Cameron - Summer 1997 

By the time Cameron made it to Nina’s house there was no place to park out front, so she drove her pick up truck around back and parked behind Nina’s convertible.  Laughter and loud talking assaulted Cameron’s ears as she hopped out of the truck and made her way towards the side gate leading to the backyard and pool area.  This was the last summer party before their senior year and Nina sort of wanted to go out with a bang.

The humidity fostered the need for Cameron’s tank top to cling to her body.  Gotta love Louisiana summers, she thought as she walked into the crowd of classmates greeting her.  They were hotter than hell and a mosquito’s paradise.  She walked up to Nina and wrapped her arms around her neck.

“Oh my God,” Nina replied slightly repulsed, pulling away from Cameron’s embrace rather abruptly.  “Sweat much?”

“Ah,” Cameron exclaimed.  “No air conditioner in the truck, duh.  And you can blame my dad.  He sweats more than the football team.  It’s genetic.”

“Yeah well, take your sweaty self in the kitchen and grab those buckets of crawfish for the trough,” Nina demanded, giving Cameron a little push in the back towards the kitchen.

“Snob,” Cameron called over her shoulder before crossing the threshold of the lavish kitchen.  Nina’s dad was a big time lawyer in their town and made sure he flaunted his money any chance he got.  Nina got a brand new Mitsubishi Eclipse convertible for her sixteenth birthday, while most kids that age bummed rides or rolled out in scraps of metal Caprices or rusted old Ford pick up trucks, Cameron falling into the latter category.

Cameron bobbed her head to the beat, humming along to the song while she drained the remaining pot of crawfish boiling on the stove.

 “You love me now but you’ll hate me soon…”  

“… in the light of a darker moon,” a male voice joined in, causing Cameron to spin around herself.  A wide smile appeared across her face as she leapt into the guy’s arms, pulling him tight into her grasp.

“Philip,” Cameron shrieked.  “You’re back.  Oh, thank God you’re back.”

“Miss me much,” Philip asked into the top of Cameron’s wiry curled hair, reciprocating the embrace.  Pulling away, Philip scanned Cameron’s face, his hands still hanging on to her hips.

“You have no idea.   It just wasn’t the same without ya.”

“You look different Cam,” Philip spoke suddenly, still examining Cameron’s face.

“What,” she frowned, shaking her head.  She hoped she looked alright.  She didn’t do anything new to herself.  Maybe it was the new curl enhancing product she started using this summer.  “How… different?”

“I don’t know,” he sighed.  “You just… look different.  It’s a good different.”

“I think it’s just cause you haven’t seen me in two months.  By the way, how was Mississippi?”

“Same old, same old.  Caught some bass, swam a lot.  Got to drive the tractor a lot.  My grandpa is gettin’ old.  It’s kinda weird.  I’m glad I got to spend some time with him, though.”

“Well, that’s good.  We’re glad you’re back though.  I’m glad your back.”  Cameron giggled.  “I actually babysat Justin the whole summer while you were gone, so…”

“You spent the entire summer watching my brother?”

“Yep,” Cameron affirmed.  “We had a blast too.  Swimming everyday and watching movies.  Baking cookies and cupcakes. He’s such a great kid.”

Philip smiled, only time and admiration for one another passing between the two for a little while and suddenly his smile faded into a thin, straight line, his brow furrowing ever so weakly.

“So, I got something to tell you,” Philip spoke low, drawing Cameron closer to him near the kitchen island.  Serious eyes held Cameron’s gaze and she knew he had something really important to tell her. 

“What’s up,” Cameron asked, truly concerned about the words on the brim of spilling from his mouth.

“Remember last year when my parents dropped the bomb on me that I was adopted?”

All she could do was nod in response as she hopped up on the kitchen island.  What could this possibly lead to? She hoped desperately that he wasn’t going to tell her that he was moving to live with his biological mother or something crazy like that.  Philip’s hands firmly gripped the tiled counter top on either side of Cameron as she stared at the top of his tousled sandy brown hair.  It was messy and that’s the way he liked it.

“Well, I found my biological mom.  She lives in Massachusetts and told me I could come and visit her after this school year’s done if I wanted.”  He looked, studying Cameron’s face for affirmation.

“Really,” was all Cameron could muster to say.  A million words of pleas for him to stay and admissions of I love you lodged themselves at the base of her throat.  Would she lose him now with him knowing who his real mother was? Would he leave Louisiana for a life in Massachusetts? Leave her behind.

“I’m not sure what to do, you know.  A part of me wants to meet her and get to know her.  Get an understanding as to why she felt she had to give me up.  Was she too young, had psycho parents that wouldn’t tolerate a pregnant teenager? And the other part of me is ticked off for not knowing all this time I was adopted but thankful I wasn’t placed in the system.  My mom told me she’d wanted to tell me from the moment she thought I’d be able to comprehend  but my dad was adamant about me not knowing until I was much older,” he went on, worry beginning to surface on his face.  “I don’t know what to do Cam. What do you think?”

“I’m at a loss for words Philip.”

“That’s a rare thing,” he stifled a laugh.

“Shut up,” Cameron said with a slight smirk.  She perched her elbow on her knee and covered her hand over her mouth, contemplating what to say next.  “I’m so sorry.  I actually don’t know what to say to you, only that whatever you decide to do I’m behind you one hundred percent.”

“Really,” he asked, his eyes meeting hers once more.  “Would you go with me to see her?”

Cameron’s eyes bulged in surprise, “You want me to go with you?”

“Yeah, why not,” he asked with a shrug of his shoulders.  “I’ve already talked to her about you and Justin and my mom and dad.”

“You’ve not only found her but you’ve already spoken with her? Like actual communication on multiple occasions has occurred?”

“Yeah.  All summer long actually.  I wrote her a letter right after we got out of school and shortly after, she called me and we’ve been talking ever since.”

“Do your mom and dad know you’ve been in contact with your real mom? I mean, what does Ms. Nadine think?”

“Mom actually encouraged me to get in touch with her by writing the letter.”

Cameron’s eyes bulged once more at this new detail.  Maybe this was the end of their relationship.  His real mother was probably everything Philip dreamed of and Massachusetts was probably pretty appealing to him too.  How would Cameron fit into Philip’s new life three thousand miles away? Snapping back to reality, Cameron came to her senses.  She was clearly jumping to conclusions.  There was no way of telling what this new endeavor would lead to.  She’d be there for Philip in any capacity he needed her to be and take this new development one day at a time.

“Well, if Ms. Nadine is on board, you can count me in.”

“For real Cam,” Philip asked, clearly excited about her response.  “That is awesome.  I wanted to tell you when I first started talking to my real mom but was a little scared.  By the way,” Philip said reaching into the back pocket of his jeans.   “I’ve got a little gift for you.”

“A gift? Like a souvenir?”

“Not really,” he said pulling an envelope from his back pocket.  “Here.”

Philip placed the envelope in Cameron’s hand and crossed his arms over his chest.  “Open it.”

A quizzical look wiped over Cameron’s face as she slid the letter open with her index finger.  Peering inside, Cameron’s eyes grew wide in astonishment.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she replied, wrapping her arms around Philip’s neck once more.

“So I take it you like,” he asked.

“It’s more like love,” she answered.  “Philip, when did you get these? Where did you get these? How could you afford these?”

“Tracey, uh, my biological mom, asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I told her I wanted to do something really cool with my best friend.  We got to talking about you and somehow Luscious Jackson came up during the conversation and a week later Tracey had two tickets for us to see them play in New Orleans.”

“Uh, wow,” Cameron enunciated.  “Thanks for thinking about me.”

“I couldn’t think of a better person to spend my birthday with.”

“Even though LJ is my favorite band and not yours,” she asked, peering above the envelop at Philip.

“Close enough.  Kate Schellenbach used to drum for the Beasties, remember?”

“That’s right,” Cameron laughed, reaching on the other side of the oversized island to retrieve two cokes from a small cooler, handing one to Philip.  “Here’s to our senior year, Luscious Jackson and an everlasting friendship.”

“Here, here,” Philip said, taking a sip with Cameron. 

“Philip,” another female’s voice entered the kitchen, causing him to turn around.  “We’re ready for the hot tub but not without you.”  It was Lisa Donner, leader of the tramp camp.

Turning back around to face Cameron, he rolled his eyes. 

“The pimp’s been summoned,” Cameron replied sarcastically.

He leaned over and touched his forehead to hers, “I’ll see you in a few.”

And then he headed out to the backyard, wrapping his arm around Lisa’s shoulder but not before smacking her on the bottom with the palm of his hand.  If Cameron could change one thing about Philip it would be the girls who flocked to him. 

Cameron sighed and shook her head in disapproval before staring down at the envelop housing the Luscious Jackson tickets.  Lifting it up to her nose, she took in Philip’s scent; a mixture of Ivory soap and Tommy Hilfiger cologne.  Slipping the tickets into the back pocket of her jean shorts, she hopped off the island and grabbed one of the buckets of crawfish to take out back.  This year was bound to be the best, as it was already starting out better than expected.  At least that’s what Cameron hoped and prayed for this year.

Cameron - Summer 2011 

“But you knew he was going to be the best man and you didn’t say a word to me about it,” Cameron complained into the phone as she drove down the street to her parent's house.

“I know Cameron but I didn’t want you to feel like you couldn’t be a part of our wedding.”

“Nina, you know me better than that.  If I came to you and that foolishness also known as Luther’s wedding you better believe I’d be there for you and Greg’s wedding.”  Cameron pulled up and parked in the front of her parent’s house.  Turning off the ignition, Cameron grabbed a hold of the steering wheel and squeezed tight.  “I just feel so blindsided by this.  You should have told me.”

“Cameron, I thought you said you were over it.  So what’s the big deal?”

“It’s obviously a big deal because you felt like you couldn’t tell me I’m freaking walking down the aisle with Philip.  And I’m not sure I’m ready to face him just yet.”

“Technically, you’ve already been face to face with him.  By the way, was he as gorgeous as ever?”

“What do you think? He was all lean and filled out and hot and tall and handsome and I was a hot sweaty mess, bulging out of my pants.  Even my teeth were sweating.  And it wasn’t caused by the humidity and no one can convince me otherwise.”

“You should totally be on Broadway.  These monologues of yours are exhausting.”

“Okay, maybe I’m being a bit theatrical.”

“A bit, sweetie,” Nina chimed in a condescending tone.

“Okay… a lot theatrical.  You know what I wanted to do when I ran into him at the airport?”

“What might that be?”

“I wanted to injure him by punching him in the face, so that I could console him and kiss away the pain.  That is demented.  Who harbors those types of feelings for people,” she asked now leaning her head against the steering wheel.

“Crazies,” Nina answered in her matter of fact way.  “People who are off their rocker, over the moon, ready to ride or die, in love with someone.”

Silence ensued as the two friends sat for a moment absorbing the exchange they just made.  Cameron was off her rocker, over the moon, ready to ride or die, in love with Philip.  Always had been and was probably doomed to always feel that way about him.

“You there sweet pea,” Nina gently spoke into the phone.

“Yeah,” Cameron replied just as softly.

“I think you two just need to sit down and talk,” Nina said.

“You’re right,” Cameron replied, though she thought, what on earth would she say to him after fifteen years of absolutely no contact.  They were both probably very different people now.

“I know.  When am I ever wrong,” Nina answered.  “Now girl, get your boney self over here so I can put you to work.  There is much to be done in the next two weeks and Gregory acts like his hands don’t work when it comes to wedding stuff but I told him if he could help his cousin Soo Jin at her nail shop then he can definitely stuff boxes with tissue paper and chocolate truffles.”

“Snob,” Cameron spoke into the phone.  “Do you think Greg knows what he’s getting himself into?”

“No, but in two weeks it’ll be too late for all of that.”

Cameron shook her head at the impudence constantly flowing from Nina’s mouth, “Bye, I’ll be there in like thirty minutes.”   Flipping her phone closed, Cameron grabbed her hand bag and slid it over her shoulder as she exited the rental, popping the trunk to retrieve her luggage.  Just as she pulled out the first suitcase, a red mustang convertible blasting music flashed by her in a haze, sifting up pounds of dust and gravel into the air and parked in front of the third house down from her parent’s house.  Philip’s parent’s house. 

“Twice in one day,” Cameron spoke aloud to herself.  “Lucky me.”

Philip - Summer 2011 

“ ‘You git ma-reed?’ Yes Mimi,” Greg said stifling his laughter in an attempt to keep a straight face and finish his story.  “ ‘Oh, you got pic-chure?’ And so I take out a picture of Nina and hand it to Mimi and she holds onto it tight, really zooming in on the photograph, studying it and then all of sudden, she slowly starts to lean to the left and is about to fall out of her chair but she stops herself.” 

Taking a sip of cold beer from his mug, Philip adjusted his barstool and scooted closer to Greg, ensuring that he heard every detail of Greg’s tale.

Greg giggled before collecting himself to continue, “Pools of sweat have now began to appear and accrue on Mimi’s brow and upper lip and she’s panic stricken. ‘But shee na like-us.’ Yes Mimi, I’m aware.  ‘But shee blahk gaall… she got chi-ule.  Lil’ boy.  Yoou no wan,’ and she shakes her head and I nod, ‘Yes, Mimi.  I waaaaan blahk gaall wit lil chi-ule boy,’ in my best Korean speaking English accent and my mom pops me in the back of the head.  She was so beyond mad at me.”

Philip nearly mounted the top of the bar laughing hysterically, his stomach in an achy fit.  “B-blahk gaall,” he mimicked in his best Korean accent.  “Do you think Nina would mind if I called her blahk gaall from now on?”

“No, don’t say a word to her about what Mimi said.  It really hurt her feelings I think but you know Nina, hard as nails that one.”  Greg paused and tossed a few peanuts in his mouth before continuing.  “I mean, you can mention it to her if you really want to die.  Oh wait, you’re already a marked man. Ha.”

“Who’s a marked man,” Max said as he approached them.

“Stevens here is a marked man.”

“Ooh.  Yeah,” Max said slapping Greg’s hand and reaching over to hug Philip.  “Long time no see stranger.”

“Yeah, man,” Philip replied.  “I hear you’re doing pretty good.”

“I am,” Max replied.  “So, speaking of being a marked man, have you seen Cameron yet?”

“Ran into her at the airport.”

“Yikes, did she beat you down? Cameron’s little but I’d put money on her.”

“No she didn’t beat me down but she didn’t exactly welcome me with open arms.”

“Well,” Greg added, “You’re a brave one dude.  I don’t think I could face her.”

Philip smirked.  Brave wasn’t exactly the word he’d use.  Insane perhaps was more fitting.  The look Cameron gave him before she left burned him to the core.  She was still raw about them but to be honest so was he.  The difference being he was really thrilled when he saw her and ready to make amends but from her expression he knew the feeling wasn’t mutual.  Maybe this visit could turn into an opportunity for them to clear the air and understand what went wrong with them and why.

“So catch me up.  What were you two talkin’ about before I came along.”

Philip giggled.  “Greg was telling me about when he told Mimi he was marrying Nina.”

“Oh yeah.  Blahk gaall.  That was some funny stuff man,” Max laughed aloud.  “How is it possible to sound Korean and country concurrently?”

Greg topped off the rest of his beer, slamming the mug down on the bar top.  “I haven’t a clue, but Mimi executes it flawlessly.”  He gestured for the bartender to bring them another round.  “Three more Blue Moons.”

“So Max,” Philip started, squeezing a slice of orange into his beer.  “I heard about the divorce man.”

“Yeah, dude.  We were on our way there from the day we started dating but it ended alright.  We’re still friendly.  I’m just glad we didn’t have any kids you know.  I grew up in a single parent home and that wasn’t fun.  I wouldn’t want to do that to any kid.”

“I bet.  Well at least nothing popped off from it.  You still talk to Tricia?”

“Sometimes, just whenever we have to.”  Max replied before taking a gulp of his beer.  “What about you playa? You didn’t bring a date for the wedding?”

“Naw man,” Greg intercepted.  “It’s hard for chicks to get past level two of the Camometer.”

“What,” Max asked.  “You got a measurement system?”

“Based on Cameron attributes,” Greg interrupted yet again.  “Been using it since high school.”

“For real,” Max asked.  “Lisa Donner?”

“Didn’t even make the meter,” Philip answered, taking a swig of his beer.  “I don’t know what Lisa looks like now but back then she kinda looked like those cavemen from the Geico commercials.”

“Dude,” Greg laughed almost spitting out his beer.  “Lisa does look like a caveman.  Nina and I have been racking our brains trying to figure out who or what she resembled.  I said the cowardly lion from the Wizard of Oz but dude, your so on target with that doppelgänger.  Only in this case, Lisa might actually be the evil one cause the cavemen seem to be quite benevolent.  I can’t wait to tell Nina.”  He slid his phone out of his pocket and instantly began to dial Nina.

“Baby,” he yelled into the phone, well on his way to tipsy town.  “I know who Lisa Donner looks like…”

“Anyway,” Max went on ignoring Greg’s little tangent.  “What about Erin Collins?”

“About a two on the Camometer,” Philip answered.  “She was book and street smart.  Considerate but a bit too loose.”

“You didn’t get at her in high school?”

“Naw but she pushed and tried her hardest,” Philip said.

“Cameron got you like that,” Max asked topping off his glass.

“Yep,” Greg chimed in, hanging up his phone.  “And she didn’t have to do nothing to get him like that.  That’s the sad, crazy part of the whole deal.”

“Shut up Greg.  You talk entirely too much and you got off the phone awfully fast.  Did Nina hang up on you?”

“Threatened to withhold the good stuff if I drunk dialed her again,” he replied, topping off his fifth mug of beer.  “You guys wanna do some more shots?”

“Shots,” Max asked shock.  “When did he start doing shots?”

“Probably around the time he started dating Nina,” Philip replied.  “I think we need to get you home.  Let’s go buddy.”