Dessi's Romance by Goldie Alexander

Dessi’s spoken to
Abdul. What should I say? I stares sightlessly out the window, half registering
that the day promises to be a scorcher. The other half of my brain screams: What
do I do now?
    I read her
email, read it through again, then hit the reply button:    
             
    Hi Emma J
    Shit! I
wish I was up there with you!!!!
    That’s
so great that you’ve caught up with your dad, and that he seems so enthusiastic
for you to get along. About time someone spoilt you. Laura and the house and
pool sound terrific. I just wish I was up there with you. Maybe next year?
    It’s so boring
down here. Like all that’s happening today is Dad driving me to the physio,
then calling into the supermarket and renting some DVD’s.
    Abdul
DID phone the day after you left. But he only wanted to know if you’d got off
okay. He said something came up and he’d been too busy to take you to the
airport. I said, ‘Why didn’t you call?’ so he said ‘I did, but couldn’t get
through.’ He sounded really apologetic. Anyway, I didn’t know what to say, so I
got off ASAP…
     
    I’m desperate for something more to
write, but my mind’s gone blank. I’m not used to lying. I admit to telling
white lies: like when Jodie asks if her bum’s too big in a new outfit, or if
Kaz needs a better hairdresser and can’t afford it. But I’ve never lied to
Emma, certainly not about anything important. But what else can I do? If I tell
her the truth, it’ll only mess up her holiday.
    Her dad and
Laura’s house sounds great, but what if Emma decides to stay on? I can’t
imagine life without my closest friend. It’d be like losing half of me. But I certainly
understand how she feels about living somewhere nice. As I glance around at makeshift
wardrobes, chipped paint and a ten foot high scabby ceiling, it strikes me how
much Hannah must hate this place. Our ‘proper’ house is only six years old and
big enough to sleep seven. Right now Graham’s leased it to a South African
family with three little boys. I hate it that strangers are sleeping in my
room. When we return, will it still feel like mine? This old house is almost
the same size, but with only one bathroom and no built in cupboards, it’s too
much like Emma’s and Julie’s broken down weather-board. In an essay once titled
‘My Ideal House’, Emma wrote, ‘My bathroom will be lined in pink marble with
gold taps and have its own sunken spa and bidet.’
    I winced.
‘Pink marble? Gold taps? Gross!’
    Thinking
about Emma’s house reminds me that I still haven’t got around to finishing my
email.
     
    That’s
about it. Nothing else to report. Give my love to the others. When will Jodie
learn not to get stoned? What’s it like sharing a room with Sacha? Great at
least that he’s neat. I can’t imagine what sharing with Jodie would be like,
she’s such a slob.
    Please,
please keep writing,
    I love
you L Dessi.
     
    Before I dare reconsider, I hit ‘send’.
There. Done. But deep down I know that I’ll have to live with those lies and
I’ve made a bargain with the devil. What if I told her the truth? Would that
have ruined our friendship forever? What if I sent another email? Only an
honest one. This is what I’d really like to say:
    Emma, I
think you should know that Abdul wants to stay friends with you, but he’s
really interested in me. I hate that this is happening, because I’m terrified
that it will come between us and ruin our friendship. Trouble is, I think I’ve
fallen for him hook, line and sinker. Now I don’t know what to do. Please tell
me it’s okay by you if I keep on seeing him…
    But of
course I don’t. I’ll go with the way things are. Surely Emma knows not to pine
over a guy who only took her out once and then refused to drive her to the airport.
Wouldn’t that hint he wasn’t serious? Didn’t Abdul say he just wanted to be
her friend? Lots of great guys go north this time of year. With a bit of luck
she’ll meet someone new.