their seats, three necks twirled around in unison. It was Michael Jackson’s Thriller movie coming to life.
The fear that had gripped Afrika’s body earlier returned. Asia’s parents stood in the doorway and gazed at the trio, although their eyes were dedicated to Afrika. After an awkward silence, Asia’s mother spoke.
“Happy Birthday, Trevor.” His mother moved forward and kissed him.
“Come on, Mom. I’m too old for that.”
“You’ll always be my baby.”
“Yeah, happy birthday, Trevor,” Victor Christianson said.
“Thanks, Dad.”
Brenda Christianson came and stood next to Afrika. “So, you’re the new friend that Asia has been going on and on about.”
Offering a warm smile, Afrika shook Brenda’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Christianson. I’m Nikki. Asia talks about you both so much,” she said, turning to include Victor.
Brenda Christianson smiled. “Her daddy and I are very proud. Well, other than you wearing your hair in a ponytail and being roughly the same height as Asia, I don’t think you would pass for twins like Asia says people are saying. Asia is much lighter than you and she has a birthmark on her tummy. Do you have a birth-mark on your tummy? What do you think, Victor?”
“No, I don’t have a birthmark,” Afrika replied in a hurry. She wasn’t sure she liked the way Asia’s mother was interrogating her like their daughter was better than her. And she certainly didn’t like the way they kept staring at her; especially Asia’s father, like she was some kind of alien. Afrika thought about the sixth finger they both had in common but kept it to herself.
“Well, it was nice meeting you, Nikki,” Brenda said and began to walk out of the room until she heard her husband speak.
“Nikki?” Asia’s father inquired.
“Nikki Bailey. Nikki is my nickname, which I prefer to use. My full name is Afrika Nicole Bailey. People used to tease me when I was younger about my first name and by the time I was in the fifth grade, I had everyone calling me Nikki until I went to high school. Then it was Afrika again.”
Brenda and Victor stopped in their tracks. Afrika hadn’t noticed their discomfort because Asia started talking.
“Why didn’t you tell me Afrika was your first name? It’s so like mine. Another coincidence. I don’t believe this. We’re both named after continents.”
“You guys are weird,” Trevor said.
“I think it’s too cool,” Asia added, grabbing Afrika’s arm.
Afrika and Asia headed for the door. “It was nice meeting you, Mr. and Mrs. Christianson,” Afrika said, shaking their hands.
“It was nice meeting you, too, Nikki…Afrika,” Brenda said, cutting an eye at her husband, who seemed to avoid eye contact. “Ah, Afrika, before you and Asia head off to campus, I’d like to ask you a question.”
Afrika frowned at the tone of Brenda’s voice. The longer she stayed in Asia’s house, the more uncomfortable she became. She was sure that it was more than her mother’s casual warning. She thought it odd that Mr. Christianson acted as if he had met her for the first time. “Yes, Mrs. Christianson?”
“Did your mother ever attend Central? I had a friend once; in fact we were best friends. I haven’t seen her in over nineteen years.” Brenda gave Afrika the once over again, and then continued. “Our fathers were both in the Army, and we were stationed in Europe at the same time—Germany, to be exact. Both of our fathers were reassigned to Ft. Bragg, which is where this friend of mine and I ended up. And when it was time to go to college, we went to North Carolina Central University together. But I don’t know what happened to her. She vanished from sight at the end of our freshman year, and I never heard from her again. I was crushed for a long while.”
Afrika glanced at Victor, who looked away. Something was not making any sense, but there wasn’t any time to address it. “Yes, she did. Her name is Mimi.”
Both Brenda and Victor gasped at the same time.
“You’re Mimi’s daughter?” Brenda asked. “Where is she? How can I get in touch with her? I can’t believe that her daughter is standing in front of me in my house.”
Asia and Trevor’s eyes widened. They couldn’t believe their ears.
“People said we were inseparable,” Brenda continued. “We both said that if we had girls, I would name mine Asia and she’d name hers Afrika because we had travelled to so many places with our parents.” Almost as if Brenda was in a trance, she kept going.