I knew exactly what “romantic” meant. And I couldn’t deny I had a familiar ache. I had felt Rasul between his jeans several times. He had pressed up against me the last time he had lain in his bed and moaned—that’s when I knew I had him. He wasn’t going nowhere until he felt what it was like inside and up against. I had learned something from Nakesha before we stopped being friends. I felt that tiny pinch of electric, just thinking about what we could do when we were truly alone and on our own.

“We might could do that,” I said real sweet. “Maybe …”

After that, neither one of us could stop smiling. We had started out listening to Chicago radio, and when that faded out we put DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince into the tape player. We had stuffed our bags in the huge trunk—most of what we owned was clothes, shoes, and music. I probably had the most stuff—a portable TV Jewel gave me, a small Panasonic stereo, and a few books from my English classes. Earlier, I had been so worried about the black smoke coming from the back and the rusted pipes hanging from the bottom of Rasul’s “Ramobile” (as we had playfully dubbed the Eldorado) that I just knew I wasn’t setting foot in it, even if Rasul was bragging about the new engine his shade tree mechanic uncle had put in. But right then, I didn’t care how reliable that car was. All I was thinking about were the exciting things Janice had said, things like: Shivana, you fine enough to get one of those dress-up jobs downtown …

Rasul was actually a controlled, calm driver; I had relaxed within minutes of him zipping past the roaring semis and massive vans that shared the early Sunday morning road. This real trip was an adventure for me, the first adventure I think I ever had. For the first time in my life, I was leaving Illinois. I was going somewhere else. I was leaving my mama behind. I think I thought I was proving something, but I didn’t know what. I was going to be a real mother. I was almost sixteen. I wasn’t in jail. I could read. I could write. I could get a job at a bank, or a telephone company, or a day-care center, or a building dropped in a distinguished word like downtown. I was in a big brown car going down a big highway with my man driving me.