PINTA PARADE

The Saturday after Sister Act I call Renae up. I ask her if she had a good time last night.

“I got home then went to the couch and watched old reruns of Beverly Hills 90210. I then fell asleep thinking about you. I woke up at 4, took my contacts out and went to bed.”



She says that she got four hours of sleep before her speech tournament.

         “When I got up in front of the classroom and in front of the judges I just pretended that you were right there in front of me smiling.” She says. I look into the mirror, squinting, smiling at my profession.

 

            “Atta girl.” I think to myself.

            “How’d you do?” I ask.

            “I go first place in dramatic monologue.”

            Once again, I smile. I smile at her, over the phone, telling her that I love her afterwards. When I ask her if she liked her Shakespeare Sister CD she makes a nasal drone indicating that it wasn't as good as she had hoped.

  

 

“I had a really good time last night. I really enjoyed being next to you.” 

 

Renae asks me if I know what. I respond by saying what.

“When I go to bed every night I close my eyes and I feel you kiss my forehead.”

Rhetorically Renae asks me if I know what again. Again I respond by saying what.

I ask Renae what room of the house she is in. She says that she is  in her bedroom. I ask her to do a favor for me. She says yes. I ask her to turn the lights of in her room and then get under the comforter. She says wait a minute. She then says she's here.

"Okay, can you hear me?"

Renae responds by saying yes

“Okay, now close your eyes. Now I want you to feel my hands squeezing your hand and my fingers groping and squeezing your fingers. I then what you to feel the top of my lips brush across your forehead slowly, touching every part of the forehead which is so big because your mommy used to wrap a pony tail holder around the top of your hea

I feel Renae's smile on the other rend of the phone.

I am tucking you in, angel. I am telling you everything is going to be alright. I am telling you how dear you are to me. You can feel all this as I bow my head in dereference and gratitude towards this woman I have found myself next to, the woman I was next to goodnight, the woman I couldn’t keep from touching, from kissing, from squeezing her hand in public, form holding her close.”

Renae is sighing. She is whimpering, SH is making little perched grunting sounds.

“Goodnight love.”

I say to her before pressing down the phone. The moment the phone is removed from my ear I hear a chirp on the opposite end of the phone.

 

It sounds like she is saying the same words to me.