The Only Constant is Change Ch. 05

Ava assured her that she'd thought the same thing, but so far with Jeremy, it seemed truthful. Which really just seemed tantalizing to the two girls. Neither was especially experienced, but neither was a virgin either. This incredibly gorgeous young man, shy and unassuming (or at least he had been before he got involved with them), was dangling before them like an apple waiting to be picked at the height of its perfection. The fact that this seemingly perfect specimen was also kind and honest, humble and sweet, made them each want to share a night of passion with him, if for no other reason than to have something to measure other men against.

As she readied herself for bed, Serena resolved that the two of them were going to have a serious discussion about Jeremy's virginity. Not her and Jeremy; she and Ava. She assumed, like most guys, he'd go along with it if offered. No, in her opinion, a special man deserved a special experience. Having decided that, she turned over and surrendered to sweet dreams of a certain brown-haired young man.

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It would be overly romantic to say that Jeremy awoke the next morning to a world full of rainbows and unicorns, but he was very happy. Not especially enthusiastic about mornings usually, or Sundays in particular, he nevertheless found himself wide awake by 8, feeling uncharacteristically refreshed and energized. From the smells of bacon and coffee in the air, his parents were already up and around. When he walked into the kitchen, his mother feigned shock at seeing him.

"I didn't know you still lived here. It's been so long, I thought you'd moved out and I just forgot."

"Very funny, Mom," he said as he kissed her cheek. He sniffed the air. "Bacon and, don't tell me, you're making my favorite apple-cinnamon muffins this morning. What's this going to cost me?" he chided.

His mother playfully smacked his arm. "Can't a mother demonstrate her love for her favorite son by making him muffins without accusations of ulterior motives?"

"First," he grinned, "I'm your favorite son by default, so that's not saying much. Second, it's theoretically possible...but in my experience, highly unlikely." His father snorted and hid behind his newspaper.

She pointed at his father, "Don't encourage him." Looking back at her son, her eyes softened and she sighed as she stepped up and smoothed his hair. "It's just that, you've been gone a lot lately, and it hit me that my little boy's almost all grown up. Even if you weren't about to graduate and leave home, now that you're dating I know that some pretty little thing is going to capture your heart. I'm not going to have many more opportunities to do things for you, like making your favorite muffins, because it won't be long before I'm not the #1 lady in your life anymore. It makes me happy, because that's the way it should be, but it makes me a little sad, too."

Jeremy's heart swelled with love for his mother. He hugged her for a long time, his eyes tearing up. Releasing her, he said, "You know you'll always be my #1. No matter who I marry, she'll be trying to measure up to you. That's just the way it is."

As she pulled the fresh-baked muffins from the oven, the warm smell of baked apple and cinnamon filled the room. Jeremy's stomach rumbled, and he started piling strips of bacon on his plate. He'd learned long ago that grabbing muffins right now resulted in burned fingers, rapped knuckles, or both.

"Well, it's sweet of you to say that," she replied. "But the silly grin on your face when you walked in tells me that you had a good time with Serena, was it? It's just a matter of time," she stated knowingly.

Jeremy poured himself some orange juice, grabbed the butter from the fridge, and carried his plate to the table. His mother met him there with the muffins neatly arranged on a plate. He quickly snagged 3 before his father got involved.

"Actually," he said as he neatly split the first muffin and spread butter inside, "Serena and Ava were there last night."

"That certainly explains the grin this morning," his father said with a chuckle.

His mother playfully swatted him on the leg. "What did I say about encouraging him?"

"That it's important for his emotional and spiritual well-being?" his father questioned just as playfully.

His mother leaned over and beckoned him closer. "You sir, are the worst." With a small kiss, she said, "And that's why I love you."

Over breakfast, Jeremy recounted the evening's events. He described Serena's gown, and his response to her walking down the stairs. How surprised he was at finding Ava in attendance as well, and how beautiful she'd looked in her dress. Jeremy talked about the children in attendance, and how much he admired their strength through adversity. He related how he'd made a point of dancing with as many of the young ladies as he could, while making time for the two girls he was seeing. Out of his mother's field of vision, his father gave him a wink and a thumb's up. Basically, he covered everything that had happened at the event, except for the taunting they'd done at Colby. Of course, the events afterwards were completely off-limits. As he spoke, his mother simply listened with a look of amusement on her face. Yes, it was only a matter of time.

Jeremy didn't have a whole lot to do for the rest of the weekend, beside his date with Monica, of course. After breakfast, he retired to his room to catch up on some reading. Truthfully, all the excitement since he'd arrived for dinner Friday evening had taken its toll on him. After the hearty breakfast, he found his eyelids drooping badly, preventing him from focusing on the text. With a sigh, he put the book to the side, set an alarm and rolled over to take a nap.

The sound that woke him wasn't the chime of his alarm. Instead, it was the ring of his phone. Wiping the bleariness from his eyes, he picked up the phone. The called ID showed that it was Monica on the line. "Good morning, Monica." A glance at the clock showed it to be about 10:30; their date wasn't until noon. Why was she calling?

"Uh, good morning, Jeremy." Her voice betrayed a hint of nervousness, which, when combined with the long pause that followed, set off his trouble alarms. Concerned, Jeremy asked if everything was okay.

"Yeah...no, not really," she said sadly. "I'm sorry, but I'm not going to be able to make our date today."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that." He really was. As much fun as he was having with Ava and Serena, she still intrigued him. Sensing that there was more to the story, he tried to draw her into a discussion. "I don't know what I've done, but whatever it is, I'll make it up to you."

He heard her sigh, followed by a sniffle. "Jeremy, I promise you that nothing's your fault. It's not my fault, either. My parents...we had an argument."

He was immediately worried. He'd heard stories like this before, and they rarely ended well. "Are you okay? Do you need a place to stay? I'm sure my parents would..."

She cut him off. "No, no, no. It's nothing like that. They didn't kick me out or anything." Gathering herself, she said, "We argued about you, Jeremy."

"Me? They've never even met me. Why would you fight about me?"

"Because you're white and I'm black, and they don't think I should be dating a white boy."

Once again, Jeremy mentally shook his head at the inanity of racial animus. "Well, I guess everyone's entitled to their opinions," he said sadly. "Unfortunately, they're your parents. I would never try to convince you to go against their wishes, no matter how much I like you. If only we could somehow let them get to know me a little bit. Maybe they'd change their minds."

"It's possible," Monica said. "I'm not even sure where this is coming from. They have white friends, and one of my uncles is married to a white woman. I don't think they are opposed because you're white, necessarily. I think maybe they're being overprotective, wanting to shield me from the negativity that might come from an interracial relationship."

Jeremy nodded his head, even though she couldn't see it. "I hope that's the case, because it's a more noble position to take than the alternative." He paused for a moment in thought. "If you think it's worth it to have ourselves a date, and if there's a chance they might have a change of heart, let's brainstorm and see if we can't figure out a way for them to meet me without any pressure. Does that sound like a plan?"

He could hear the smile in her voice when she replied. "I definitely think it's worth it. I was so worried about how you would react, that I almost stood you up instead of calling. Thank you for being so understanding and patient. You're really something else, Jeremy. Let's try to get together over lunch at school this week to talk about some ideas, okay?"

He agreed before ending the call. Monica was in a difficult position, and he certainly didn't want to cause her any more difficulties. Fortunately, he had a fair amount of time to kill for the rest of the day. He resolved to spend at least a portion of it brainstorming on some possible solutions. After all, he agreed with Monica. She was definitely worth the effort.