What would you do if a Walkman landed at your door with instructions of a quest you must follow to reveal your secret admirer?
What if you didn't have the ability to connect and communicate with the world around you?
What if love came wrapped up in...
Dubby drops me off at home and parks up himself. Mom and Bunny wonder where I've been all day and coming back in a new outfit and damp hair. They literally have no words because I never do anything interesting.
I go upstairs and look at the red dress. Bunny storms in after me. "Wow," she exclaims. "Tell. Me. Everything."
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I just stare at her. "We went up to that old Honeymoon Motel and I found a tape that said to meet at this party, a blue party, but we are going to wear red to find each other."
Now she just stares back at me. "Say what?" she continues. "Francis, this is a bold move. Are you ready for such a bold move?"
"I think so."
"Are you thinking hard enough? You're totally being caught off guard."
"But I know."
"But he could literally pop up at any time. That's a very scary way to go about meeting someone. You'll be on the edge of your seat all night."
"Edge of my seat in excitement."
"I don't understand." She goes to sit on the bed, confused. "But you aren't like this. This isn't you. You're a scaredy-cat. You don't ever feel excitement over fear," she pauses. "Oh my gosh, do you have the love bug?"
"The what?" What is she talking about? I can be adventurous and excited about stuff for the future. I'm not just some reclusive homebody whose destination is a sprinter with many, many cats.
"The love bug. You feel feelings of love and affection. It's true, love makes you cra-zay! You're in more trouble than I thought." She looks at the love bear stuffie on my bed. "Even more trouble. You can't love someone you have never met. This isn't logical."
"Not everything has to be logical, Bunny." What is happening to me? I'm morphing. Oh my, she's right, it's making me crazy, Beyoncé was right. When is she not?
"What have you done with my sister?" Bunny shakes her head. "I need to come to this party with you, okay?"
"Fine. But don't butt in."
"I'll stake the place out, find him, report back to you, and then you can calmly decide what you wanna do about it. Run or make out."
"I don't know him."
"Tell that to your feelings."
"They won't listen, they are kinda dumb, actually."
Bunny leaves me to my thoughts. Maybe all these chemicals going on in my brain right now are causing me to think with my head in the clouds. I need to be prepared. What if I see him and freak out? Or see him and I can't lift my jaw up off the floor? And secretly praying it's Jules Park, but knowing there's no way. Or what if I see Dubby? How do I react to that? I can't do the wrong thing. I can't hurt him. I can't act like I got a gift I don't like, but I'm pretending to like it anyway. I don't even know how I feel about Dubby. He just has a special place in my heart.
