Naima's story

Naima’s story



Hello my name is Erika, and my story is a love story that involves different ways to use the root word Fus which means to pour. Naima, taking her normal walk through the park thinking about life did not know that after going out to lunch, today would be the day her life changed forever.


It’s a sunny bright evening. I’m taking my usual walk through Marriate Park. I like coming here because it has a beautiful big fountain of water in the middle of the park. I like coming here to think, think about the future, whatever is going on in the present, and life. The past is one thing I’m trying not to think about unless they’re good memories. I come here to dream and be thankful for the life God has given me. Think about how God effuses his love with warmth and hospitality.
My life couldn’t be any more perfect. I’m a student at CSU; I’m majoring in dance and have a countless amount of friends. I have my dream car, a red Jeep Wrangler 2010. The top of my car is always off during the summer, I like feeling the breeze in my face and how the wind touches my hair, and wearing my Gucci sunglasses, just like in the movies.
As I walked back to my car after my walk, I received a text message on my Mytouch phone. It was my best friend Selena; I almost forgot that we were supposed to meet in Applebee’s to hangout. As I was on my way to the restaurant, I realized the sky had become dark very quickly, and small drops of rain had started to come down. I got to the restaurant and saw Selena sitting in a table booth in the right side near the corner close to the window. The waiter asked if I preferred a table or booth, but I quickly pointed towards Selena and told him I had a reservation. It had been two weeks I hadn’t seen her because she just came back from Miami from Winter Break. We saw each other and ran towards each other to hug. We were both happy to see each other. I couldn’t wait for her to tell me her adventures in Miami. She quickly started off with how she met a cute boy and how she spent so much time with him.
The waiter came to the table and we ordered our food. I of course ordered my usual sweet and sour chicken with vegetables and fried rice on the side. Selena went back to talking about her trip. As she was talking I turned to the side and saw a familiar face, and strangely enough that face was looking back at me. I turned back to Selena in disbelief of who it could have been. I turned back and this time I was sure who it was. My heart dropped when I realized it. Selena saw my worried face and asked me what’s wrong.
“Look to your left,” I whispered to her. Once she looked, she turned back to me with the biggest smile. “Wait a second, isn’t he your ex boyfriend?” She couldn’t say it loud enough. Once she said that, I heard thunder coming from outside. I looked outside the window and saw a profusion of rain. I turned to Selena and asked her to hurry before the rain worsened. “Oh please. The rain is the last of your worries right now. Just chill for a bit more. I’m pretty sure the rain will calm down,” she said. I figures she was right and we got back to our conversation.
“So how long has it been since you’ve talked to Jon your ex” Selena asked.
“Since our high school graduation like a year ago.”
“What happened between you two?” “Well he was very immature and not a good boyfriend. I told him that and he decided we should break up.” In the back of my head I kept having thoughts from my past with him, which was the one thing I tried for the past year not to do. He was my first boyfriend, and my first kiss. I really liked him, and we were good friends before we broke up. “I thought he was different, but he turned out the opposite,” I told Sel. He didn’t even try to make our first kiss special, but deep down inside I knew he had strong feelings for me, or maybe I wanted myself to think he had strong feelings for me. I turned to Selena and she saw a look on my face of desperation to leave.
“We should probably go,” she said, “the rain slowed down.”

As we were waiting for the waiter to come with our check, a waitress came toward us with a Pina Colada. She put it in front of me and said,” From the man over there” pointing at Jon. I took a glimpse and he was looking at me so I smiled. Our waiter came and told us were good for the night because the young gentlemen, again pointing at Jon, has paid for everything. I couldn’t believe it; I didn’t think he would even pay for himself, especially pay for someone else. He stood up and came towards our table. Selena looked at me and I could tell she was nervous for me. My heart started to race as fast as it could and then I felt like it was about to pop out as I heard his smooth and deep voice call out “Hey Naima,” I felt a knot in my throat as I struggled to say “hey” back. “It’s been awhile, how have you been.” “I’ve been fine and you” I replied. “I’ve been well.” We both started to talk about college and how we were pursuing our careers. As we were talking, I noticed he didn’t take his eyes away from me, not even for a second.
Selena stood up and said she had to go. How could she leave at a time like this? But instead of making a scene, I used it as an excuse to leave too. I began to wonder that’s why she did it, to help me out. “Well” I said nervously, “it’s time for me to go.” We stood in silence and then he said,
“I’m glad I saw you today, I hope this isn’t the last time I see you.” I smiled and saw he was taking out his phone. I knew what was going to happen next.
“You should give me your number so we can stay in contact,” he said. So I gave it to him. I thanked him for the drink and for paying for our food. He gave me a hug and sparks began to happen all over again. After the break up, I promised myself I wouldn’t fall for him ever again, and here I am, feeling sparks for him.
We said our final goodbyes for the night and I went back to my car. I looked outside my car window and saw that the rain was effusive. My house was only 15 minutes away from the restaurant, but it took me 40 minutes to get there, afraid that if I went any faster the could slip and go out of control. I hardly could go to sleep that night just thinking about what happened that evening.
It was 9:45 am, and I sat on my couch to watch a review of yesterday’s Tyra Bank show. I made my self some coffee and ate a nutritious granola bar. I checked my phone to see if I had missing calls, but I had nothing. I checked constantly just to make sure if he’d send me a message. I stood up and looked at the mirror and thought to myself, maybe he asked for my number to be nice, but it was just a one night thing. From the moment I promised I wasn’t going to look at my phone unless it was for an emergency. I went upstairs to my bedroom and put my phone under my pillow.
I got my towel, turned on the radio and took a shower. I love showers. I like feeling clean and alive. Water makes me feel that way. After my shower, I came out and got ready. I began to feel good again and practically forgot the whole Jon thing. I put my make up bag in my Louis Viutton purse and went down stairs to my car. I realized I didn’t have my phone so I went back upstairs to get it. I looked at it and noticed a missing text message. “Good morning, it’s Jon by the way,” it said on the screen. My heart started to race again. He actually texted me. I wasn’t sure if I should text back or not, but I did. I replied, “Hey, how’s it going.” It took him about a minute to text back, but that minute felt like an hour.
I got in my car and went to the mall. I managed to keep the conversation going the whole time I was there. I was shopping at Hollister when I saw a sign hanging in the wall with a picture of two couples holding hands and hugging each other. It was one of those advertisements that claims if you buy their perfume you’ll have the man of your dreams down on their knees for you in a split second. I went into Vanity to try on some clothes. He hasn’t texted back for awhile. As I was at the cashier about to pay for my clothes, I got a phone call from Jon. We exchanged our hellos and he began to say, “So what are you doing tonight,” he asked nervously.
“I’m not sure, why?” I answered trying not to sound desperate.
“Well I was wondering if you wanted to go the movies with me tonight.”
“Tonight” I answered, “sure, why not.”
“Great, I’ll pick you up around 7:00.” I gave him my address and we said goodbye. I started to get butterflies in my stomach. I haven’t been this nervous since my audition for a music video.
I got home as quick as possible to change into something more seductive. It was around 6:30 and I put on my heels. I figured since it was Jon, he might come around later than 7:30. He never really was the type that came on time. I wanted to be ready before hand because I don’t like being rushed. I looked outside the window and saw a black GMC truck in front of my home. It was Jon. I’m glad I got early. He got out of the truck and reached for something in the back of the seat. They were flowers, white lilies to be exact. I remembered telling him when we were in high school that lilies were my favorites, I’m shocked he remembered. I heard the doorbell knock and took my time to open the door. He looked at me and in a low quiet voice he said, “Wow, you look beautiful.” He came inside the house and gave me the flowers. I told him to wait so that I could get them in a vase. We went into his truck and went off to the theatre. We talked the whole way there as if we were to see each other everyday. We saw a suspense movie. I wasn’t really into that type of movie, getting scared for no reason, pointless. During the middle of the movie, I had my hand rested in the handle were you put your cups. He reached for my hand and our fingers interlocked. We held hands during the rest of the movie.
After the movie he told me he had a surprise for me. We stopped near a park with an ice skating rink. It still had on the Christmas lights. No one was there except for us. From the back of his truck he took out two ice skates. I struggled a bit to put mine on since they were bigger than my usual size. He held my hand and took me into the ice rink. I was very scared, “This is the first time I do this,” I yelled.
“Don’t worry, I’ll show you,” he said while he out his hands around my waist. We began to skate with his hands still around me. I was beginning to get the hang of it. “What happened to us, in high school?” he asked sadly.
“I don’t think we were ready to be in a relationship with each other,” I replied. We were standing in the middle of the ice rink and he looked straight into my eyes and said, “Naima, since the moment I first saw you, I knew that somehow you were the one.”
“Then why did you break up with me?”
“Because I had so much going on, pressure from my family and pressure from my friends, I didn’t have a car to take you places, I felt that you weren’t happy and that you expected a lot from me and I couldn’t be able to give you anything.” He continued talking while he put his hands on my cheek and with his other hand he pulled me closer to him. “I realize now that that was the biggest mistake I ever made, to let go of you.” I closed my eyes and tried not to cry, my heart was telling me to believe everything he was saying but my mind was telling me not to. His hands were wrapped around me and mine wrapped around him. I always thought his hugs were quite special, they were like no other hug I ever had. I felt safe around his arms. I had so much that I had to say but I couldn’t find the right way to say it. At that moment I’d figured I’d give him a second chance. On the way back home he kept saying how much he missed me and how he was not going to screw this one up. Deep down, I believed him.
A couple weeks passed and we were still together. We would see each other every day, and he would always call me at night to say goodnight. We’ve only been together for a month but it felt more like years. I even trusted him with an extra key to my house, just in case I forgot mine.
It was a week before Valentines Day and I couldn’t think of anything to get him. I was confused. What do men like that you can buy at a local store? I called Selena for guidance, and we thought of an awesome plan. We had to call Jon’s brother to help us out with this one. The night before Valentines Day, I and Selena went to Jon’s home to put balloons on his truck and have a cute letter put on his wheel from me. Jon’s brother gave us an extra key. We thought he’d be surprised in the morning. After we finished I went back home to sleep. Jon said he had a special day planned for me tomorrow.
As I woke up I noticed the smell of fresh flowers. I stood up from my bed and saw red and pink flowers petals everywhere. I went to my bathroom and saw a vase full of flowers with a note that said “Follow the arrows.” I went to the hallway and followed the arrows down the stairs, to the living room and in to my kitchen. The last arrow was pointing at a big Mickey Mouse doll holding an envelope. I opened the envelope and it had a letter and two tickets to Disney Land. “Get ready before 10:00 am; I’ll pick you up around that time. The plane leaves at 11:00. Love always, Jon,” the letter quoted. I looked at my clock and it was 9:15. I only had 45 minutes to get ready. I took a 5 minute shower and rushed everything into my luggage. I was so excited and couldn’t wait. It was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for me. I heard the doorbell and it was Jon.
We left off to the airport. We got 1st class seats. I’ve only been on a plane once and I was freaking out. Jon held my hand the whole time. He figured I was scared. We got to L.A around 2:30. We went to our hotel and stayed in a suite.
The next day we woke up early to get to Disney. We took a picture with almost every character there, and waited in line for every single ride. It’s the most fun I ever had. Night time was getting close and we got a good spot for the fire works show. He stood up and told me he had a better spot. I refused to get up because we had a good spot. He convinced me to get up and took me near Cinderella’s castle. There was a man waiting near the door to the castle. When we got there, he opened the door for us.
“Wait, are you sure we won’t get in trouble” I asked.
“Nope, I hope not,” he replied. He took me to the top of the castle were we had a perfect view of the fire works. I smiled at him and he gave me an I told you so look. He kissed me profusely through out the whole fire works. It was the most perfect night. I thanked Jon for giving me such an amazing Valentines Day gift. He looked at me and told me that as long as I was with him, my life would be an adventure, as soon as he said that, he reached for something in his pocket, and kneeled down on one knee and said, “Naima you mean the world to me; out of all the women in the world you are the most beautiful. I could be like those other men and chase after many women, but my time would be wasted. They got nothing on you. I guess what I’m trying to say is I Love you and would you marry me.”
On the way back home I couldn’t wait to tell my family. I know I had only been with him for a short amount of time, but I was in love. I was sure my family would understand. When we got home I took him to Marriate Park with me. We sat on the bench near the fountain. Instead of going there and thinking by myself, I had Jon next to me, and we thought about our future. Last time I was there I had thought about life alone, but now I realize that life comes unexpectedly, and we have to make each second an adventure.

Effuse: To pour out
Effusive: Pouring out or over flowing.
Profuse: abundant, in great amount.
Profusion: Abundance or large amount.
Confused: Perplex or bewilder