The Sun Is Also a Star
Page 60But that’s not what’s going to happen.
All day I’ve been thinking that we were meant to be. That all the people and places, all the coincidences were pushing us to be together forever. But maybe that’s not true. What if this thing between us was only meant to last the day? What if we are each other’s in-between people, a way station on the road to someplace else?
What if we are just a digression in someone else’s history?
“DID YOU KNOW THAT JAMAICA has the sixth highest murder rate in the world?” I ask him.
We’re on the Q train headed to Brooklyn. It’s packed with evening commuters and we’re standing, holding on to a pole. Daniel has one hand on my back. He hasn’t stopped touching me since we left the office building. Maybe if he keeps holding on to me, I won’t fly away.
“What are the other five?” he asks.
“Honduras, Venezuela, Belize, El Salvador, and Guatemala.”
“Huh,” he says.
“Did you also know that Jamaica is still a ceremonial member of the British Commonwealth?”
I don’t wait for an answer. “I am a subject of the Queen.” If I had room to do a curtsy, I would.
The train screeches to a stop. More people get on than off. “What else can I tell you? The population is two point nine million. Between one and ten percent of people identify as Rastafarians. Twenty percent of Jamaicans live below the poverty line.”
He moves a little closer so I’m almost completely surrounded by him. “Tell me one good thing you remember,” he says. “Not the facts.”
He presses. “Not your family? Cousins? Friends?”
“I remember having them, but I don’t know them. My mom forces us to get on the phone with them every year at Christmas. They make fun of my American accent.”
“One good thing,” he says. His eyes are deep brown now, almost black. “What did you miss the most after you first moved here?”
I don’t have to think about the answer for very long. “The beach. The ocean here is weird. It’s the wrong kind of blue. It’s cold. It’s too rough. Jamaica is in the Caribbean Sea. The water is this blue-green color and very calm. You can walk out for a long time and you’d still only be waist-deep.”
“That sounds nice,” he says. His voice trembles a little. I’m afraid to look up because then we’ll both be crying on the train.
“Want to finish the questions from section three?” I ask.
He gets out his phone. “Number twenty-nine. Share with your partner an embarrassing moment in your life.”
The train stops again, and this time more people get off than on. We have more room, but Daniel stays close to me as if we don’t.
“Earlier today in the record store with Rob was pretty embarrassing,” I say.
“Really? You didn’t seem embarrassed, just pissed.”
“I have a good poker face, unlike someone else I know,” I say, and nudge him with my shoulder.
“He cheated on me with her. Every time I see them together I feel like maybe I wasn’t good enough.”
“That guy was just a cheater. It’s nothing to do with you.” He grabs my hand and holds on to it. I kind of love his earnestness.
“I know. I called him earlier today to ask him why he did it.”
I’ve surprised him. “You did? What did he say?”
“He wanted us both.”
“Jackass. If I ever see that guy again, I’ll kick his ass.”
“Got a thirst for blood now that you’ve been in your first fight, do you?”
“I’m a fighter, not a lover,” he says, misquoting Michael Jackson. “Did your parents care that he was white?”
“They never met him.” I couldn’t imagine taking him to meet my dad. Watching them talk to each other would’ve been torturous. Also, I never wanted him to see how small our apartment was. In the end, I guess I really didn’t want him to know me.
With Daniel, it’s different somehow. I want him to see all of me.
The lights flicker off and come right back on. He squeezes my fingers. “My parents only want us to date Korean girls.”
“Well, it’s not like I’ve dated a ton of girls. One Korean. Charlie, though? It’s like he’s allergic to nonwhite girls.”
The train jostles us and I hold on to the pole with both hands. “You want to know the secret to your brother?”
He puts his hand on top of mine. “What’s the secret?”
“He doesn’t like himself very much.”
“You think so?” he says, considering. He wants there to be a reason Charlie is the way he is.
“Trust me on this,” I say.
We screech around a long corner. He steadies me with a hand against my back and leaves it there. “Why only Korean girls for your parents?” I ask.
“They think they’ll understand Korean girls. Even the ones raised here.”
“But those girls are both American and Korean.”
“I’m not saying it makes sense,” he says, smiling. “What about you? Do your parents care who you date?”
I shrug. “I’ve never asked. I guess probably they would prefer me to eventually marry a black guy.”