Free Taking Chances by Nina Perez Page A

there was a man in the apartment.
     
    However, she was not aware that her only child was now romantically involved with this man. Patrick and I had a decision to make. If we behaved as if nothing was going on we’d essentially be lying, and we didn’t feel as if we had any reason to lie or hide what was happening between us. Keeping our relationship status low-key stemmed from wanting to keep the newness and excitement all to ourselves, not because we were ashamed. All the same, I was not looking forward to my mother’s reaction.
     
    I couldn’t be certain how my mother would react to my dating a white man. I knew that she’d complained for many years about the racist treatment she’d sometimes received from white men on the police force, but I never heard her attack white people as a race—rather the specific, narrow-minded, people she’d encountered throughout her career. I was also unsure of how she’d take the news that I was romantically involved with a man I was living with but not married to. My mother could be terribly old-fashioned and even frowned upon Lawrence sleeping over. She firmly believed in not giving away the milk for free. Well, I thought, she’d at least be happy to know Patrick hadn’t had any of my milk yet. Not a single drop.
     
    Once we made the decision to tell our family and friends about our relationship, Patrick thought it would be nice if we had a pre-Thanksgiving dinner with them. My mother would already be here and staying with us, and I decided to invite Uncle Troy, Crystal, Brianna, and Myra. Patrick invited Paul and his boyfriend Derrick. He wanted to invite Max, but they still weren’t speaking after their fight on Halloween. I was hoping they’d work things out before then so that Max could come. I knew how much his two friends meant to him and any time we discussed the rift between them I could see how much it pained Patrick. With our dinner party the day before Thanksgiving and just a week away, it didn’t look like things would be ironed out between the friends in time.
     
    Then Patrick dropped a bombshell.
     
    “I want you to come home with me on Thanksgiving Day. Come have dinner with my family.” Sensing my hesitation, he pressed on. “I just thought since we’d be spending Wednesday here with your Mom it would be nice if we could spend Thursday with my family. I mean, I know when I tell my parents about us they’re going to want to meet you.”
     
    I couldn’t say no. The plan was to have lunch with Myra that afternoon and tell her, and then call my mother later that evening and share the news again. Thinking about both conversations gave me a nervous stomach, and thinking about meeting Patrick’s family for the first time made it even worse. We hadn’t discussed race. Not once. I have no idea why he never brought it up and I wasn’t complaining. Sure, I had tons of questions, but I wasn’t sure if I was ready for the answers. Had he ever dated a black girl before? How would his family feel? With us taking such a big step in the next week I had a feeling I’d find out the answers to those questions soon enough no matter how uncomfortable the conversations might be.
     
    For the second time that day my cell phone vibrated, startling me out of my thoughts. It was Crystal.
     
    “Hey, girl. Guess what I’m doing today…”
     
    “Chloe…”
     
    I knew right away she was crying.
     
    “Crystal, what’s wrong?” 
     
    “It’s Daddy. He’s in the hospital.”

Chapter Two

Grateful , Part 2
Patrick
     
    Cat Willow would not stop apologizing. Cat was my agent , and she’d been pretty pissed off when I showed up to my second Shining Moments audition with a busted lip and blue bruises.
     
    “I mean, not for nothing Patrick, but that face is what soap magazines are made of.” She’d realized the implication of her words and quickly continued. “Of course, I wouldn’t have signed you from class if I didn’t recognize your great talent, and