"I got the job with Merrill & Anderson Marketing," Marilyn "Mare" Biao said enthusiastically, and the slender, short-haired young Asian woman smiled at her lover, Cain Zachary. They were on Bank Street in downtown Ottawa, catching up after Mare's second interview with a certain marketing company. Marilyn had been unemployed for the past eight months, having gotten fired by the Bank of Montreal, and without the Covid-related government subsidy, life would have been hell for her.
Cain was thrilled by Marilyn's good news. It was about time his favorite lady got back on her feet, seriously. The tall, dark-skinned and burly young biracial man stroked his goateed chin as he considered the implications of his lady's latest revelation. Marilyn is a real go-getter, as befitting a daughter of the Chinese Canadian Diaspora. Cain couldn't be prouder of Marilyn, and he wanted to let her know that...
Marilyn Biao had been applying for jobs for quite some time, scouring Indeed and other spots every day to look for opportunities. Banks, call centers, temp agencies, Marilyn hit them all, flooding them with her resume, but to no avail. Finally, Merrill & Anderson Marketing, a small company located in downtown Ottawa, gave Mare the nod she'd been anxiously waiting for. Cain couldn't remember the last time he'd seen Marilyn look happier.
"Mare, this calls for a celebration, let's go to Buffet Du Continent," Cain said, and Marilyn beamed at him. They got in Cain's car and drove from downtown Ottawa to the environs of Gatineau, Quebec. Buffet Du Continent had been one of Cain's favorite restaurants prior to the Covid mess and now that things were slowly getting back to normal, he saw no reason to change. When something works, Cain likes to stick to it.
"Steve, you're the best," Marilyn said, and she then kissed him full and deep. Cain and Marilyn met one fine day on the Carleton University campus, while reaching for the last Advanced Algebra II book on the library shelf. On the surface, the two of them couldn't be more different. Cain was born in Oshawa, Ontario, to a Haitian immigrant mother and a white Canadian father. He considers himself a proud member of the Black Canadian community, and doesn't mince words.
Cain's parents, Angelique Pierre and Leopold Zachary didn't have it easy as an interracial couple in the town of Oshawa, Ontario. While bigger Canadian cities like Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Halifax have a lot of minorities, Oshawa is lily-white, and damn proud of it. As a tall, handsome biracial young man, Cain got teased and sometimes harassed by a lot of the young white folks in the town of Oshawa, Ontario. As soon as Cain reached college age, he left town, never to come back.