The first time I laid eyes upon June Andros, I knew she was something special. A six-foot-tall, beautifully curvy young Black woman striding through the crowded Place Cartier Mall in the City of Gatineau, Province of Quebec. You should have seen her, man. She looked really hot clad in a long-sleeved Black T-shirt featuring Bob Marley, Black leather pants and a Red Sox baseball cap on backwards. I was hanging out with my friend Nicole Carlson at the time. Nicole is a tall, blonde-haired and blue-eyed, muscular and tattooed Englishwoman whom I met at Carleton University in the City of Ottawa, Province of Ontario. Nicole is openly gay and we met in the Gender And Sexuality Studies class last year. People, especially Black women and white men, always make assumptions when they see us hanging out together in Ottawa. Simply because I'm a Black man and she's a white woman.
Anyhow, Nicole and I walked into a bookstore and looked for some science fiction novels by the great ones like Samuel R. Delany, Teejay LeCapois, Kevin Grievoux, Stephen King and Isaac Asimov. We're in the Science Fiction and Fantasy Club at school. A Haitian guy raised in America and a gay Englishwoman searching for rare books inside a French Canadian bookstore. It's a fascinating world that we live in, isn't it? Anyhow, I was used to people staring at Nicole and I as we walked together. Our arrival into the bookstore did not go unnoticed. The old white guy behind the counter flashed us that all too common phony smile that people give you in Canada when they don't like you. Nicole and I smiled right back at him. As I browsed through the shelves, I accidentally bumped into someone's, um, butt.
A very nice butt belonging to a very attractive someone. The person in question was the tall, curvy Black lady I had previously seen walking through the mall. I excused myself, and she smiled, saying it was okay. That's when Nicole joined us, clutching a copy of Robot City by Isaac Asimov. The tall tomboyish Englishwoman gently touched me on the shoulder and looked at the young Black woman. The Black chick looked at us, smiled, and said we made quite a cute couple. I smiled, but Nicole shrugged and said we were just friends. Ever the bold Englishwoman, she extended her hand to the young Black woman and introduced herself. The other woman smiled at Nicole and introduced herself as June Andros. Both women looked at me askance, and I finally introduced myself. Guillaume Lacroix. June Andros smiled, and asked me if I was Haitian. I smiled and nodded. I told her that I was born in the town of Cap-Haitien in the island of Haiti and raised in the City of Brockton, Massachusetts. The City of Champions. June grinned and asked me what an American like myself was doing in the Ottawa area. I shrugged, grinned, and told her that I was an international student at Carleton University. She smiled coyly and said that I should have gone to the University of Ottawa, the better school, according to her. Jumping into our conversation, Nicole asked June if she was an Ottawa University student, and June pled guilty to that one.
The three of us stood there talking for several minutes, before June Andros excused herself to grab a copy of the novel The Fallen : Forsaken by Thomas E. Sniegoski. I smiled when I saw what she bought. The book was written by a Boston-area author whose novels about fallen angels and their offspring entertained me a great deal as I was growing up in New England. There was a nice vibe between the three of us. Still, we were exiting the store and it seemed a shame to let things end like this. Nicole, once again ever boldly, asked June Andros to join us for a quick bite inside the Place Cartier Food Court. June hesitated, but Nicole's disarming smile seemed to convince her. I was trying my hardest not to grin from ear to ear. The three of us went to the Chinese food place and grabbed some tasty dishes, then we sat together.
