* * * *
“Is Carmen meeting us at the restaurant or is she coming here?”
I looked at Jared as he stood preening before my bathroom mirror.
“At the restaurant,” I told him.
“I can’t wait to see her.”
Jared had spent Saturday night at my place and now, Sunday morning, we were meeting Carmen for brunch at a restaurant in Old City. My boyfriend was especially fond of my cousin which, I guess, wasn’t a bad thing. Growing up with three sisters, Jared was quite comfortable with women and he bonded with Carmen the first time he met her.
“She’s the black sister I never had,” he said.
Right. Carmen, unfortunately, wasn’t as enthralled with Jared as he was with her. She told me privately that he talked too much and often made her feel like an animal at a petting zoo.
“He’s always touching my hair,” she said. “What’s that about?”
“He’s fascinated by it. He doesn’t know any black people.”