Turn To You

Turn To You: Chapter Four

Asha

At 10 am, I found Rhonda on the front stairs of my family's apartment building. Rhonda was nursing a cup of coffee and wearing my shawl, though it wasn't cold at all. I came and sat down beside her.

"How's it going?" I said, curling my hands around my own coffee mug and leaning in a bit to let the steam rise to my face. I took a deep breath, letting the aroma fill my nose.

"Fine. I should have a great day sitting around by myself, watching TV movies and playing with my twelve-year-old nephew. Go. Have a blast." She looked at me, mock-sullen.

"You are such a toddler," I said. "Don't blame me that you're spending the day alone. I didn't exactly know you would be here. Remember?"

She said nothing but pouted.

"Don't guilt trip me Rhon. Won't work."

She pouted some more. I rolled my eyes and turned away from her, rifling through my purse for my lipgloss. Just then, Betsy's car rolled into the yard. I grasped the railing to pull myself up and headed over to her car. She looked a little tired and glum, so I tried to stay cheerful.

"Hi," she said with a yawn.

"Good morning," I said, handing her my mug and sliding into the passenger seat. I barely had my seat-belt on before she reversed and we were on our way. I put on my sunglasses - purple round ones like those I'd seen the late John Lennon wearing in pictures. I thought they made me look cool. I laid my head back. The sun poured in like honey, giving Betsy a golden halo, and stretched across my lap in bars of orange light.

"Ok, here's the deal," she said, smiling finally. It was nice to see her smile. "You have control of the radio. As long as you don't play anything depressing - I mean things like love songs or songs about death or even really mellow ballads except for anything by Crowded House because I love them - you have the control. Keep me happy and also, don't play anything that might put me to sleep. I think the light and the massive amounts of coffee I drank this morning will keep me awake but you can never be too sure."

"Aye Aye Captain," I said and gave her a little salute. We grinned at each other and I felt myself blush a little, and I pretended to squint at the sun so I could avert my eyes. I wound the dial and left it on a rock station playing Tears For Fears.

"Good Choice," she said.

"You're lucky. With me, you might end up with something like...Billy Joel."

"You like Billy Joel? Me, too!" she said. "He's genius. Who told you he was awful?"

"My cousin, Rhonda. But really, she thinks anything that isn't sung by long-haired guys in tight leather pants is 'bad music.' I should really stop listening to her. Billy Joel makes me happy. His music is...theatrical."

"Yes!" she said, now excited. "This is what I'm always saying. I feel like his songs are all theme songs to some part of my life or something."

We were silent for a while as we listened to the radio and made our way past the most uninteresting part of the trip - the part where all of our surroundings were green grass and trees and houses.

By the time we made it to some kind of real civilization, Dexy's Midnight Runners were on the radio and we were singing along with the very few words we knew to "Come On Eileen." Actually, these were probably the only words that anyone knew: "Come on Eileen...at this moment you mean everything...you in that dress, my thoughts I confess verge on dirty..." we sang and then we hummed along until the chorus.

"So what's on the agenda today," I said finally. "I mean, I have some ideas for things I'd like to do. But what will we actually do?"

"I dunno. What do you wanna do?" she said, raising her eyebrows up and down. I felt myself blush again and she caught herself. "Oh! I didn't mean it like that! Wow, I'm sorry. I didn't freak you out did I?"