Hood Ornaments

“Hey you. Where did you go?” Dell asked.

Tori swallowed hard and took a deep breath. It was then she realized she was angry and not upset.

“You still on the beach?!” She asked with a little more aggressiveness than usual.

“Yo, you okay?”

“I will be,” she said as she finally got to the floor that would lead to the boardwalk, “meet me at the steps on the boardwalk.”

“I’m already there.”

She pushed open those doors with the same anger she pushed open the first door. Dell was walking towards her. Tori picked up her pace a little bit, and when she reached Dell, she hugged him.

Hard.

And he held her until her breathing became steady.

“What the hell is goin on, Tori?”

“Nothin, Dell. Just walked my ex to the elevator.”

“Wait, what?”

“You heard me. He broke up with me.”

Dell took her hand and helped her down the steps onto the sand. It was while they were walking to the edge of the surf that Tori explained to Dell what Tony said to her.

Dell was stunned. They were quiet on the beach. They were quiet in the room as he packed up their belongings. Malik came in and the silence continued. They loaded up the car. It was obvious that Tori was irritated. After the guys got the rest of the car loaded up, they each took a seat. Malik was the first one to speak up.

“Tone joined the Army? I mean I saw him coming from that way one day, but I never thought he would do it.”

Tori muttered, “He does a lot of things we’d never thought he would do.”

Dell stood up and went to hug her.

“Don’t,” she said, “I managed to get through this without crying, but if you keep hugging me, I will.”

“So what are we going to do, sit in the room until he gets back?” Dell asked.

“Nope,” she said grabbing both of their hands, “We are going to that long walk on the beach, but first we gotta go get one of those plastic buckets. I want to collect some shells. Then we are going to iHop to smash some pancakes. I heard they have sweet potato ones now.”

Dell and Malik looked at each other and shrugged.

As long as she was okay, they were okay.

Tori looked at her phone again. Tony still had not texted nor called her. She sighed heavily and looked at the guys who were staring at her.

“Do you think the shops on the boardwalk are open?” She asked wincing.

“Prolly not,” Malik said with a smirk.

“Shit, what can I use to collect shells in?”

“Are you gonna be able to see the shells and shit?” Dell asked holding up a plastic ice bucket from their room.

“That’ll work,” Tori said happily as she grabbed the bucket, “And we shall see if I can see the sea shells.” Her words sang as they left out the door to go back to the beach.

.They had walked to the part of the beach where the boardwalk no longer had casinos, games, or rides but became the backyards to homes. The crew turned around and looked at the houses. Tori took notice of the large windows that faced the ocean.

She nudged Malik. “Imagine the beach as your backyard.”

Malik nodded, “Yeah sure beats the view of Winnie taking a piss in the alley.”

Tori playfully smacked Malik on his elbow, “Leave Winnie alone; he’s harmless.”

Dell turned Tori around by her elbow and pointed to the sky which was an exquisite palette of tangerine, pink, indigo and lavender hues, mirrored in the sea. The sun was blazing red-orange ball. “Imagine waking up to that every morning.”

Tori gasped, “My God that is gorgeous. I wish I had a camera.”

Dell watched the breeze mussing her hair, and her silhouette against the sunrise was picturesque, “So do I.”

Tori was a little shocked by that comment, but she just playfully smirked at Dell, who, in turn, kissed her softly. At first, that took her off guard, but then she kissed him back and smiled. Malik, oblivious to the situation, was still looking at the boards, finally turned around. “Damn, y’all look like a postcard.”

That made Tori and Dell laugh out loud. Then felt his cell was vibrating and he frowned slightly. Malik stopped Dell with a knowing nod, “It’s Tone, I told him to meet us at the car so we can go get breakfast. But they all lingered taking in the rising sun for just a few moments more.

Tone was really annoyed by the time they all returned to the parking garage. The only one who was spared his furrowed brow and mumbled sarcastic remarks was Malik, It made for an uncomfortable ride to the iHop. As they pulled into the parking lot, Tone decided to put aside his attitude for the first time.

“Yo, if y’all don’t mind, can we just go home? I know this trip isn’t about me, but I am really tired.”

Dell looked at Tori who kind of rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders, “We can always go to the diner after we drop everyone off?” He suggested.

Malik interjected, “Everyone? I wanted some pancakes!”

“Dag Malik, do you ever get full?” Tori asked giggling.

“Nah, not really. Should I be worried about that?”

“Ain’t that a sign of diabetes?” Dell asked.

Tori playfully slapped his arm, “No silly that’s when you’re thirsty all the time.”

Tony decided to play along, “Tapeworm?”

“That’s a myth.” Tori explained, “Tapeworms typically do the opposite by making you sick to your stomach.”

“How do you know all this shit, Tor?”

“I actually read Dell. You know spend time in the library. The big building with all the books?”

“Ha-Ha. You got jokes. Just for that you can buy your own pancakes.”

“Ugh, you suck,” Tori playfully replied.

“Apparently so,” Dell answered while looking in the rear view mirror. But Tony was sound asleep, Malik was on his way to sleep and Tori let out a yawn.

“Aw hell naw, y’all gonna have to wake up. I won’t have no one to talk to and I can’t fall asleep.

Tori crossed her arms in defiance, “Does that diner even have sweet potato pancakes?”

Dell sucked his teeth, “Don’t be mad at me.”

“I’m not mad; I am just asking.”

“You sound mad.”

Malik interjected, “Not for nothing Tor, iHop is a chain so the pancakes are probably a pre-made matter in a box. We are better off going to the diner and if they don’t have sweet potato, their blueberry ones are bangin.”

“I can’t believe you defiled my beloved pancake place,” Tori joked.

“I didn’t defile it,” Malik laughed along with her, “capitalism did.”

“I guess.” Dell muttered.

“The diner always has good food, and it has been owned by the same family for years.” Malik said convincingly.

“Okay, Leek, I believe you.” Tori said.

“I just didn’t want y’all to leave me behind.”

“Well she is good at that.” Tony muttered.

Dell frowned.

Tori spun around sharply, “Don’t start! You ain’t much better Tone. At least my leaving isn’t a complete and utter surprise.”

“Well once I go, you and Dell can be happy in Chicago together.”

“What the fuck, yo?!” Dell exclaimed.

“Chu mean what the fuck, bamma?! Don’t act like you ain’t know what you were doing.”

“What the fuck was that supposed to mean?!”

“Never mind Dell, you wouldn’t be shit if it wasn’t for your uncle.”

“And you still ain’t gonna be shit for Uncle Sam bitch ass!!”

The car got silent immediately.

And it stayed that way for miles, until Malik spoke up. “Guess you wide awake now huh, Dell?”

Dell smirked and muttered with a chuckle, “Leek, shut the fuck up, man.”

Tori wondered if Malik’s question was a glaring double entendre.

The crew ate breakfast and went back to their respective homes. It was time to rest and recoup from their rest and recouping time, for there was a lot to do. Tori had to start getting her things packed up for college. It was a melancholy moment for her. She would glance out of the window constantly in between unpacking her beach bag. The weatherman said it was going to rain for the next five days, so the skies stayed grey. No matter how much she looked for a glimmer of hope in the horizon, she couldn’t find one. So she searched her mind, which made her angry at Tony all over again. But then she searched her heart, and it was racing. She smiled and wondered if the racing was because of Dell. This made her sad, for she knew she was leaving. That made her wonder if what they had was strong enough to survive the separation, and that made her question what exactly they had.

That made her sleepy.

Or depressed.

She wasn’t sure which.

She decided to lie down on the window bench and stare into the sky looking for an answer.

She heard thunder.

Then it began to pour.

She curled up into a ball and attempted to go to sleep, but her mind kept racing back and forth between Tone and Dell. Her rational mind didn’t realize why it was such a conflict for her.

Tony didn’t want her.

Dell did.

But it wasn’t that simple.

It never was though was it?

It was at that point she heard her grandmother come up the stairs. Tori unraveled and propped herself on the window.

“Girl, that scares me; lean up against the wall,” Trudy chastised.

“I’m sorry Grandma.” She answered with a bit of sadness in her voice.

“What’s wrong? You didn’t have a good time.”

“I did but…”

Tori told Trudy the odd chain of events of that weekend, and her grandmother listened intently. When Tori sighed to punctuate the end of the story, Trudy giggled and kissed her granddaughter’s forehead.

“Give it about a month. None of this will matter. You are starting a whole new chapter of your life. You are going to meet different people from different parts of the country. Some of them you will have a lot in common with; the others you can learn from. But do not let this keep you down and out; let it raise you up higher.