SMELLING ROSES

Chapter Three

Wren's friends were nice. They were the type of people I wished met in high school and coming from me, that was a big compliment.

"I'm like the cool older brother." Da-Bin was tall, olive-skinned, and covered in tattoos. He even carried himself like he was the eldest of the group.

Wren swiveled around from the passenger seat and patted Da-Bin's shoulder. "More like the quiet grandpa."

"And Wren's like the designated baby of the group," Valentina interjected. I was convinced summer was created for her. The way her tan skin shimmered in the sun, and how her jet back hair shined like silk only proved my point.

"Hey, how's that work?" Wren pressed his chest into the seat and pointed at her. "Last time I checked we were both twenty, so if I'm a baby, so are you."

She pointed back. "You act like you're the baby of the family. Just like I can already tell Nora's the oldest of her family."

When they looked at me, I chuckled. "She's right."

The jeep filled with laughter as Wren and Valentina bickered back and forth. The great thing about long car rides was how much you could learn about someone. The three of them met a few years ago in Da-Bin's garage, aka his illegal tattoo shop. He double-booked himself, and when Wren showed up for his appointment, he was only halfway through Valentina's piece. Three hours later, Da-Bin finished with Valentina, and she asked him out. That's when Wren raised hell.

"So, I was like, you want me to buy you dinner too?" Da-Bin said.

Valentina laughed. "And Wren was like 'yes.'"

Wren interjected himself right in the middle of their meet-cute. But I guess meet-cutes could exist in friendships too. They still had dinner with each other every Sunday. When the conversation moved to me, I realized how little I had to say about myself. I only talked about the restaurant.

"It's on Patterson's Alley," I said.

"Oh, that's the alleyway with just black-owned businesses," Da-Bin shouted from the front.

He'd been there to take piano lessons and wanted to show Wren and Valentina. Maybe they'd visit us. "Our restaurant's called Campbell's Home."

Talking about the restaurant made me think of my siblings. What were they up to? I wasn't one to stay out for too long, but other than Shae, no one had contacted me. With the day winding down, I wondered if they were even concerned. Do they ever worry about me too?

As Da-Bin cruised the neighborhood for a spot, my mouth fell agape. The party was in Grant Lake. The rich part of town. I stared in awe. The houses practically stood on stages. Lights highlighted their grandeur and their bright green grass cut with precision. Not a hair or stone out of place.

I felt the bass in my chest before I saw the house. Tucked in a corner, stood two stories of wealth and vain. They littered the lawn with cars and solo cups. Groups hung out outside and in the streets as Da-Bin came to a stop. "You guys go in. I'mma try to find somewhere to park."

Valentina and I hopped out. Somehow, the summer air felt better than the heat in Da-Bin's car. He was one of those lunatics who drove with their heat on hell all throughout the year.

Neither Valentina nor I wanted to come to this shindig, so we huddled together. The rowdy partygoers were enough to keep me outside forever, but when a girl threw up a bucket of beer, we hurried inside.

The host stood at the door. David Lawson. I knew him from high school. He was a bully. Not to me, but to anyone he felt threatened by. Always rich, always stupid, and always good-looking. And to my surprise, he remembered me too.