Calamity Jane

I’m awoken by the sound of hushed whispers, at first very quiet, and then escalating.

I hear a loud chuckle and look up to see Yamilex and Hector standing with their backs turned to me. “You were holding hands,” she laughs, “how cute. I knew you liked her.”

I frown and close my eyes when Hector glances my way. “I don’t like her,” he hisses, “we were asleep. It just happened.”

I open my eyes again, partially. Yamilex is laughing even harder. “You like her, you like her, you like her-” she taunts him until he pushes her hard. She nearly falls but catches herself.

“I don’t like her,” he repeats. “How could I? She’s a…,” he pauses, “bitch.”

“You’re an asshole,” Yamilex retorts. “For her to be a bitch, you sure as hell like to be around her a lot. How could she like you? You’ve only had one girlfriend in your entire lifetime.”

“You don’t know me,” he says, with clenched fists.

“Yes, I do,” she says, “You’re an asshole virgin who has a crush on a pretty girl.”

“She’s not pretty,” he throws back, “She’s….b… she’s ugly! She’s ugly and she’s too skinny and she’s too tall and she’s got those awkward knees. And her hair! It’s red! I don’t like red hair.”

It takes a moment for it to sink in that they are talking about me. I open my mouth a bit in shock, surprised that he would say things like that. I’m offended, even if I didn’t like him or care about his opinion. I sit up quickly and yawn loudly. They both turn around quickly and look at me, like two deer in the headlights.

“Good morning,” I say, climbing out of bed. I stroll past them casually and go to the bathroom. I hear their murmurs when I close the door and stare at my reflection. I’d never thought I was that ugly. I mean, I know I’m not anything special. I inspect my body carefully, and then glance at my knees. Awkward? How can knees be awkward? And why did he even pay any attention to my knees? I look at myself in the full length mirror on the door, in fear that they really are awkward.

I roll my eyes and sigh. I don’t care what Hector Rosado thinks about me. I have a man thousands of miles away that wants to marry me. I quickly use the bathroom, wash my hands, face, and teeth and then exit. Yamilex is sitting on my bed and Hector is gone.

“Hey,” she says, avoiding my eyes. I sit beside her. “Did you hear what… did you hear anything?”

I stare at her blankly. “Hear what?”

She looks into my eyes for a moment until she’s satisfied I don’t know what she’s talking about. “Never mind. Are you hungry? He went for some food.”

“He, who?” I ask, pretending to have forgotten HE was even there.

She laughs. “Hector, my stupid brother. Thank god we’re only half related. He’s a full-blooded pendejo.”

I laugh and stand up. “Yeah. Good thing this is only a weekend trip.”

She smirks. “So you don’t like him?”

I laugh out loud. “I can’t stand him. He’s so annoying and weird, like… like a little brother. He’s just so-”

The door opens and I shut up. It’s Hector, returning with a white paper bag and the aroma of biscuits. I feel my face flush and look away, still angry at what he said. I look down at my knees. Thanks to him, I’m going to be worrying about them all the time. I should ask Landon… No, no, no. I don’t want Landon. What the fuck am I thinking? Well, I could ask him as a friend. A friend asking for advice.

Hey, Landon, are my knees awkward?

Well why would you ask that Jane?

Oh, I don’t know, Landon. Some asshole said they were awkward and now I can’t stop thinking about it.

“HELLO,” Hector says loudly, waving a hand in front of my face. I jump slightly and snatch the package he’s holding towards me out of his hand. He looks taken aback and tosses a biscuit beside his sister, barely attempting to throw it in her hands.

Yamilex climbs up from the bed, stares at him disgustedly, and walks out, leaving the biscuit. The door shuts loudly and Hector rolls his eyes. “If she’s not hungry, I’ll eat it,” he says. He takes a huge bite, discarding the wrapper on the floor.

“What’s the deal between you two?” I ask, cautiously unwrapping my biscuit. It’s sausage.

“She’s…,” he chews, “a,’ another bite, “bitch. I hate her. She hates me.”

“Oh,” I say, taking a bite. “Sibling rivalry.”

“Yeah, not something you’d get,” he says angrily, sitting down beside me.

I place the biscuit down and stare at him angrily. He continues chewing and finally notices my glare. “What?”

“I have siblings, thanks very much,” I say, looking at his eyes. There are dark circles and he looks stressed. But I don’t care. He’s being a real asshole and I don’t know why. I guess it’s the presence of his sister that makes him so difficult to be around.

“Sorry,” he mumbles, “how many?”

“I… have….well had two brothers,” I say, turning away.

“What do you mean, had?” he asks. I don’t answer him. Instead, I stand up and walk towards the door. I hear a slight creak and he’s behind me, with a hand on my back. “Jane?” he asks, quietly. “What’s wrong?”

“What do you care?” I ask angrily, my eyes watering. I turn around and look at his confused face. “I’m just a an ugly, skinny, red haired bitch with awkward knees!”

His mouth falls open in shock and I open the door and leave before he says another word. I wipe my eyes and feel stupid. Why the fuck did I cry? Taylor is standing outside, in her bikini, doing a little dance and Yamilex is laughing at her. Aracelis is there, and all of their boyfriends, two of which I’ve never met. Maurice spots me and smiles. He walks over and wraps an arm around my shoulder. Taylor grins and runs toward us, with her chicken legs.

“Hey,” he says. “You look high.”

I laugh at Taylor who stands in front of us. “You ready bitches?” She smacks her stomach a few times and then opens her mouth and stops. “Oh shit.” She pats it and apologizes. Maurice laughs and releases me, to go to her.

“You’re fucking stupid,” he laughs and picks her up. She squeals and then jumps down out of his grasp.

“Come on Jane,” she orders, “get your sexy little bikini on so we can find you a man!”

I laugh and nod. She runs back to her sisters and the two boyfriends I have yet to meet. Maurice remains with me for a moment and looks concerned. “You’ve been crying?” it’s a half question, half statement.

“What? No,” I say, “No. I just… no.”

He gives me I look. “You’re lying Jane, but I won’t ask why. Go get changed so we can have some fun.”

The door opens behind us and Hector appears, wearing black shorts and a white t-shirt. His hair is messy and sticking up in all kinds of directions. He looks genuine and apologetic but I ignore him. “Jane, I’m sorry,” he says, “I didn’t mean any of those things.”

Maurice looks from Hector to me and then back to Hector, waiting.

“Whatever,” I mumble. “It’s not like I actually care what you think.” I walk back into the room and go to my suitcase. I pull out my plain black bathing suit and hum to myself, undressing as fast as I can. I’ve got the bathing suit on in less than a minute and the door opens. My heart races and I see that it’s only Yamilex.

“Hi,” she says shyly, “can I borrow a bathing suit?”

“Pick whichever one you want,” I say, pointing to the pile of prints. “You can have it.”

She squeals and practically attacks them, as if they would escape from her. “Thank you so much.” She picks up a multi colored zebra print one and searches frantically for the bottom to go with it. When she finds it, she jumps up in victory and runs to the bathroom, like she’s afraid I’ll change my mind. I smile and grab the rest of my beach things and tell her I’ll be waiting outside with the others.

Everyone has formed a circle and I go stand by Taylor. Aracelis stands with a handsome looking guy, with hazel eyes and short hair. He’s tall and built strong. Two small children stand in front of them: a boy, and a little girl. They appear to be between the ages of two and five and are absolutely adorable, with their mother’s features and dark hair.

Sonia stands next to who I assume must be Alex. He’s wearing glasses that cover half of his face and he has a sharp jaw. He’s built too, like the other and wears only bathing trunks. He turns slightly when he notices me and leans forward, “I’m Alex,” he says, with a slight accent.

“I’m Jane,” I say, smiling. The other, who is with Sonia, embraces me in a hug before I even realize. I pat his back awkwardly, not wanting to make Sonia angry. She laughs and pulls him away.

“She doesn’t want you, you silly man,” she laughs, kissing him. I glance at Hector who is already staring at me. He pokes his lips out a little, forming a pout and mouths, ‘Sorry.’ I roll my eyes. Puppy dog eyes never work on me. I don’t care how cute a guy is. Not that Hector is cute in any way. Yamilex is the last to join us. Her sisters give her the evil eye.

“Are we all ready?” Taylor asks impatiently, tapping her wrist. Everyone answers with their own form of yes and we start for the side of the road. There’s a beach exit right across the street, which is why I told Taylor we should stay here. It would be quicker than driving and if anything happened, like a storm, we could run for shelter quickly.

It’s early in the morning and traffic isn’t as bed. We scurry across the road and to the boardwalk that’s marked. The sound of all our feet hitting the wood echoes in unison and I look over the railing, at the sea grass and the occasional crab running for cover. I look forward and notice Hector falling back, so that he’s walking beside me. I sigh and look at him angrily. “What?”

“I’m sorry,” he says, stopping. I keep walking and he breaks out in a jog to catch me. He places his hand on my shoulder. “Please, listen?” I tap my foot.
“Yes?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean those things. I…only said them because she thought I liked you. I didn’t want her to think that. I didn’t think you were awake and…she makes me become a whole other person. She makes me say things. She makes me angry. I didn’t mean them. You aren’t ugly and I love your knees and you’re really pretty and I like your red hair but you can be a bitch.”

I stare at him with my mouth agape. His face turns beet red and he stammers. He takes his hand away from my shoulder quickly and looks like he’s trying to think of something to say. “I mean… it’s not like, I, I um, I don’t stare at your knees…” he pauses and looks like he’s in pain, “I just… I noticed them. I’ve never seen any like them.”

“My knees?” I ask, pointing to one. “They’re just knees.”

“Yeah,” he says, “but they’re your knees. They’re like, I don’t know. You’re going to think I’m a creep now. Oh god, I’d rather have you hate me than think I’m a creep.” He rambles on, looking pretty pitiful. My anger subsides and feel a bit sorry for him.

“It’s okay,” I mumble, trying to contain my laughter. The other’s have already reached the beach by now and I’m in a hurry to get down there. “Really,” I say, patting his shoulder.

He smiles nervously and laughs. “So, um, do… you wanna sit with me? On the beach?”

“Yeah, sure, okay,” I say. We resume walking until we reach the end. I smile at bit and when we walk down the stairs, I scan the area for the others. I see the ocean waves rushing forward, and the seagulls laughing and the sun is now fully in the air. I smell the salt and close my eyes a moment, taking it all in. I love the beach. I take my flip flops off and squish my feet beneath the sand and laugh. I break out into a run, spotting the others, who are just putting their towels out and their umbrellas up. I can hear Hector’s laugh as he chases after me.

I throw my things down and look at the others, who are all acting normally. I can barely contain myself. Hector does the same thing I did, tossing our belongings to the sand and starts ripping off his shirt. “Come with me, Jane,” he says excitedly. I stare at him a moment and he smiles wide. Extending his hand out towards me, he says, “Trust me.”

I stand there a moment and, completely forgetting earlier events, grab his hand. He starts dragging me towards the water and I run with him. We stop just before a wave hits our feet and look at one another. Grinning, we both take a huge step forward and let the water rush around us.