Calamity Jane

Taylor’s sister Sonia is a really cool girl. She’s the eldest of all the sisters, and almost twenty five. She has dark, dark hair that’s cut into a cute bob and dark eyes. She’s extremely pretty, especially with the makeup she has on. She’s short, like Taylor, but fit. She’s one of those few girls that were actually able to make it at being a model. She moves her hands a lot as she talks, flashing her long nails that are painted with an exotic print. Half of the time, she alternates between speaking in English, and then in Spanish.

Aracelis is the second oldest; she’s twenty three and has the same facial features as her sisters. She’s taller than the others, and has longer hair. She has two children: a boy that’s almost three and a little girl that was born about a month or so ago. Her boyfriend – or husband; in Spanish culture they consider a couple married when they live and have children together – lives near and they plan to marry soon.

Taylor is nineteen. She’s only six months older than me, which is pretty cool. And of course, she and Maurice are set to be married in three months. She mapped out her whole life plan for me, which includes having eight babies (four girls, four boys, because she can control that type of thing) and naming them names I’m pretty sure will ruin their chances of getting a job. She’s going to stay at home, of course, because her motto is ‘Fuck all that shit. I don’t work.’ And Maurice is going to support them by becoming an executive at a major corporation when he gets through with college, because if he doesn’t, she’s going to ‘fuck all them bitches up.’

Yamilex is the youngest of the four. She’s almost seventeen. She has extremely long hair that reaches past her waist and is extremely short. She wears glasses and obsesses over converses, or ‘chucks’ as she calls them. Apparently it’s a New Jersey thing, as she and her brother have informed me at least twenty times. They moved down here about ten years ago.

I find out Hector is my age, only a few months younger. He just turned eighteen in April, about two months ago. He prides in the fact that he’s an Aries and goes into great detail about the characteristics of an Aries. And even though they changed the whole sign thing, he says, and I quote, “I don’t give a shit about that shit. I’ll cut them bitches. I’ve been an Aries for eighteen years of my life and that’s how it’s going to stay.”

The dinner is nice, even though I can’t eat the mashed potatoes. I tried to explain to Taylor how I couldn’t eat them but I kept getting interrupted and she misunderstood me, thinking I said I wanted a double portion. They don’t have an animal, which sucks for me, because I have to swipe a little off the plate at the time with a paper towel and they all keep looking at me like I’m a freak because of the pile I have in front of me. “I like napkins,” I say to Hector, who stares at me with wide eyes.

He chokes on his drink and turns around to spit it out. Taylor cusses and jumps up. “You son of a bitch,” she says, “you got that fucking shit on my fucking shirt. You better hope it comes out or I’m going to fuck you up.”

He just keeps laughing and grips the chair. I stare at his sisters who are laughing too and I shrug. “My parents don’t believe in paper towels,” I explain, “I live with them and um… well they don’t allow it.”

Aracelis furrows her brow and laughs, “What the hell girl? Are you eight or eighteen?”

“Well… um, I mean I’m living in their house, so I have to respect their rules.”

“That’s some crazy shit,” Hector says, finally turning around. “You are one weird chick.”

I feel my face go red and he laughs. “I like you already,” he adds, nudging my arm. I laugh and look at my steak, and cut it into little pieces.

Sonia clears her throat. “So, Jane, do you have a boyfriend?”

Everyone looks at me expectantly and I meet her eyes cautiously. “I… well, I um… I did. But… I broke it off.”

“Why?” she asks, earnestly.

“Uh, well, he enlisted in the army. And… well, that’s it.”

“How long were you together?” Taylor asks. I know she’s curious, because I’ve never told her anything about the matter.

“We were together five years,” I say quietly, pushing the steak around. I take a bite and chew it slowly.

“Damn. And you didn’t want to marry him?” she asks.

“Uh, no,” I say. “I didn’t.”

And that’s that. No one says anything or asks anything else about Landon.



After dinner I tell Taylor I need to get something out of my car and go sit on the steps instead. There’s a dim light outside their door and bugs fly around it. I can hear creatures croaking and singing out beyond, in the grass. The stars are shining down brightly and the moon is brighter than usual.

The door opens quietly and Hector sits down beside me. “You needed to be alone too, huh?”

I ignore him and stare forward, listening to my own breathing. “You didn’t eat your mashed potatoes,” he says, “I saw you.”

I turn my head away and cross my arms over my chest. “I can’t.” I say, “I’m allergic,” I tell him, thinking of a quick lie.

“Allergic to potatoes?” he asks incredulously.

I ignore him and close my eyes. “You didn’t eat much of your steak either,” he comments.

“Yeah, well I feel uncomfortable with a bunch of people asking me personal questions. I just… wanted to get away. I don’t want to talk about Landon.”

“Landon? That was his name?”

“Yeah.”

“Here,” he says, nudging me. “Do you like strawberries?”

“Yes,” I answer, turning around to look at him. He has a bowl of sliced strawberries and hands it to me.

“My sisters can be overbearing,” he comments, watching me eat. The strawberries are lightly sugared and oh so good.

“They’re fine. I like them. It’s just that I don’t like talking about personal stuff.”

“And why not, Jane?” he asks.

I shake my head. “It’s like, my business, you know? I don’t want to talk about things that are in the past.”

“But he just left, didn’t he?”

“Yeah, and that time has passed. It’s almost tomorrow. And tomorrow, I won’t talk about it. And in a week, it won’t bother me. And in a month, I’m pretty sure I won’t even think about it ever again.”

“Did you love him?”

I remain silent and sigh. “I don’t know,” I say, setting the bowl down. “I don’t know.”

Hector sighs and stands up, grabbing the bowl. “You aren’t really allergic to potatoes, are you?” he asks.

“No,” I say. “No.”

He sits back down and asks me why I lied. “Because,” I say. “I don’t know you.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means I won’t tell you things that are personal to me because we aren’t close.”

“Well…” he says, sullenly, “I guess I’ll leave you alone. I’m probably bugging you.”

“Yeah, you are,” I say, turning my head.

“Sorry,” he mumbles. I hear the door open momentarily and continue staring out into the darkness. I feel mean, but I know it’s because I am mean. I’ve never been a nice person.

Calamity Jane doesn’t do nice. I pull my hair off my back and wrap my arms around my legs. The night is lonely, like me. There isn’t even the slightest breeze to keep me company. I lay my head on my lap and breathe deeply. I shut my eyes closed tight.

I can hear the laughter and chatter coming from inside Taylor’s apartment. I can hear the animals. I can hear the cars. I can hear it all. But no one hears me.