"Life sounds like a boring science fiction movie, we're going to see A United Kingdom instead," Afsane Yanehsari said haughtily, and she looked triumphantly into her boyfriend Rover Jefferson's soulful brown eyes, knowing that he was going to cave in to her demands. Just like he always did. Rover hesitated and licked his lips, a thoughtful look on his face.
The two of them stood in line at the box office at the Scotiabank Theater in the east end of Ottawa, trying to decide what movie to watch. Afsane had just come back to Ottawa after a trip to a Christian conference taking place the City of Toronto. Raised in the Assyrian Church of the East, one of the oldest branches of Christianity in her homeland of Iran, Afsane Yanehsari was thrilled to see so many Middle-Eastern Christians thriving in Canada. Her boyfriend Rover Jefferson missed her sorely and decided to take her out once she came back from her trip...
"Cool," Rover said, and the burly young African-American casually pulled two tickets out of his well-worn leather wallet, and brandished them before Afsane's astonished face. Stone-faced, Rover raised an eyebrow, amused by Afsane's reaction. The young Iranian woman blinked in surprise when she read the movie titles on the tickets. Rover smiled and shrugged, and watched as Afsane shook her head. Clearly she wasn't expecting this...
"How did you know what movie I wanted to see?" Afsane asked, and Rover grinned cockily, as if he'd figured out one of the mysteries of the universe. Afsane looked him up and down, and not for the first time, she wondered if she'd been wrong in her initial assessment of him. Rover Johnson, the Detroit-born international student whom she met at Ottawa University in Ottawa was handsome and friendly, but quite adorably predictable. How in hell did he manage surprise her?
"Just a little reverse psychology, Miss Persia, I knew you were a fan of Rosamund Pike so I did a little leg work and voila," Rover said, and Afsane grinned and playfully slapped his arm. Snatching the tickets from Rover's hand, she marched to the other side of the theater. Pausing in front of the ticket checker's stand, Afsane waited for Rover to catch up.
"A United Kingdom is playing in theater seven on the right," said the ticket checker, a bored-looking and kind of plump young Caucasian woman with reddish hair. Afsane handed her the tickets, and she tore off part of the stub before handing them back. Rover was still grinning as Afsane grabbed his arm and they walked to theater seven. As was to be expected since this was a Tuesday evening, the theater was packed.
"Let's go to the front," Rover proposed, indicating the three rows of seats right in front of the big screen. Afsane gritted her teeth and shook her head, then looked at the packed rows that stretched all the way to the back. Knowing that Afsane didn't like crowds, Rover patiently waited. Nodding, Afsane went to sit on the third row from the front, right at the edge, and he sat next to her. Draping his coat over the back of his chair, Rover looked at his favorite fussy woman...
"This isn't bad, thanks for bringing me," Afsane said, and that's when she smiled and kissed Rover on the lips. He kissed her back, and returned her smile. Afsane leaned against him, as if nothing had happened. Rover smiled and let out the breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding. It was astonishing how much he cared for Afsane, the beautiful, passive aggressive and slightly bipolar gal whom he met during International Students Orientation at Ottawa University a year ago...
In those days, Rover had a very different outlook on life, that's for damn sure. Born in the City of Detroit, Michigan, to second-generation Jamaican immigrant parents, Rover grew up in Motor City and devoured all that life had to offer. During his freshman year at the University of Detroit-Mercy, however, he joined a fraternity and got into a bit of trouble. A drunken brawl involving him and a few fellow students during a night of partying at a local establishment made the local news...
The incident could have seriously derailed Rover Jefferson's future, but the fates smile upon him. Fortunately, his uncle Milford Jefferson, a Sergeant with the Detroit Police Department, pulled strings to make the incident go away. Rover's parents, Suzanne and Edgar Jefferson decided that something had to be done. They sent their son to stay at his aunt Martha Jefferson-Keen's house in the City of Ottawa, Ontario, for a while. Rover ended up transferring to Ottawa University.