A lot of women the world over are convinced that good men don't exist, especially in the Black community. Meet a hard-working and decent brother who's up shit's creek without the proverbial paddle. What happened to this young man isn't race-specific, indeed, it could have happened to any young man regardless of his background. Rejection and friend-zoning, along with prostate cancer, are the hazards of male life in Western society.
Jacques Stephen Desmond is a young Haitian man living in the City of Barrhaven, Ontario. He studies at Algonquin College and works security at the local Walmart. Like a lot of international students, he leads something of a solitary life. The brother has only been in Canada for two years, and he's still adjusting to life in the great White north. His parents Jean-Michel and Luanne Desmond spent their last dime to send him top study in Canada. Jacques is totally focused on school and work, since he wants to make his parents proud. Still, what's a hard working brother to do when nature calls?
Like any healthy, normal young man, Jacques Stephen Desmond is utterly fascinated by the female of the human species. In his rented room in the Pizzeria Circle area of Barrhaven, Ontario, the brother has lots of pictures of African American female celebrities. Bikini shots of Tennis star Serena Williams, Hollywood Starlet Halle Berry in a cat suit, and even Singer Rihanna in a thong adorn Jacques wall. Jacques loves his soul sisters, and desperately wants to claim a cutie of his very own...
"You're not my type, Jacques, I think it's because you're too nice," Gina Nimako, the attractive young Ghanaian woman whom Jacques met on the bus on his way to work said to him. The two of them had their first date inside the Nepean Sports Plex, and while things appeared to go well for Jacques, Gina clearly had a different experience. The two of them sat down and enjoyed coffee and sandwiches, and discussed school, work, politics and the like. And then Gina dropped a bomb on poor Jacques...
"Oh, I'm sorry about that," Jacques said, and the young Haitian man scratched his head, while his date sighed and rolled her eyes. After a half-hearted and kind of awkward handshake, Jacques and Gina parted ways. The brother caught the bus and headed to the nearby Algonquin College campus, where he sat in the library and wondered why on earth he had the world's worst luck with women. Along came a certain female acquaintance of his...
"Hey, big man, why so blue?" came a feminine voice, and Jacques looked up from his computer, where he'd been checking out the Ask Men online advice spot. Upon realizing that it was his co-worker Ariel Fremont, the bubbly young White woman from Minerva, Ohio, who worked in the bakery at Walmart, Jacques bit his lip. He and Ariel had been friends for months, ever since she first started working at the store where he worked security. Jacques liked Ariel's biting sense of humor and appreciated her friendship, but sometimes, she could be a bit much...
"I just got back from a date," Jacques said, flashing her a weak smile, and Ariel stood there, folding her arms while looking at him thoughtfully. Jacques waited for Ariel to drop one of her inevitable snarky one-liners. As a security guard working at Walmart, Jacques was used to dealing with angry people. Story of my life, Jacques thought as he looked at Ariel, who seemed quieter than usual.
Customers tended to take their frustrations out on Jacques for stuff he had little to do with, such as cashiers forgetting to properly deactivate the items they'd purchased. Said items would beep at the door, and Jacques would be forced to ask for receipts, as per the store manager's orders. This would prompt the customers to start yelling at the big and tall, yet painfully shy young Black man. Jacques hated his job, but he liked working with Ariel, and the store greeters, a nice old White couple known as Johnny and Eileen. Silver linings on a cloudy day...or year.
"Dude, you must tell me all about it," Ariel said, and without waiting for Jacques answer, the tomboyish, blonde-haired and green-eyed young woman grabbed a chair and sat at the computer next to him. Jacques grinned, for Ariel's boldness was one of the things he admired about her. The feisty tomboy did not hesitate to sass the angry customers who sometimes came her way while she worked in the bakery. What a woman, Jacques remembered thinking the first time he met her...
"Alright, I met this gorgeous, big-booty Black chick on the bus, and we exchanged numbers and then went out, on a real date, and then things went south," Jacques began, and then he told Ariel everything that happened between him and Gina Nimako of Ghana. When Jacques finished his little spiel, he waited for Ariel's answer. Go ahead and laugh, Ariel, I blew it with this Nimako chick, Jacques thought, smiling wistfully.
"Damn, Jacques, that was brutal, I don't know what to say," Ariel replied, and Jacques froze for a moment, astonished by her answer. He was about to say something when a trio walked by, and stared at them. The trio included two young White guys and a young Black woman. They looked at Jacques and Ariel, who sat awfully close to each other, and seemed to strongly disapprove. Ariel stared hard at them, and Jacques looked at them and shrugged. After a brief moment, the trip walked by and sat a short distance away...
