A Promise

Friday was finally here, and Marlon was excited because he was going to spend the weekend with his girlfriend, Alice. Alice and Marlon were going to enjoy a picnic on the beach on Saturday, and on Sunday, they would catch the new movie, Love You Much More, at a theatre close to her home.

Marlon met Alice last summer while volunteering at the animal shelter where she worked. They hit it off right away, and about two weeks after meeting, they went on their first date.

Alice has been driving him home after school for the past two Fridays. It was her idea to pick him up every day after school, but Marlon had after-school band classes from Monday to Thursday, so they'd agreed to her picking him up only on Fridays after school.

Although Alice was a year older than him, she was a little shorter in height and looked about two years younger than her nineteen years. She was slender, with soft brown eyes, the same colour as her skin tone. Naturally thick eyebrows, a flat forehead, and straight black shoulder-length hair were all hers. He refused to believe she was older than him until she showed him her ID.

Marlon was of average height, with a hi-top fade hairstyle. He inherited his barely visible eyebrows from his Mom and his heart-shaped face from his Dad.

He was walking to the school's parking lot with his best friend Stacy when she lightly touched him on the shoulder and said,

"Talk with you later and stop smiling like a giddy head little boy. Young love..." she shook her head, smiling as she stepped off the pavement and made her way to the dark blue minivan waiting for her.

The parking lot was filled with vehicles and chattering students as they too made their way to their vehicles. He knew Alice would be there sitting in her red hatchback, Ford Focus, waiting for him.

"Yeah, later," he called after Stacy, smiling again.

He adjusted the black and white backpack on his shoulders and quickly scanned the parking lot for Alice's car. It was about five vehicles down from where he was, and he forced himself to keep from running to her. He could not see her in the driver's seat because of the tinted windows.

He finally reached the car and pulled the handle on the front passenger side, and to his surprise, the door did not swing open. He waited for a few seconds and then tried it again, but the door still did not move. He tapped lightly with his knuckles on the window, and after waiting for a few more seconds, he pulled at the handle and, this time, the door opened. He took off his backpack and lowered his body into the light-grey familiar seat. He placed his bag between his legs on the car's floor.

"Hi," he said, looking over and smiling at Alice.

She did not return his greeting nor his smile.

"What was that?" she asked, pointing somewhere beyond the windshield.

He turned his head to see where she had pointed, but he saw nothing unusual.

"Where?" he asked.

"You think I'm foolish, don't you, Marlon?" she asked.

"What are you talking about?"

He had seen her upset before, but she had never been upset with him. He shifted in his seat.

"I was sitting right here when I saw the two of you," she said.

"The two of you..." Marlon quietly repeated as he racked his brain to figure out what had caused his girlfriend to be upset with him.

"I saw how she touched you and how you smiled at her," she said, her voice rising.

Understanding slowly filled his mind.

"You're talking about Stacy?" he asked as his smile returned.

As though engaged by lightning, Alice's hand flew from its position on her lap and slapped him across the face. The action was so sudden and swift that it took Marlon a few seconds to realize what had happened. Then, she hit him again, and she was in the act of doing it a third time when he caught her hand. She struggled to pull it away from him, but he held fast.

"Let go of me," she commanded.

"Are you going to hit me again?" he asked.

"Let go of me," she said, breathing heavily, "or I'll scream."

Marlon looked around him to see if anyone was staring through the tinted windows. No one was looking at them. He turned back to her, and he saw that her beautiful face was covered with anger, as she glared at him. He studied her face for a few seconds before letting go of her hand. He picked up his backpack and turned to open the door.

Alice grabbed him by his shirt collar.

"Where are you going?" she demanded.

He opened the door and pulled his body out of the car, and about five minutes later, he was standing at a bus stop. The bus would take him to the main terminal, and from there, he would catch a bus that would take him home. Both students and adults were standing there, and Marlon recognized a few faces from his classes.

He stepped closer to the edge of the road to see if a bus was coming, but he did not see one, but he recognized Alice's car driving towards him. He stepped away from the curb as she stopped the car, and after rolling down the window, she called,

"Marlon, get in. You don't have to take the bus. I'll take you home."

"Nice ride, and driver too," someone said from the crowd.

"Thanks," Alice said, without losing eye contact with Marlon.

Marlon opened his mouth to say, "No thanks," but before he could say it, Alice spoke again.

"Please," she pleaded, biting her lower lip.

Marlon's heart melted.

"Okay," he murmured and made his way to his previous seat.

They were pulling away from the curb when the public bus pulled up to the bus stop.

Alice drove in silence for several minutes, and Marlon stared straight ahead.

"I'm sorry," Alice said quietly.

"What was that?" he asked, turning to look at her.

She cleared her throat.

"I'm sorry for slapping you," she said, taking her eyes off the road for a few seconds.

Marlon stared at her for a few seconds before slowly nodding.

"Okay," he said.

Alice slowly sighed, and her body shook before she burst out crying.

"Why are you crying? Don't cry," he said, "it's okay. I accept your apology."

"Things are horrible at home," she managed to say through tears, "I think that this time my parents will get a divorce."

Marlon quietly exhaled as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"I've never seen things this bad between them," Alice said.

"How can I help?" he asked, reaching out his hand and gently wiping away tears that had fallen on her cheek.

She grabbed hold of his hand and kissed it.

She held on to his hand.

"Just be there for me," she said, as she fought to stop the tears, "I don't want us to fight. I love you."

Her words tugged at his heart, and the slow slumping of his body reflected it.

"Okay," he said, "let's not fight. I love you, too."

She kissed his hand again.

"Do you want to stop at the playpark parking lot? I don't have to be home right away," Marlon said.

Alice nodded yes, and they drove in silence for a few minutes as she struggled to stop her tears from falling.

Shortly afterwards, she pulled the car off the road and into the familiar parking lot.

Alice parked the car, and they left the vehicle for the backseats and within seconds, they were in each other arms, kissing hungrily.

When they finally parted, Marlon slumped back in the car seat with Alice's head resting on his chest. They were quiet for several minutes when Alice said, "I hate myself for being so jealous all of the time."

"Then stop it," Marlon said, "you don't need to be jealous. Stacy and I have been friends since kindergarten. She's my best friend, nothing more, and I've told you that before."

"I know, I know," she said, then lifting her head to look at him, she said, "I want you to promise me that no matter how crazy I get, you will not give up on us. You will not let me go."

Marlon gazed into her eyes and said, "I promise."

He slowly lowered his head and kissed her.

A few minutes passed before they parted again, and Marlon asked, "are we still on for the weekend?"

"Of course we are. What time do you want me to pick you up tomorrow?"

"Maybe eleven?" he asked.

"Eleven is good," Alice said before she went for his lips again.

For Marlon, Saturday at the beach and Sunday at the theatre were like a dream come through. On Saturday, Alice picked him up at eleven, and they drove to the beach. Although the famous beach was already packed with people when they arrived, there was still plenty of room to set up the beach umbrella and blanket Alice brought. He'd bought the burgers and fries for them from a drive-thru, while they made their way to the beach. The pop and white plastic cups came from his home.

Marlon's Mom knew about Alice, but she had never met her. He wanted to introduce her to his Mom, but the timing never seemed to be the right time. Of course, he was hoping that the timing would be right soon.

They found the perfect spot, set up the umbrella and blanket and sat next to each other, holding hands. He asked her about her parents, but she did not want to talk about them.

"Dad did not come home last night, but for today and tomorrow, I don't want to talk about them. I want to talk about us," was all she would say about them.

Marlon's response with, "Okay."

They played in the water, chased each other out of the water, and even joined in on a game of cricket with other beachgoers.

On Sunday, at the theatre, they held hands throughout the film, and he enjoyed the show more than he thought he would. They ate caramel popcorn and pop and kissed a few times.

When the movie was over, she drove him home.

"I love being with you, and I don't know if I can wait until Friday to see you again," Alice said.

"I know what you mean, I feel the same way about you too, but before we know it, Friday will be here because both of us will be busy with other things, and the days will fly by."

"I know, I know," Alice said, exhaling softly.

Silence filled the car for a few seconds then Alice spoke again.

"I'll try to see if we can get together next Wednesday after your band practice."

Marlon thought for a few seconds, then refrain from saying that he and Stacy were going to grab some fast food on Wednesday. That's what they do on the last Wednesday of every month. However, he remembered Alice's reaction to Stacy last Friday therefore he kept quiet.

"Okay," he said, "you can text me and let me know if you can."

"Okay," she said after a moment's pause.

They talked for a few more minutes, then kissed before saying goodbye. Marlon hummed as he walked to the apartment he lived in with his Mom.

On Monday, Marlon jogged to Stacy at her locker. They chatted for a few minutes before he said, "I might have to cancel on us for Wednesday."

"What? Why?" Stacy asked, "Do you have an emergency?"

"Well, not really... uh... Alice wants us to get together," he said, smiling sheepishly.

"Oh," she said, slowly letting out the breath she was holding and removing the hand she'd placed on her chest."

"Can't get enough of each other, eh?" She asked.

"Something like that," he said, still smiling.

"Okay," she said, "this time, I'll forgive you, but you're not cancelling on me next month, come whatever may."

"You're the best," he said, as he replaced his sheepish smile with his usual "cool guy" smile, "but we might still go, though. She would text me to let me know."

"Okay," Stacy said as the school bell rang, "keep me in the loop."

"Okay," Marlon said, and they headed off to their first block of the day.

Marlon and Alice texted and talked on the phone both Monday and Tuesday, and when he texted her on Wednesday morning to find out if they were getting together, she replied that she could not make it. So, he and Stacy were still on for their once-a-month time together.

Since kindergarten, Stacy and Marlon have been best friends, and whenever his male friends ask about their relationship, he would reply, "we are just friends, guys."

They would laugh and say, "You love her like the sister you never had, right?"

"No, she's my friend. There's a bond between us that I can't explain," he'll reply.

He knows Stacy felt the same way about him because she'd expressed that much.

A few years ago, when they were in grade six, two classmates made a pack to break up their friendship. So, they began by trying to keep them apart during break and lunch periods. They would steer them in the opposite direction under the pretense of wanting their attention, and this went on for a week.

On Saturday morning, around nine, shortly after Stacy and her family sat down for breakfast, the doorbell to their three-bedroom apartment door rang.

"Marlon," Stacy exclaimed, "what are you doing here?"

He had breakfast with Stacy and her family, and afterwards, when they were watching a movie, they decided that on the last Wednesday of the month, because the last day of that month was a Wednesday, they would get together, talk, and eat. So, they've kept to that until recently when Marlon said they might not get together. However, they were back on, and after band class, they walked to the restaurant close to their school.

They quickly found a window seat in the busy restaurant with their burgers, chips, chicken and drinks.

"Stacy," Marlon said, picking up one of his fries, "you and Terry have been dating for about a year now, right,"

"Yeah," Stacy said, chewing a piece of chicken.

Marlon cleared his throat before saying, "I don't remember you saying he was jealous of our friendship."

"That's because I never told you so," Stacy replied, smiling.

Marlon ate a few chips, then asked, "Well, is he, or was he?"

Stacy studied his face for a few seconds before asking,

"Is Alice jealous of our friendship?"

"Yeah," he replied, "I told her we're just friends, but it's no use."

Marlon slowly exhaled as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"I see," Stacy said, wiping her hands on a tissue.

"I want the two of you to be friends," he said.

"Hey," Stacy said, "What about the four of us going on that double date we've talked about but haven't done? Then, she and I will get to know each other."

A smile spread across Marlon's face, and his shoulders dropped as though he'd just dropped a heavy load.

"You're the best," he said, pointing at her, "How do you do it?"

"Do what?" she asked, returning his smile.

"How you do always come up with the perfect answers."

"Well," Stacy said, still smiling, "it just comes naturally, you know. It's a gift that I was born with."

Marlon laughed.

"There you are," Stacy said, staring at him, "I haven't heard you laugh like that in a little while."

Marlon continued to laugh.

Later that day, Marlon texts Alice, but she does not reply. He called her, but she did not answer. The same thing happened on Thursday and Friday morning, and he struggled with a headache that refused to go away.

"I'm going to go over to her place after school," Marlon said, pulling out his cell phone from the back pocket of his blue jeans.

"Do you think that's a good idea," Stacy asked, moving forward in the school's cafeteria lunch line.

"What choice do I have," he asked, scanning his phone before replacing it in his pocket.

"Maybe she's grounded or something," Stacy suggested, "and you going to her home might only make it worst."

"But I can't just do nothing," Marlon said, frustration mounting in his voice.

"She's been picking you up from school on Fridays, right?"

"Yes?" he answered.

"Then wait and see if she comes today and if she doesn't, I'll go with you to her house on Saturday."

"You'll do that for me?" Marlon asked, gazing at her.

"Marlon, of course, I would," she replied, frowning at him, "anyway, with me being there, it might go over smother with her parents."

"Thanks," Marlon said, "I keep telling you that you're the best."

After school, Marlon hurried to the school's parking, looking for Alice's red hatchback. He exhaled quietly and didn't stop himself from running over to the car.

He tapped lightly on the front passenger side of the window before pulling at the handle. The door opened, and he climbed inside.

Marlon quickly took in her appearance of a white shirt and long pink pants, but his eyes settled on her face.

"I've been texting and calling you since Wednesday," he said, "haven't you been getting them."

"You have time to stop at the park?" she asked, turning the key in the ignition.

"Yeah, sure," he said.

Alice filled the car with music and drove out of the parking lot.

When they arrived, the parking lot was packed, and they quickly realized that a baseball match was taking place on the pitch in the park. Nevertheless, Alice found a parking spot and turned off the engine.

Marlon turned to open the door when she asked,

"Do you think that I'm a fool, Marlon?"

Marlon turned to face her, and he involuntarily jumped when he saw anger plaster on her face.

She slapped him.

"Stop it," he exclaimed, "stop hitting me."

"You deserve more than a slap. How can you do this to me?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked, trying to keep his rising anger out of his voice.

To Be Continued...