My name is Charlotte (BWWM)

It's My Party

I walked up the sidewalk to the front door and when I got inside the lights were turned off. "Surprise! Happy Birthday, Charlotte! I look ahead of me and I see my sisters, Nadine, Delores, a few friends from Pleasant Green Missionary Baptist Church. I was happy that my mother had planned a surprise party. "Happy Birthday Charlotte, I can't believe that you are eighteen already." My mother responded. She looked like she was going to cry. I sat down in my father's favorite rocking chair and my family and friends handed out the gifts that they got. I opened Josie's gift first. She had knitted me some hats for the winter. Francine had bought me a new Bible. It was a beautiful Bible. It had my name inscribed on it. A few of my friends from church made me some bookmarks for my Bible. Nadine bought me "Why Can't We Wait" by Dr. Martin Luther King Junior. Delores bought some scarves for my hair. My mother left the den and went into her room and came back with a package. I opened it up and it was a record. A Supremes record to be exact. It was Where Did Our Love Go by The Supremes. "Dad, how am I supposed to listen to records without a record player?" Charlotte asked inquisitively. My father got up and went to the hallway closet where stored our coats and pulled out a large wrapped box. I unwrapped the box and inside was a record player. I was in a state of shock for a few seconds. I couldn't not believe that I had gotten a record player. "Thank you so much for the gift Dad." Charlotte said excitedly.

I loved all of my gifts. My mother had made a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. It was good. After a few hours my guests had left so I went to my room. I put my record player on my vanity. Charlotte looked out her bedroom window and noticed that James' room was directly across from her room. Several days later she came out of her bedroom and her mother was baking a chocolate cake. "Who are you baking a cake for"? Charlotte asked. "It is for the Williamson Family they moved in across the street last week." My mother said politely. "I will help you take over the cake. I think you should make them some of your lemonade as well." Charlotte said with a smile. I went back to my bedroom and took a shower and I got dressed. I walked across the street with my mother. She knocked on the door and waited a few seconds. Mrs. Williamson opened the door and looked out. "Hello, my name is Alice Atkins and I live across the street. I want to welcome you to the neighborhood." She said with a smile. Mrs. Williamson looked at Charlotte and her mother and her face softened. "Thank you for coming over. Why don't you and your daughter come in?" She asked.

My mother looked at her and replied "I am afraid that we can't do that, but I will try and come over again." As we walked back to our house I was quietly thinking to myself. "Are you okay Charlotte?" asked my mother. I decided that I was going to her about Robert and I. "Mother don't be mad at me, but I am no longer going steady with Robert." Charlotte replied. She looked over at her mother. Her mother looked at her and said "Why not? I thought you liked him a lot. He was such a nice guy. He adored you. I don't know why you would mess up something great." I looked at my mother before I said anything. I was trying to see things from her point of view. "Mother I wasn't happy going steady with him and I felt bad because I didn't have feelings for him. So I told him how I felt." I said honestly. My mother looked upset and she was about to say something when my Dad just looked at her but didn't say anything. Charlotte went outside and sat down in a chair and started reading The Diary of Anne Frank. It had just started to get dark outside.Charlotte could still see outside since it. She was so engrossed in the book that she didn't see James was walking towards her. "Hello Charlotte, what are you reading?" asked James. She looked up and saw him standing there in front of her. "What are you doing over here? She asked him. "I saw you come outside and I wanted to talk to you. He said honestly. "You can't be over here, you and I will get in trouble." She replied. "I don't care if I get in trouble, I just wanted to talk to you and be your friend. But if you don't want to be my friend that is okay with me." He said as he started to walk away. I looked back at my house and I did something crazy. I got up from my red plastic chair and got up and followed him. I was not thinking about who watching or what would happen next. I walked almost half a block before I caught up to him. "James I do want to be friends with you. You seem like a nice guy and I want to get to know you. You are the first person that has actually seen me as a person, not the color of my skin"I replied. James looked at her for a few seconds. "You are a very nice person. I came over as well to ask you if you wanted to spend some time with me. My parents are going to be out of the country next week for a month. If you want to, we could spend some time together ." He said.