Romiette and Julio Read online

  “No, but many of these black city children are somehow connected to gangs, or they know someone who is. I have read that in the paper.”

  “What a stupid, narrow statement!” Julio shouted. “You’re putting everybody into one dirty pile!”

  “What about those black gang kids in Texas? They threatened you daily. That’s one reason we left, you know.”

  “So did the Hispanic gangs, Papa. The world is changing. Our generation looks at people as humans, not as races. Suppose everybody looked at me as just a Hispanic?”

  “It is what you are.”

  “But I am so much more than that! I’m a musician, and a swimmer, and a person able to make my own decisions. You can’t do that for me!”

  “I will never sanction a relationship between you and a black girl!” Luis stood then.

  Julio stood as well. He was as tall as his father. “Nobody asked you to!” he replied defiantly.

  There was a pause. “I cannot help the way I feel,” Luis finally admitted.

  “I’m sorry you feel that way.” Despite his anger, Julio really wanted his father to understand.

  But, still, Luis would not budge. “You cannot do this.”

  “You can’t stop me.”

  “Don’t fight me on this, Julio.”

  “You started it, Papa,” Julio said sadly. “Mama understands,” he added.

  “You mother is soft and full of love for you. She refuses to see the dangers ahead. You will understand one day.”

  “I doubt it. Papa, what if I told you that some kids at school were treating me the same way you are acting toward Romi? Maybe they hate me just because I’m the Mexican kid that reminded them of some long-ago tragedy.”

  “What do you mean? Is there trouble?”

  “No, there’s no trouble. Nothing I can’t handle. Just some bigots who think they can run the lives of other people just like you do. Why can’t people just leave us alone? I just don’t understand what difference it makes.”

  “It makes a difference to me, my son. It always will. Now tell me about this trouble at school.”

  “There’s no trouble, Papa. Nothing at all. Believe me, I’ve got enough trouble right here at home.”

  Julio stomped to his room and slammed the door. Everything seemed so unfair, so against him. It was still raining outside. Dark tears of rain poured steadily from the blue-black sky, spilling past his window. Even the sky could find no sunshine.

  He turned his stereo up as loud as it would go and let the music massage him. The vibrations thundered into his head, erasing the frustrations. He knew the music was irritating his father, but he also knew that his dad wouldn’t ask him to turn it down. It would be like admitting he was annoyed. So Julio kept it loud, knowing exactly the effect it was having. He wouldn’t have done that if his mother had been home. She would have quietly come in and turned it down, then asked him what was wrong. He couldn’t fight with his mom. She was too gentle. His father was stubborn, just as he was, and had feelings like the bristles of a brush that scraped anyone who came too close.

  Parents are estúpido! Julio thought as the rain made the outside muddy and the music made the inside tense. What is it with old people and fear of somebody different? I’m sixteen years old, and he can’t tell me what to do! They brought me here away from my friends and my school, and I’m not going to let him run my life. He’s not gonna tell me who I should like or who I should see! He said Romi might be hooked up with gangs. I never imagined he could be so dumb. Romi is a human being—a beautiful, smart, fiery woman. And I don’t care what my father says!

  33.

  The Scientific Soul Mate System

  Romi and Destiny finished the dishes and tossed a bag of popcorn into the microwave. Romi’s mom peeked into the kitchen. “I love it when you come over, Destiny. It’s the only time I can be sure Romi will do the dishes!”

  “That’s just because I don’t have to run upstairs right after dinner and call her, Mom,” Romi replied.

  “You ought to do what we do at our house,” Destiny said with a grin. “We just use paper plates!”

  “Not while I have two perfectly good dishwashers eating my lasagna!” Romi’s mom called back.

  The two girls laughed, grabbed the popcorn, and went outside to check on the puppies. Max, the black Lab father, had little patience for his offspring, who nipped at him and chased his tail. Mandy, their mother, was watchful and nurturing, making sure each of the four puppies—two black and two gold—were within sight. Destiny and Romi fed the dogs, gave them fresh water, and played with the pups for a bit, letting them run across the backyard. At seven weeks, they tired after just a few minutes, and soon fell asleep in heaps on top of one another. Romi closed the gate and headed upstairs with Destiny. They took their showers, changed into the extra-large T-shirts they both wore to sleep in, put a CD into Romi’s stereo, and finished off the popcorn. Waiting for the deep darkness of night to begin their experiment, they watched a movie and compared CD collections. Finally, Destiny could wait no longer. She picked up the brown paper-wrapped package and shook it gently at Romi.

  “Romi, let’s open it!” she said eagerly. “Is the door locked?”

  “Who’s going to come in? There’s nobody home but my mom. But, yeah, it’s locked.”

  “OK—let her rip. Let’s see—what do we have here? A candle. They call it ‘The Specially Scented, Sexually Enhanced Soul Mate Candle of Dreams and Desire.’”

  “Hmmm, smaller than it looks in this picture …”

  “But it smells good—raspberry—just like they said. And here’s the tape. ‘The Scientific, Specially Recorded, Simulated Stereo, Sexually Enhanced Soul Mate Recording. Includes sounds of nature and the human heartbeat!’Wow.”

  “Good grief. Sounds like overkill to me. We’ll play that in a minute.”

  “And this is the ointment. It’s called ‘The Scientific Soul Mate Soothing and Stimulating Dream-Enhancing Salve of Sensuous Sensibilities.’ It says, ‘Use very small amount on the temples.’” Destiny was enjoying this process, but Romi was still doubtful.

  “I guess so—look how small the package is.” Romi squinted her eyes to read the tiny directions printed on the little tube.

  “It should only take one dream to reveal everything, Romi. How many soul mates do you think you have in the universe?” Destiny replied matter-of-factly.

  “OK, OK. Don’t let me dump in your cornflakes. What else is in the box, Destiny?”

  “The directions. It’s just a typed sheet of paper. ‘The Scientific Soul Mate System. Guaranteed results or your money back.’There’s a tiny little asterisk here. I guess it refers to the fine print at the bottom of the page.”

  “What does it say?”

  “I almost need glasses to read this. ‘Guarantee valid only in Asia and Africa. In the U.S., guarantee valid only if package is unopened.’ Can you believe that?”

  “Well, so much for the money-back guarantee. Doesn’t look like we got much for forty-four ninety-nine, plus shipping!” Romi lay back on her bed and laughed.

  “I don’t care!” Destiny insisted. “I believe in this!”

  “Me too,” Romi conceded. “Why not? Read the direction sheet.”

  “‘Before retiring, place the Scientific, Specially Recorded, Simulated Stereo, Sexually Enhanced Soul Mate Recording, which includes the sounds of nature and the human heartbeat, into your tape player on a low setting—about one or two. You should be able to hear it, but not loudly. The essence of dreams is silence.’”

  “I like that one. Go on.”

  “‘Light the Specially Scented, Sexually Enhanced Soul Mate Candle of Dreams and Desire, being careful to use the Scientifically Designed Special Soul Mate Dream Catcher Vase that comes with it.’”

  “Where’s the vase?” Romi asked.

  “I don’t see it. There’s a plastic cup in here. Is that it?”

  “Yep, it says on the bottom, ‘Dream Catcher—Made in Japan.’”

 
; “Do you think we got rooked, Romi?” Destiny asked in one brief moment of doubt. “Oh, here’s the notebook and special Dream Pen. Let’s see what they call these. ‘The Purple Pages of Passion, Persuasion, and Poetry’ and ‘The Purple Plume of Poetic Penmanship.’ You gotta give them credit—they’re creative!”

  “Don’t they sell these at the drugstore for forty-nine cents?”

  “Not in purple!” Destiny replied with the fervor of a true believer. Then she wavered a bit. “You don’t think we wasted our money, do you, Romi?”

  “I’ll reserve my judgment until morning, Destiny. What else do the directions say?”

  “‘Place a small amount of the Scientific Soul Mate Soothing and Stimulating Dream-Enhancing Salve of Sensuous Sensibilities on each temple. Only a tiny bit is necessary to capture the memory of a dream. Light the Candle of Dreams and Desire, being careful to place it in its special Dream Catcher Vase. It is important that all other lights in the room be in the off position for the Scientific Soul Mate System to work most effectively. When you awaken, be sure to record the remnants of your dream on your Purple Pages of Passion, Persuasion, and Poetry with your Purple Plume of Poetic Penmanship. Your soul mate is drifting in your consciousness—you must find him and bring him to reality.’”

  “Oh, please!” Romi threw a pillow at Destiny. “These folks must think we’re stupid!”

  Destiny dodged the pillow and tossed it back with a grin. “You gotta believe, Romi. It sounds good to me. Turn the lights off. Wait—put the tape in first. OK—press play. You ready?”

  “Ready as I’ll ever be. What do you think of the music?”

  “We turned off our CD to listen to this?”

  Romi laughed. “Sounds like the music they play in the grocery store, Destiny.”

  “You gotta believe, Romi! You just gotta believe!” Destiny insisted.

  “I believe we just threw away forty-four ninety-nine, plus shipping and handling!”

  “The cost is of no importance, Romi. This is the moment of illumination. We are about to find our soul mates. Light the candle; turn off the lights. Wait! We forgot the ointment.”

  “It smells good—like peppermint. Oooh, it tingles!”

  “OK, here we go, lights off!” Destiny flicked the light switch on the wall. Darkness surrounded them. All was silent for a moment except for the thin music coming from the stereo.

  “See anything, Destiny?” Romi asked hopefully.

  “No, but the candle smells good.”

  “Feel a dream coming on?” Romi felt nothing. She hoped Destiny had better luck.

  “Not yet. I feel hungry. Is there any popcorn left?” Destiny ate constantly and never gained a pound.

  “Forget your need for food. This is much too important. Sleep now, and dream.”

  “How can I go to sleep?” Destiny moaned. “This is the worst music I ever heard in my life!” Destiny glanced at the digital clock radio that sat between the bed. She sat up suddenly. “Oh, my goodness! Romi! Look at the time! We almost missed it!”

  “Missed what? I was almost asleep! What are you talking about?”

  “Look at the clock!” Destiny squealed with excitement.

  “Oh, you’re right! How could I be so stupid? It’s ten minutes after eleven. Are you ready?”

  “Ready!”

  “Here it comes—the magic wishing time—eleven minutes after eleven—11:11 on the digital clock.” Destiny and Romi had been playing this game for years, even though they had long outgrown it.

  They did it almost unconsciously most of the time. When the clock read 3:33, that was a chance for a wish, and again at 4:44, and around the clock. But for only two minutes out of twenty-four hours are the numbers in perfect alignment—at 11:11. These were the most powerful wishing times.

  “I know what I’m wishing for!” Destiny whispered.

  “Sh-sh-sh-sh. Shut up and wish, Destiny!” Romi urged. Even though she didn’t really believe all this, Romi figured there was no harm in a wish, and if somebody said that was the best time to do it, then she wasn’t missing the opportunity.

  “I’m wishing! I’m wishing!” Destiny squeezed her eyes shut as the numbers 11:11 blinked onto the front of the clock.

  “Did you wish for your soul mate to appear?” Romi asked.

  “You know the rules say you can’t tell your wish. If you do, it won’t come true, Romi.”

  “I know. Destiny, did you ever catch the Fantastic Five?”

  “Once I got close. I wished on 1:11, then I caught 2:22. At 3:33, I was in the bathroom, but I remembered just in time and caught it and wished before it clicked over to 3:34. Then I just sat by the clock until 4:44. I knew I had it. I wished the same wish every time.

  “Then my mom made me go to the grocery store with her at 5:30. I tried to explain that I had to wait twenty-five minutes, but of course she wouldn’t hear of such a thing, so I got in the store, looked frantically for a digital clock, but by the time we got out of the store, the clock in the car said 6:22. I was so upset. I’ve never gotten that close since.”

  “I’ve never caught more than three in a row. I wonder what would happen if you caught the Fantastic Five and 11:11 as well,” Romi mused.

  “They say that if you wish the same wish on all of them, it’s guaranteed to be granted, plus you get a bonus wish as well—for free!” Destiny said with authority.

  “Sounds like extra credit in school.”

  “Hey, Romi, did you ever wonder who ‘they’ is? You know, how ‘they’ say something will happen, or ‘they’ think the world is changing?” Destiny asked.

  Romi flopped back on her pillow and grinned at the darkness. She and Destiny often had the same weird questions, and this was one she had considered often. “Yep,” she said, “I think I figured it out. The ‘they’ that everybody talks about as experts on everything is women!”

  “Women?” Destiny repeated.

  “Yeah. Men will never admit that women know everything, so when you hear the statement that ‘they’ say the ozone layer is disappearing, you’ll know it’s a woman’s opinion being quoted by men!”

  “I like that! One day I’m gonna catch all those times on the clock,” Destiny promised herself.

  “I wonder what ‘they’ will say.”

  “‘They’ will say that history has been made—finally!”

  “By a woman, of course!” added Romi.

  “Of course! Good night, Romi. Dream on!”

  “The last time I talked to Julio on the computer, he signed off with ‘Sweet dreams’!”

  “See there, you’re guaranteed no bad dreams!”

  “Destiny?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Thanks.”

  “For what?”

  “Nothing. Everything.”

  “G’night, Romi.”

  “G’night, Destiny. Julio’s coming over tomorrow!”

  “Sleep!”

  “OK!”

  34.

  Sunday Morning

  Destiny woke up first. She looked around, glanced at the clock, and tried to remember if she had dreamed at all. She felt mellow and well rested, and she seemed to remember music—not the tinny tape from last night, which mercifully had shut off after thirty-five minutes, but loud, powerful, stimulating music. Then she remembered. “Romi, wake up! I saw him! My soul mate!”

  “Who?” Romi asked groggily. She always slept hard and she didn’t awaken easily like Destiny. Romi didn’t like early mornings. And lately, she didn’t like dreams either.

  “My soul mate,” Destiny insisted. “The System works! What about you? Did you dream of Julio? What’s wrong?”

  “I’m not sure. I did dream—but it’s hazy and unclear.”

  “Was it Julio? Is he your soul mate?”

  “Yeah, I did dream of Julio, but it wasn’t a good dream,” Romi said slowly, trying to remember. “It was the same dream again. We were running, and there was water all around, except this time there was fire too. The water was on fir
e, I think. We were both screaming and … I don’t know. I can’t remember anything else. Maybe that stupid system does work. But I thought it was supposed to give you a good dream. What’s all this stuff about fire and water?”

  “That’s proof it works!” declared Destiny. “Don’t be afraid. Your star signs are fire and water. I knew the Scientific Soul Mate System was worth the money!”

  “Destiny, I’ve been having that same dream for weeks now—for free!”

  “No, Romi, you had it this time because of the candle and the music and the ointment.” Destiny was determined to be a believer.

  “What about you, Destiny? You dreamed about your soul mate?”

  “Yes! I saw him! But I’m not sure what he looks like. I kept seeing this rainbow. Colors all around. Red, blue, bright orange. The rainbow kept me from seeing his face clearly. But I could tell he was fine—so fine! And I think he had freckles.” Destiny got out of bed and danced around the room.

  “Freckles? Was he black?”

  “I don’t think so, but I’m not sure. I remember something else. There was music. Lots of music. Loud, glorious, clanging music. And opera music.”

  “Maybe you will get to the prom after all. Opera music? That was a nightmare!” Romi scratched her head and yawned.

  “I don’t think this was prom music. I think I’ll have to expand my musical appreciation to opera too, because this dude is just too fine to pass up. I’ll educate him about real music later.”

  “What’s his name?”

  “I’m not sure, but I know he’s a Taurus—or maybe his name is Taurus, or Tauran—something like that. But he’s strong like a bull, and you know that Taurus is the only sign I can marry, because that is my only cosmic match, and there are no boys in Cincinnati who fit the description!”

  “That’s what you say. Where does this dude live, Destiny?”

  “I will meet him in London.”

  “London? When will you get to England?

  “Doesn’t matter. Doesn’t matter. He will wait for me until I get there. He knows of me and is waiting now. It might be months, but I will know him when I see him. And he will know me. Just like you and Julio.”