Jonathan Hathaway no longer seems to be the “perfect man” Keisha once thought of him to be. Everything was going smooth and she couldn’t get enough of him. He called her one afternoon and invited her to go to the art museum and she took up his offer but she didn’t let her mother know. She was out with him way past her curfew seeing that she went to get some coffee with him afterwards which isn’t what Keisha was used to. She never drank coffee so it was a real big energy boost. When she returned home she and her mom got into a huge argument. She didn’t want to lie so she told her where she had been and who she was with. This didn’t make her mother happy at all. “He’s too old for you” is all she ever heard from her parents. This made Keisha furious because they didn’t understand that she is eighteen and will be heading off to college in just a few months. Jonathan made her feel special, why couldn’t anyone understand that? The Valentine’s Day dance was coming around but Keisha wasn’t planning on going until Jonathan insisted she went, that he couldn’t stand to watch all those high school children have a good time unless he was able to see her face in the crowd. They made arrangements to have dinner afterwards at a fancy restaurant and she couldn’t wait. Jelani warned Keisha about Jonathan one day when she was dropping her home. She said that he seemed to perfect and that she should keep her eyes wide open. It was almost time for the dance and Leon asked Keisha if she would like to go with him and she accepted but felt bad because she was using him as a way to make things easier with her parents so she could spend time out with Jonathan after the dance. The night of the dance arrived and Keisha was wearing a short, silk, silver dress that complimented her body. She even wore the silver butterfly necklace which she received on Christmas day from Jonathan at her doorstep since she would be seeing him later. Keisha enjoyed the dance but was looking forward for her time with Jonathan after the dance. Leon had dropped her home and she was driven to Jonathan’s apartment where he had prepared dinner for just the two of them. She was a bit uncomfortable but enjoyed feeling like a mature adult. They then went to the living room and were sitting on the couch. He told her how nice the necklace looked on her and she never thanked him for it until then but found out he didn’t give it to her nor the flowers that she received. She wondered who else could have possibly done that but Leon then came to mind and she reminded herself to thank him the next time they spoke. Jonathan began kissing her and grabbing on her arm. Keisha yanked away and told him to stop. He apologized but continued doing it so she asked him to take her home. His voice was the same but only this time it sounds mean and dark so Keisha asked him to take her home. He’d asked her why she would dress like a woman if she wasn’t do woman things and that she needed to grow up. Keisha tried to threaten him with losing his and his father’s job but he explained that he could care less about his dad and that this would be all her fault because she shouldn’t have gotten into this relationship with him from the start. She tried her hardest to find her way out but the door was locked. He pulled out a knife and put it her neck and said if she didn’t relax he would hurt her. Keisha grabbed the knife and wrestled with him until he had a long slash on the side of his face from his eyebrow to his chin. She then grabbed the key and ran out the door forgetting her shoes, jacket, and purse. For some time, she walked around trying to find her way back to somewhere she was familiar with but she ended up collapsing unconscious and began to let snow pile on her. She was saved by a homeless woman she had one ran into with Jalani when she went to Gerald’s house named Edna and was brought into a warm basement. Edna rubbed her swollen feet, cleaned up the cut Jonathan gave her on her neck from the knife, and given her warm clothes to change into.
Quotation:
" Leon walked around to let me out of his car. He grinned like a puppy as he walked me up to the door, did not slip on the ice on the sidewalk, and did kiss me quickly on the lips before I hurriedly fumbled for my door key."
Reflection:
I was extremely shocked by Jonathan’s actions because I don’t feel that it’s right for any woman to be held against their will. Just because Keisha presented herself as if she was a woman doesn’t mean that she necessarily should be considered as one because she’s still young and is learning from her mistakes. As an adult you are still learning and grow from your mistakes. I do hope that she uses this experience as a wakeup call and realizes why her parents reacted the way they did when they found that she was talking to him. Referring to the quote I was wondering why the author italicized did and not. Could she be referring to how Leon acts or just the fact that he gave her a kiss?
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