The Anniversary

“I made my millions after Simone and I got married. She’s no gold-digger, Emil, unless she’s psychic that was going to happen.”

“I still worry about it. I love both of you and I don’t want either of you hurt because of those people.”

“If my parents don’t want to be involved then they’re missing out on their grandchildren growing up, not me.” Toby shrugged. “We’ve got Simone’s parents. That’s all we need.”

“If you say so.” Emil glanced up at the sky. “But something’s telling me a storm is coming and someone is going to be saying ‘I told you so’.” He held up his glass. “Fancy a refill?”

“Please.”

Emil stood and walked inside. Toby sat and watched the people on the golf course below as they started on their eighteen holes. Emil had a point and he wasn’t often wrong when something was going to happen.

Toby hoped he was wrong this time, though.

*****

Charlotte Panattoni giggled and nudged Carl.

“Look out, she’s coming.”

Carl didn’t need to guess who Charlotte was talking about. Nevertheless, he looked around. Chestnut brown hair, porcelain skin with big blue eyes, combined with a petite body in a baby blue t-shirt with a black ruffled skirt and leggings, black pumps on her feet. She was further up the corridor talking to one of her friends, a bottle-blonde with makeup slightly on the heavy side wearing jeans two sizes too small and a red check shirt.

Carl felt his face going red and turned back to his locker, trying to focus on sorting his books.

“Yeah?” He tried to sound nonchalant but failed. “And?”

“Oh, come on, Carl!” His best friend nudged him playfully, her red braids swinging across her shoulders. “You’re not going to be shy now, are you?”

“I’m not.”

“Liar.”

Carl groaned. He loved Charlotte – she was like a sister to him – but since she had discovered that Carl had a crush on cheerleader Louise Reveley Charlotte had gone out of her way to try and get Carl to talk to Louise. She mentioned her in every other conversation and pointed her out whenever she could as if that would get Carl’s confidence up. Carl simply mumbled and tried to change the subject but Charlotte seemed intent on getting him to approach Louise.

Carl knew it would never happen. Louise was popular, smart and hung around with people who thought Carl was below them because he was mixed-race. Carl was smart, yes, and was popular with his group of friends but they didn’t cross paths on a regular basis. It was just a crush that made Carl feel like he had worn jeans that were a little too tight. It would die away eventually.

He had been telling himself that all year.

Plus Louise had an on-off boyfriend. Jason Tyrie was the star quarterback and it was clear he didn’t like Carl. Carl could hold his own in a fight but Jason was something else. So Carl kept out of Jason’s way. Talking to his on-off girlfriend was not going to help.

Besides, Carl had no idea what to say to Louise beyond the usual greeting. It was frustrating and caused him no end of grief. He kept playing over and over in his mind what he would say but it never happened when the time came. His parents were figuring out that something was wrong but Carl wasn’t sharing this with them; it was too embarrassing.

He should never have confessed to his best friend.

“Don’t do this to me, Charlie, please.” Carl stuffed the books he needed into his bag and shut his locker, slipping the padlock on. “Louise is out of my league and you know it.”

“I don’t think so.” Charlotte rolled her eyes. She hugged her books to her chest and leaned her shoulder against the lockers, giving Carl a disbelieving look. “She’s a nice girl and you like her and from what I’ve seen she likes you. What’s the problem?”

“Girls like Louise don’t date guys like me.”

That was another reason to keep quiet. Things weren’t as difficult as they had been when his parents were in high school but racial tensions were still there. And Carl straddled both black and white. That was simply an abomination, according to a few of Louise’s friends.

How would he expect to date someone like Louise when even her friends thought she shouldn’t?

“You mean guys with a rich parentage?” Charlotte queried. She grinned, her eyes twinkling. “If they’re anything like you, they’re smoking hot.”

“Don’t be silly.”

Carl turned away. Suddenly he felt a shove in his back and he stumbled. Catching his footing before he fell flat on his face, Carl turned to glare at Charlotte. He had turned halfway before he collided with someone, someone smaller and slimmer than Charlotte.

Carl caught a whiff of a distinctive perfume and knew why Charlotte had pushed him.

He took a step back, rubbing the back of his neck as his face went red.

“Oh, hi, Louise.”

Louise shifted her books in her arms and gave him a sweet smile.

“Hi, Carl.”

Carl swallowed. For one of the more eloquent people in his class he was tongue-tied around the prettiest girl in the year.

“Erm…” He coughed. “You okay?”

“I’m good. You?”

“Yeah. Swell.” Carl tried not to scowl at Charlotte, who was grinning like the Cheshire cat. “You…you going to be in algebra later?”

Almost immediately he wanted to kick himself. Why the hell did he say that?

“Of course.” Louise grinned and walked past him, flicking her eyes over him. “I’ll see you there.”

“Yeah. See you there.”

Carl watched her go, sure that her hips were swaying more than normal. He tore his eyes away and shoved his hands into his pockets. Thankfully he had chosen to wear jeans that were a little baggy or his ere*tion would be on display.

Charlotte laughed and sauntered up to him.

“For the smoothest of people who could talk himself out of situations, you are such a tongue-tied dummy.”

“Leave off, Charlie.” Carl nudged her with his arm as they normally did when they were about to part ways. “I’ve got to get to English.”

He was sure Charlotte was still laughing at him as he walked away. If the roles had been reversed and Charlotte was all gooey-eyed over a boy Carl would have been the same. But Charlotte was a confident girl whose bubbly personality got her a lot of boys. Everyone liked her.

Carl wished that could happen with him. Girls liked him and talked to him but getting a date was next to impossible due to his heritage. A lot of white girls didn’t want to date someone who was black, much less mixed race. And black girls thought Carl was beneath them because of his white father. They thought he was a sweet lad but they wouldn’t go further than that.

Carl understood that but it still hurt.