Today Is The Day!

Before I even had it, I closed my eyes and Imagined.

Short Story written by Daphne Cayo (2007)

The sun's rays illuminating my room are shining. The drumming sounds of woodpeckers outside my window, the grass sways with the breeze of the wind, the sky is so blue the clouds look like heaven, and the color of the rainbow represents my life. The fresh aroma of baked bread, muffin, pancakes, and maple syrup fills my bedroom. I wake up and make my way downstairs to the kitchen. My mamma dressed in a colorful mumu, with one hand on her hips as she scrambled eggs with the other. She is cooking up a feast to feed a family of ten people. Excited, I greeted my mother with a kiss on the cheek then hugged her tightly as if it was my last time to hold her. My mother said, "Child, what got into you early this morning," as she cooks bacon. I smile at her with all my pearly thirty-two teeth as I set the table with plates and silverware.

My siblings, who are usually annoying beyond belief, were actually cute and intriguing today. I even engaged in a conversation with my little brother as he stuffed his face with a mouthful of eggs, bacon, and grits. I listened to him talk about him and his friend having a spitball competition to see who spit the farthest. He was so proud that he had won something as disgusting as a spit competition. Something as little as that brought so much joy to him. He is so excited that his bifocals are practically falling off his face. Macy, my older sister, who is usually a selfish bitch, joined my brother and me at the table. I ask her, "can you please pass the bacon"? She gazes at me for a while with a fixed expression. She slams the plate of bacon on the table, rolling her big brown eyes at me. I smile at her, greeting her with a good morning. I then say to her, "thank you, sister. You look very lovely this early morning." The room grew silent, and all eyes were on me as I chewed a piece of bacon. Macy is bothered by my politeness. She flares her nostrils and sucks her teeth as she is staring at me. "Mama, call the doctor! Lucy Ann is hallucinating. She is too nice, and that's strange," she said.

My father joins us at the table. With a deep, demanding voice, my father asked, "what is this I hear about a doctor?" Dad looks at her. She's smiling for no reason. She even listened to Danny talk about spitting". I lean over and kiss my dad on his cheeks, then pour coffee in his favorite mug; he takes it with a two-teaspoon of sugar and ¼ of skim milk. I stir my daddy's coffee clockwise as I hum a sweet melody. My father is overwhelmed, but he has no

complaints. He, too, stares at me with a smile as big as mine. "See, daddy, she's doing it again," Macy said. My father sips his coffee like it was a guilty pleasure. "Perfect," looking at me, he said. "Macy, maybe your sister is just grateful for life." Macy excuses herself from the table with her plate. "Whatever, this is just too weird." Mamma's cooking is extra delicious today. We savagely eat breakfast like it's our last meal. Meanwhile, my mom is barely standing. I can tell that she is exhausted from all the cooking. She must have woken up early just to bake fresh bread and muffins. Yet here we are, eating like some starving runaway kids. Simultaneously, my mamma can barely stand straight washing the dishes she used to cook for her ungrateful family. I can tell that her feet and back are hurting by how she curled her toes in the sandal and the way she bends her knees with her hand on her hip. I realize, for years, we have eaten breakfast without her. My heart broke into a thousand pieces watching my mamma. I stand and yell, "We should be ashamed of how we treat you. You clean the house and wash our dirty underwear. We repay you by not caring if you sit down and enjoy breakfast with us". I pull my mom to the table and sit her down. "Mom, enjoy this breakfast with us while it's hot. Danny and I will do the dishes." She didn't say anything, but I knew she was flattered. I fix her a plate with all the trimmings, then lifted up her legs and put them on my father's lap. I then demand that he get to work and rub them corns.

As I wash the dishes, I fall into a deep fantasy about the boy who gives my heart meaning. He is so damn fine he blows my mind. Everything about him is just so perfect, from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet. His hair is like cotton, so soft. His eyes are so deep, I can see my future in it. His teeth are whiter than my Mama's hand wash white sock, and my mamma can wash the hell out of some socks. His sexy caramel skin is as soft as a feather pillow, and his body is as tight as my ponytail on a good day. He caresses me with his - shouting "Lucy Ann"! "What?" I yell as my sister startles me from my fantasy. "Water is all over the floor," She screams. I look down at my feet. What do you know, She's right! My feet are soaked with soapy water. I don't care. I hug my sister, freaking her out. Of course, her first reaction is to shove me off her. I slip and fall; I'm so excited I jump right up and run up the stairs. I can hear Macy yelling, "Who do you think will clean up this mess you made?"

I prepare my body for a night of guilty uncensored pleasure. I start by brushing my hair back into a ponytail. I want to be so close to him when he exhales carbon dioxide, I can breathe it in. I made a unique patch of lip balm; I mixed petroleum jelly with his favorite homemade dessert, peach cobbler. I rub the lip balm into the cracks of my lip, so when we kiss in good faith, he will suck my lips off my face. I massage cocoa buttermilk all over my skin. I thought about a homemade flavored recipe, but mosquitoes will eat me alive down in the south side of the country. If anybody is going to eat me alive, it sure as hell ain't gonna be no damn mosquitoes. My skin is as soft as a baby's bottom. My nails are clipped, filed, and polished. I want to dig deep into his skin, leaving my mark as dogs do on tree barks. I soaked my feet for three hours. They are so soft and tender I feel like I'm walking on clouds. I slipped on my favorite dress, a white off the shoulders linen summer dress that mom had hand-sewn for me.

Off I was to the one place I felt the safest. My father sits on the porch with my mamma, laughing as if they had just met for the first time. I thought to myself, that's how my man and I will be after years have passed. I waved goodbye to my parents; they were so into each other that they didn't notice my dress or hear me talking. I strolled to my destination as I contemplated my arrival. Playful children fill the field, old men smoking tobacco on their porch while they slam domino pieces on the table. The closer I get, the more excited I am. I'm near our secret location with the three tall trees behind the lake. As I get closer, I can see a sheet lying on the floor with a brown picnic basket. I sit on the sheet that was prepared just for me. While waiting, I peer into the lake. The water is crystal clear, and the dirt even looks clean.

Suddenly a hand covers my eyes. I knew it was Samuel, the love of my life I've been waiting for. He removed his hand from my eyes and showed himself. I fell into his arms like I was helpless. He smelled so good I just wanted to lick him. "I missed you," he said. I knew he had. If I thought about him all day, I was pretty sure he was thinking of me too. He is such a gentleman. He took out my ponytail just so he can run his fingers through my hair. He massaged my scalp. It felt so good I thought I heard myself-snoring. He lay my body across his lap. He kissed my lips, then told me how my lips taste like his favorite dessert. "Really," I said as If I was surprised. Relaxed and open, I'm ready for anything. I grabbed his chest as he went down my neck with sweet kisses. He pulled away and asked, "are you sure you're ready"? I was as ready and excited as a fat kid at a pie-eating contest.

For goodness sake, I know he noticed that I wasn't wearing any undergarments. I calmly replied softly, "yes, I'm sure." At that moment, his and my clothes began coming off. He licked me from the bottom of my feet to the top of my head. I lay there helplessly, unable to do any of the tricks I was practicing at home on the bed. I'm shaking like a crackhead in need of a fix. As I knew my body was being invaded, it was a penetration that had stopped me from shaking; it felt like we were one—all for one and one for all. The feeling is unexplainable. He handled me with finesse, looking into my eyes. I wanted to capture every moment, so I didn't blink. I watch him stroke back and forth as he makes weird noises. Not that I was quiet, I made a few little gulping sounds, nothing out of the ordinary, I don't think. He is so caught up in the moment, and I wonder what is on his mind. Uh duh, he's doing what guys think about the most. As he strokes deeper and harder, I dug my nails into his back like I knew I would.

I bit his lips and crossed my legs tightly around his waist. To my surprise, I had no idea I was that flexible. Our bodies motioned together in the same direction. I'm officially a woman, a grown-ass woman, yes, that's me. I've been formally deflowered. I for sure think he heard, on the other hand, swallowed my noises. He started to stroke faster, and the noises got louder, but the final stroke made him quiver. He got off of me and lay on his back as he looked into the sky, heavily breathing. I looked at him and thought to myself, that's it, he can't be done that fast. I've waited so long and prepared all-day for a minute? I lotion my legs longer than that, scrambled eggs take longer to cook than that, I brush my teeth longer than that, oh hell nah, no he didn't. The feeling came and left with the stroke of the wind. My weak and adult body lies next to his. He pulls me closer to him and squeezes me tight as he strokes my hair. We look into each other's eyes and smile. Even though it was quicker than I expected, I wouldn't change it for the world.