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Cage and I looked at each other. It was good to know that he wasn’t going to blurt out anything that might make me uncomfortable.
“I grew up with a lot of pressure to do something special,” I summarized.
“You never told me that,” Cage said searching his thoughts.
“I thought I did when we spoke about… stuff.”
“No. I remember that conversation very well. You didn’t mention that.”
I sighed. “Well, I do. I can’t just do anything I want with my life. I feel like everyone is expecting me to do something that changes the world.”
“To change the world?” Titus said jovially. “Wow! That’s a bit of pressure.”
“More than a bit,” I clarified.
“So, how are you going to do it? What are your plans to change the world?” Titus replied.
“I have no idea. I thought I could figure it out on my own. Then I thought that I could figure it out if I backpacked through Europe. Nope. I still don’t know.”
“You backpacked through Europe?” Titus asked mystified.
“Yeah.”
“Wow! You too?” He said turning to Cage.
“No. That wasn’t really an option for me.”
“Cage was too busy sharpening his skills to play in the NFL.”
“You’re going to play in the NFL?”
“Not anymore. That part of my life is over.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Really!” Titus said sympathetically.
“Don’t be. It was never my dream.”
“What is your dream?”
“To get married… have a family… raise a couple of kids. Maybe I could teach football somewhere,” Cage said looking at me.
As nice as his dream sounded, I had to admit that it didn’t fit with what I knew I had to do. For my parents and all of the families at my school, I needed to show the world that we aren’t misfits and mistakes. I needed to stand out and change the world making everyone grateful that kids who were born to two dads and a mom exist. I had to justify our existence.
When I didn’t respond, Titus broke the tension by mentioning the food Dr. Sonya had packed for us. She had made us fried egg sandwiches with melted cheese and ham between toasted English muffins. The flavor was enhanced with a tart jam that was mixed with honey.
“They’re good,” Titus said enjoying one of them. “She doesn’t cook often, but whenever she would bring something to a fair or school function, hers would always be the first I would check out. She’s from the Caribbean, ya know? Jamaica, I think. Her jerk chicken is to die for.”
“She’s from Jamaica? I’m from the Bahamas,” I said happy to hear that someone was from nearby.
“I thought you said you were from New York City?” Titus asked.
“He spent his summers in the Bahamas,” Cage explained.
Titus just stared at me in the rearview mirror after that. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but I felt the road being paved for him to think I was the freak everyone saw me as.
“Have we seen all of the falls?” I said wanting to change the topic.
“Not even close. I’ve only been taking you to the ones that didn’t require much walking.”
