My Boyfriend is an Angel

The Cold, Hard Truth

"Hello, ma'am, my name's Edward. May I speak to Jordan Weaver?" Eddy asks Alice, politely, as he bends down to her tiny height. Alice shakes her head no and I, still standing at the top of the stairs, sigh in relief that it was Eddy and not Alex. Then, I run down the stairs to stop my 5-year-old little sister from embarrassing me.

"Are you my sister's new boyfriend?" Alice asks him, crossing her arms across her chest.

He smiles and says, "I have a girl-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah... That's what they all say," Alice says as she interrupts him, rolling her eyes. I now make it down the stairs to Alice. I stand behind her as he starts laughing. Then, Eddy stands up straight to look at me.

"Your little one here has such a big attitude and a huge imagination. I'm guessin' she's your little sister, right?" Eddy says to me, ignoring Alice.

"I can still hear you. And you still haven't answered my question. Are you Jordan's new boyfriend or not?" Alice says, getting annoyed with him.

"No, sweetheart. I think you might be talkin' 'bout a different guy. My girlfriend goes to school with your sister and I. Anyways, what's your name, ma'am?" Eddy says, looking down to Alice.

"Alice," she says, sticking her nose up in the air. Eddy and I both start laughing. Alice is such a character.

"Alice, go get a snack or something. Eddy and I have to talk about some stuff," I say. She starts walking off.

Then, when she's out of Eddy's sight, she mouths, 'Jordan and Edward sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carriage.' I stick my tongue out at her and she does the same before walking off to the kitchen. I turn to see Eddy watching me the whole time.

He smiles and says, "Wow, Jordan. Got your hands full?"

I nod my head in agreement and reply by saying, "Alice has us going in fifty million different directions. My mom and I are always on our toes."

"Same with my little brother. Anyways, I'm here to talk to ya 'bout Alex," His voice going more serious. I invite him in to sit on our living room couch. He accepts.

• • • • •

"This is a really nice house, Jordan. Anywho, I saw ya with Alex this mornin'. He loves ya and you love him equally as much. I just want to tell ya that when he loves, he loves hard which doesn't help him when he mets someone like you. But, Alex's life has been... Well... Rocky, let's just say," Eddy says. I look at him with confusion.

"What do you mean by when you say his life has been rocky, Eddy?" I ask.

"Well, he lives with foster parents." Foster parents? Really? I had no clue. I feel so bad for him now.

Eddy continues, "Both of his parents died before his ninth birthday. His mom died way much earlier than his dad so his dad raised him until he died." Oh my! Poor Alex! He probably never knew his own mother that gave birth to him.

"Anyways, he had one pair of foster parents before the ones now. They lived in South Carolina and he lived in New York. So, he moved from New York City to South Carolina and, then, to Atlanta." I thought he just moved from New York to Atlanta. I didn't understand what he's been through and I feel so bad for him. And I feel bad that I didn't understand what he's been through the time we were talking on the bench.

"Also, his girlfriend moved away a few weeks before you moved in here. It took him awhile just to go back to school." A girlfriend? Before me? What's new? I had one before him, too. But, he actually cared about her. The big question is: Did she love him back?

"He's been through anythin' your little brain can think of. His heart has been broken millions of times before he met you. I just wanted to tell you this. He's too afraid to warn you. Don't tell him I told ya this or else he would kill me. I don't want to break up your relationship but it's better to inform you now than before it's too late." Too late? When would it be "too late"?