In the glow of the lamp, she read her literature text – Tomorrow was a test and she strove always to gain good marks. A customer stopped by and she put down her book to sell from her mother’s small road side stall – a night stand that sold the tastiest black and white pudding, a West Indian delicacy. On this Sunday night, her mother was working the night shift as a security guard so it was Olivia’s turn to sell at the night stand. She always brought her books along to read, not wanting to miss those hours of study as she helped her single mother to earn an extra dollar that guaranteed her an education, however small. To be poor forever was not an option for her. Her young heart was desirous of being someone of worth in this life, changing a culture of single motherhood and poverty. Learning for her became a passion and books she read enriched her mind, sentiments she would write in her journal. 

“My feet have walked in mud long enough, my stockings darned too many times, I will wear ballet shoes and dance to the music of success so for me there can be fresh roses, not stones.”
Tears and pain of the mother for her own mistakes like pebbles in a stream, gave the young girl a determination and mental strength to clear her path. They wooed her, young men, time and time again, the pretty 16-year old she was and calmly she always said ‘no’.
“If I succumb to a wild and exciting life at this young age,” she told herself, “what do I do with the rest of my life when the fun is over?”
The night wore onto ten o’clock, time to pack and go home, affording her a couple more hours of study time. As she busied herself with the straw baskets, a gleaming white Tundra pulled up and she sighed, annoyed.
“Oh no! Not one of these big men to bother me again.”
But it was a young man dressed in the latest trends, tall and good looking, an East Indian guy, not from her world for sure.
“Wow!” was all she could say to herself.
“Hey.” he said.
She did not answer, a little bit lost for words until he said “Hey!” again.
“Oh.. hi, I’m sorry.” She said, fumbling with the baskets.
“Is this all you have to eat?”
“Yes.”
He bought some of the white pudding and ate lingeringly, savouring its deliciousness.
She looked at him, his expensive clothes and posh vehicle said ‘rich guy’ and she asked more out of concern than curiosity, “Are you lost?”
“Why would you think that?”
“A young, rich guy in this poor neighbourhood at this hour, buying from a road side stand-not normal.”
He sighed deeply, a worried look crossing his face.
“Okay, I’m lost, I’m tired and hungry and I don’t know where else to look for these guys.”
“Your friends?”
“Yeah, we were coming back from the races and without warning they pulled away at a very high speed. I’ve been looking for them, someone said they came this way.”
“Where are you from?”
“The West Coast.”
“You’re a long way from home,” she said feeling a bit worried for him. “What are you going to do now?”
“I don’t know, I just hope to God they don’t end up in an accident.”
She waited with him for a little while as he made a few calls from his cell phone then she said, “I have to go and I think you should too, it’s not quite safe here, alone.”
He looked at her and smiled a little, “Okay thanks.”
He drove off and she walked home, books in one hand and the baskets in the other.
She had a full week of studies, test and home chores but in little spare moments she thought of the cute guy from Sunday night and wondered if she’ll ever see him again.
“Nah,” she answered herself, “he was just lost.”
She was so engrossed the following Sunday night in a novel, she did not see him pull up in a black Allion until he was standing in front of her.
“Hi.”
She looked up, a bit startled, almost dropping the book.
“Oh, hey, I-I didn’t expect to see you again.”
He was looking even more handsome, his alluring look, taking her breath away.
“Be cool Olivia” she warned herself, “This is not for you.”
“Well, I had a good reason to come back,” he said casually, “a pretty one that is.”
She laughed, a little nervously, “Did you find your friends?”
“Oh yeah, the police had them locked up for the night and that was a good thing, they’ll learn a little lesson from that, I’m sure.”
He stayed for a while chatting, something new for her, talking that long with a strange boy, a rich boy whose family owned a chain of hardware stores and who lived in an upscale residential area. He came by often, bringing for her little gifts of books and chocolates and that’s how it all started, a nice casual friendship that became the talk of that poor housing area, a friendship her mother was not too pleased with.
“He’s out of your league, Olivia.”
“I know mom, he’s just a friend.”
“That’s the way it always begins.”
She knew her mother was right and though a new, beautiful feeling had budded in her heart from the first moment she saw him, caution for her became a key word. She couldn’t understand why he would come all this way to see her, a poor, black girl when he could have rich, glamourous girlfriends. Answers take a little while, sometimes to come but they do and one night as they sat alone by the roadside stand, he asked her “What do you want in life, Olivia?”
“Why do you ask?”
“You don’t talk much, you always smile, you’re pleasant but there’s a deep passion in you for something, what is it?”
She smiled wryly, “Should you ask? Look around you and look at me, who I am, now. I want to change this culture for me and for others. I want something new, to be somebody of real worth.”
He looked at her for a long moment, “You know since the first time I met you, I knew there was something different about you, something refreshing I haven’t seen in others, that’s the attraction that brings me all the way from the West Coast.
She did not say anything, not sure what to say.
He held her hand, “Olivia, I like you and I want you to be my friend, a special friend as you follow your dreams.”
She said ‘Yes’, happiness like a warm glow in her heart, having someone like him as a friend, the way it should be for now.
But when the day came to say ‘goodbye’, she felt she was losing the most wonderful thing of her life that she wanted to hold on.
He was leaving to study abroad.
“When do I see you again?” she asked, with a slight tremor in her voice.
“In five years and don’t be afraid, I won’t forget you, you’re my special friend.”
She watched him leave, taking a little part of that beautiful feeling within her, with him, until…..(To be continued)
Written By Maureen Rampertab