A Maylene Garcia moment:

The wedding party.
No, not hers. But her mother's wedding party.
It was clear that Mrs. Garcia was in love with her new husband. I saw that smile on her face, a special smile that separates emotion from photogenics. It was a great moment that though the party took place in the apartment, the love had spread throughout Fort Greene, Brooklyn.
I was cordially invited to this party. And one week before the celebration, I realized one missing element:
A gift.
I had everything else, but the gift. I couldn't imagine not showing up with something. So I went online for ideas. All I kept seeing were bracelets, rings, and other $1000 jewelry that looked more like proposal-wear than congrats-presents.
Finally, the day of the party, all out of ideas, I belt to Bloomingdales and saw this beautiful crystal. You could imagine the ridiculous look on my face asking whether it would make a great wedding gift. They must have thought I was crazy (being 17, with the checks I was getting.) But, once I heard those magic words, "Yes, this would make a great gift," I was sold.

With time running out, I ran to Fort Greene, on Hudson Walk, still worrying about the present, and then asking myself why a wedding party would be held in someone's apartment.
Then I walk inside.
To my surprise, and God-sent blessed assurance, I was not only half an hour on time, but the present was okay. I was the only one with a crystal. Yay!
The magic wouldn't stop there as I observed the party once it really got started. No matter what, I always felt like an outsider looking in on these things, just being good-natured Terrence. But Maylene would not hear anything of it, and dragged me through all of her friends, and her boyfriend of now 5 years, Sharriffe. We sat, chatted, and talked, and talked and talked. Did I say we, I meant she! In any case, she disappeared for what she considered a hot minute, while I was in the hallway area with her cousins and her boyfriend.
What was I supposed to do? Break-dance?!
Well, it started with Shariffe telling jokes. Still uneasy, I cracked one. Then one became two; two became three. And next thing, I was socializing. I was wesome; just freakin awesome! No more was I the quiet guy. I was the in guy, the cool guy, the minute man, if only for that "hot minute."

I went home that night, believing that God actually made it work out just perfectly. Whoever says that there is no God should seriously consider walking in my shoes a little bit. And I will never forget how Maylene forced me to break the ice. I just really needed that one.