Hurricane Watch:

I dragged Jim outside. I breathed out hard. Your grandfather stared at me the whole time. I looked up and noticed his face.

�What?� I asked. Jim had a serious look on his face.

�Why did you do all of that?� he asked. I pushed back my bangs from my eyes.

�He has no right to talk to you like that,� I said in a strong rhythm.

�What?� Jim asked. I whipped my head to him.

�Sure, you�re black and I�m white,� I went on. �But who is he to say we can�t be together because of it? Huh/� Your grandfather looked at me with those puppy dog eyes of his.

�Starlette�� he murmured. I flipped back my blonde hair.

�Now come on,� I said. �We have a party to go to, don�t we?�

�Yeah�� he said.

�Well, let�s go,� I said. �The night�s still young!� I marched off down the street. Your grandfather followed behind.

�And you�re sure about this?� he asked.

�Yes!� I said.

�We could just��

�I don�t want to talk about it anymore, Jim. Drop it!�

�But��

�Drop it!�

�Okay��

�Which house is the party at?� I asked.

�That�s at Jazz�s house,� Jim said.

�Jazz?� I asked. �Who is that?�

�She was in our class, remember?� Jim asked.

�Was she?� I asked.

�Yeah,� he said. �She was mixed.�

�You don�t say,� I said.

�That�s right,� Jim said.

�Okay then,� I said. �Where�s the house?�

�Follow me,� your grandfather said. Then, he took the lead. My usual doubts of when he did so stayed quiet for a change. I guess my high from my rebellion from daddy hadn�t come down yet. That night opened up a new world.

Jazz lived on the other side of town in a shady neighborhood. I did my best to swallow my prejudice. Your grandfather looked at me and smirked.

�Having second thoughts?� he asked. I stuck my tongue out at him.

�No!� I said.

�You sure?�

�Just ring the doorbell!�

�Okay, okay.� Jim rang the bell. The door opened up to us. A pretty face peeked out at us through the crack. Jim smiled and waved.

�Hi,� he said. �We�re here for the party.� The door opened wide for us. Seeing Jazz�s fat face sparked a little memory in my head. She looked over at me.

�Jim, who�s this?� she asked. Your grandfather smiled at her.

�This is my girlfriend, remember?� he said. I smiled and gave her a nervous wave.

�Hi,� I said. Jazz�s face didn�t change. She stepped aside.

�Come on,� she said. Jim smiled and bowed his head and dragged me inside. The smell of smoke smacked me in the face. I coughed and panted for air. Jim tightly squeezed my hand.

�I�ll take you outside,� he whispered to me. I was amazed I could hear him over the pounding Run DMC over the stereo. I nodded at him. I felt my feet moving forward. The smoke smell got worse with each step. I took in heavier breaths. My head began to ache because of it.

�Hang on,� your grandfather said. �We�re almost outside.� I nodded as I panted harder. Just one more step�

A cool breeze tickled me across the cheeks. I took a deep breath out.

�Better?� Jim asked. I nodded at him.

�Yeah!� I said. I opened my eyes and saw your grandfather smiling at me. Felt good to be free in that moment, let me tell you.

1984