Life With Nia | ONC 2020

Chapter 6

March 15th, 2019

When Darnell picked me up around six, I was standing in front of my house in a turtleneck and jeans, debating whether it was too late to call the whole thing off. I was thinking, when he pulled into the driveway, You know he won't have a good time, and neither will you.

My heart trembled in my chest as I watched him get out of his car. He walked towards me with a grin on his face and a bouquet of dandelions in his hands. He wore a cardigan over a t-shirt and a pair of jeans.

"Nia," he said, as he handed me the bouquet. "You look nice."

"You don't look too bad yourself," I said, smiling. "Thank you for the flowers. Let me just—." I fumbled awkwardly with the bouquet and reached into my pocket to retrieve my keys. I opened the front door, set the bouquet on the end table in the entryway, and closed and locked the door behind me again.

When I turned around, Darnell was still there, still grinning. "Shall we?" He held out his arm, and I took it.

The twenty or so step walk to the car seemed much longer as I held onto him, not listening as he told me our plans for the evening. My mind was in his car, thinking up all the things that could be in the glove compartment, on the floor mats, under the floor mats.

What if I saw something? How would I get out of it?

Darnell unhooked our arms when we stopped at the car. He opened the passenger door for me. "...good seafood," he was saying, but all I heard was, What's on the floor what's on the floor watch your FEET you might have to run—.

I leaned into the car and examined the carpet, the mats, the center console, the steering wheel. I saw that there was nothing to worry about, and I relaxed. I released a long, shaky breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

"Did I pass the inspection?"

My eyes widened. I looked at him and smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, I..." I trailed off. I wasn't going to tell him the truth, but I didn't want to lie to him, either. I wanted to try something different this time.

"You have a thing?" He offered. He sounded sincere, like he wanted to understand. Like someone else I know.

"Yes." I nodded. "I have a thing."

"Okay," he said, and he gestured into the car. "Whenever you're ready."

I got into the car, and he closed the door behind me. I already had my seatbelt on when he got in on the driver's side and started the car.

"I think I'll get the shrimp remoulade," he said.

He turned on the radio. Big Pun's "Still Not a Player" was playing.

"Hm?"

He glanced over at me and laughed. "You didn't hear a word I said, did you?"

I shook my head and laughed, too. "No"

He backed out of the driveway and drove onto the street. "You know, I'm starting to think you don't like me as much as I thought you did."

"You're right. I just don't want to pay to watch Waiting to Exhale," I teased.

He grabbed his chest and feigned hurt. "Ouch. You really know how to hurt a guy, Nia James."

I shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a player."

I turned the radio up, and we sang along.

We spent the 20-minute drive to the studio laughing and singing. We talked about our childhoods, our families, our careers. We discovered that we both have connections to New Orleans. I had been born and raised there. Darnell was from Baltimore, but he had moved to New Orleans for college.