Blissfully Ignorant

Three: Corina

“Hey Richard,” Jasmine calls out, “You sure you didn’t marry the wrong person?”

Richard laughs. “You know what? I’m actually beginning to consider that.” He turns to Jerome with a suggestive expression, making all of us crack up.

“I’ll take that as the cue for us to leave,” Jerome offers, hugging Jasmine just as Kayn shows up, with a tired Jane behind him.

When we’re about to pile up into Kayn’s black range rover, Jasmine pulls me to the side.

“Corina,” she whispers so that no one can overhear us, “Are you sure you and Jerome aren’t...?”

I nod firmly. “Last time I checked,” I smile, “We were just friends.”

Jasmine lets out a tiny breath. “Well, okay, whatever you say. I know this might be really stupid of me but... Can you something for me?”

“Yeah?” I ask a bit unsurely.

“You’re going to that summer camp at Amana, right?”

“Hopefully,” I answer.

“Great,” she suddenly looks excited, “So when you reach there, there will be facilitators and stuff for the camp, right? What you have to do is... ask for Colin, okay?”

“Ask for...Colin?” I parrot cluelessly.

“Yup!” Jasmine beams, “Ask for Colin. And then meet him and then...um... I think you’ll get it once you meet him.”

“I’ll get what?” I ask in confusion.

She laughs. “You’ll get what I’m trying to do. Now shoo, bye!”

“Where were you today?”

I sigh, sitting down on the couch in my living room. “Jerome’s cousin’s wedding,” I tell mom, smiling in excitement, “Her name’s Jasmine and she’s amazing! And the guy she married is amazing too! He’s an African American, mom, how cool is that? They’re like…in love with each other! You could practically see the affection burning in their eyes and-,”

Mom interrupts with a small laugh. “Breathe, Cory, breathe,” she advises, sitting down next to me and tucking my dark hair behind me ears. I’m already back in my casual clothes, some of the many I’ve left in Jerome’s house over the years.

“It’s your first wedding,” Mom muses, laughing quietly to herself. “How did it feel?”

“Amazing!” I repeat, smirking at my rather restricted vocabulary.

Mom rolls her eyes at me. “I heard. And did Jerome behave himself?”

“Yeah!” I retort proudly, feeling a small amount of annoyance towards mom’s question. It’s a sort of ritual for mom to ask if Jerome behaved himself every time I spend the day with him. It’s like she’s expecting my best friend to suddenly rape me.

I almost gag at the idea.

“Why so repulsed?” Mom asks curiously, not letting my latest actions go unnoticed.

“Nothing,” I reply, blushing slightly. “It’s just that you keep asking if Jerome behaves himself and…”

“He’s a boy, Cory,” Mom explains patiently. I wait expectantly but nothing more comes.

“That’s it?” I quirk an eyebrow, “All you have to say is that he’s a boy?”

Mom shrugs. “I’m pretty sure you can figure out the rest yourself.”

I groan. She’s right.

Getting up, Mom turns around slowly in our modest living room, before looking at me with her hands on her hips. “So what’s for dinner today?”