeremy asks, as we
finally get to the top.

               
“Put
me down!” I demand.

               
So,
he does.
 
“Which one is it?”

               
“This
one,” I sigh, gesturing to the door behind him.
 
“No one has been in my room since I was 13.
 
I wasn’t expecting company.”

               
“It’s
fine,” Jeremy says.
 
“Wait until you see
my apartment.
 
It looks like NO ONE has
been in there in 13 years.
 
I need to
clean it, but always seem to get sidetracked.”

               
That
makes me smile, “But remember, I owe you one.
 
So, I have to clean it.”

               
Getting
a very devious grin on his face, Jeremy snickers, “That’s right.
 
Oh, do you have your hands full.”

               
I
shake my head and open my bedroom door.
 
A knot of nervousness sits in my stomach.
 
“So, this is my art.”

               
“Oh
..my…
gosh…Isabelle.
 
This is…just amazing.”
 
Jeremy
walks over to the first wall.
 
Every
single one of my walls is covered in my art.
 
My best pieces are framed.
 
The
rest are collages.
 
Ever so carefully, he
looks at each picture.
 
“I am going to
give you one promise,” Jeremy whispers.

               
“What’s
that?” I ask, walking over to him.

               
Turning
to look at me, Jeremy says, “I am going to do everything in my power to make
sure you go to school for this.
 
I mean
it.”

               
“I
wish,” I reply.
 
“That would be
a dream come
true.”

               
“We
will get you there, even if I have to sell some of my organs.”

               
That
makes me laugh.
 
“Only
if they are the good organs.”

               
Jeremy smiles.
 
He
goes back to looking at the framed pieces.
 
“I could spend the rest of the night looking at your work.
 
I would say we should get a bottle of wine
and do just that, but alas, you are still but a child.”

               
I
slap him on the shoulder.
 
“I am only
three years younger than you!”

               
“Yeah,
I know,” he chuckles.
 
“You still have so
much to learn, grasshopper.”

               
Narrowing
my eyes, I have to ask.
 
“Is that how you
view me?
 
A child?”

               
“What?”
He responds, turning to look at me.

               
“Nothing,”
I say, shaking my head.
 
Pointing to the
frame next to Jeremy, I tell him, “This is my favorite piece.
 
She was this little old lady that I volunteered
with.
 
Well, let me back up, a year ago I
volunteered at a hospice facility.
 
Her
name was Rita.
 
She was the sweetest old
lady, and had the best stories to tell of her life.
 
The thing is her family had nothing to do
with her.
 
She was all alone and
dying.
 
It broke my heart.
 
We became really good friends.
 
I stayed with her and was actually there when
she died.
 
Otherwise, she would have been
alone.
 
I couldn’t volunteer there
anymore after that.
 
She was the closest
thing I had to a grandma.
 
It wasn’t for
that long, but she left a big mark on me.”

               
Jeremy
looks very carefully at the sketching.
 
“It is very hard to watch someone die.”

               
“It
is,” I reply.
 
“Especially
when it’s someone so innocent, sweet and a good person.
 
It seems almost wrong.”

               
Suddenly
standing up straight, Jeremy takes in a sharp breath.
 
“Yeah, death can be…..very unfair.”

               
“Have
you ever lost anyone?” I ask.

               
Stepping
over to look at more of my art, Jeremy doesn’t say anything for a minute.
 
Finally, he quietly answers, “I think we have
all lost someone at some point.”

               
Suddenly,
my door opens farther.
 
“This is the
first time that I have ever had to worry about a boy being in your room.”

               
We
turn to see my mom.
 
She has a drink in
one hand and her debit card in the other.
 
“Jeremy is just looking at my work,” I say.

               
“Well,
even so, I think it’s time we talked about birth control.”

               
Oh
lord have
mercy on me!
“MOM!”
I yell.
 
“You don’t say stuff like that
in front of people!”

               
Jeremy
snorts behind me.
 
“Madam, you do not
need to worry about such things.”

               
“So,
you are supplying the protection?” My mom slurs a little.
 
“You better be.”

               
I
am going to die.
 
“Mom, we aren’t having
sex.
 
Don’t be ridiculous.”

               
“I
watch TV.
 
I know what goes on these
days, all those people your age being promiscuous!”