This story is a companion piece to "She was Black, Older and Mine." It tells the same story however this time it is told from Rose's point of view. Thanks for all the comments and feedback.
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I noticed him as soon as he walked into the room. I immediately got my hopes up like a foolish old woman but I knew there was no chance he would take the seat next to me. I'm just an aging black woman. Lord I'm closing in on 60 now. My hair has gone mostly gray and let's face it, I've put on a few pounds lately. I was a damn fine looking woman back in my day, though.
I didn't even know why I was there in the first place. Well to be honest I did and I didn't. You see, I moved here about three years ago. I was married for thirty years to Eddie. We met through a mutual friend and he quickly swept me off my feet. Eddie was handsome and worldly. He had a good job and it felt like my life was about to take off. Unfortunately reality soon set in. Eddie was kind and funny to the outside world but it didn't take him long to turn on me. Mind you he was never physically abusive but he was mean all the time. He would insult me and tell me that I was lucky to have him.
Momma taught me that you don't give up on a marriage. Once I became pregnant there was no alternative anyway than to just make the best of it, so I did for many long years. I suspected Eddie was cheating on me and eventually I found proof. Thank goodness for the age of cell phones. Eddie came home late and drunk and while he was passed out I found all the proof I needed. I wasn't surprised at the photos and text messages of Eddie and assorted other women but all the same I broke down in tears. That bastard. The next morning when he woke up I told him it was over between us. And do you know what is response was? He just shrugged and said "Whatever."
My two children were very supportive. By now they were both in their twenties and living on their own. They saw what I had lived through all these years.
My daughter said "Mom, I know you love being around the city. It's only a couple of hours away so John and I can still visit you often and you can enjoy some freedom for the first time in your life. Why don't we help you find a place of your own there? I bet your job would let you transfer."
I was a manager at a major hotel chain and people were always moving around so I knew she was right about the job aspect. I did love the city, especially the art galleries and the eclectic mix of people. I always wanted to be an artist so maybe this would give me the opportunity to explore my interests. I weighed the pros and cons for a few days, consulted with my boss for her approval, and then made my decision to proceed.
Things in the city were going well. I found a nice small home in the suburbs and I was within a short distance of all the culture I had been longing. I took up painting, setting up a small studio in a spare bedroom. I would often visit the downtown galleries for inspiration and I even took a couple of art classes to hone my skills.
I still saw my children about once a month or so. One of them would come down and stay the weekend or I would visit them when I had a few days off. I had a few work friends I would grab a drink with on occasion but despite all of that I was lonely. I missed companionship.
I also realized retirement age wasn't all that far away and while I enjoyed my hotel duties and it paid the bills, the job didn't leave me with a lot of extra money to put away into savings. I thought that maybe it was a good time to start looking for a position where I could make more money in my remaining working years. I updated and uploaded my resume to a few job board websites. I went on a couple of interviews but with my work experience most of the positions I'd be qualified for didn't pay any more than what I was making now.
I was starting to give up on the idea of finding a new job when I received a call from a recruiter at an insurance company. I was invited to go hear about a position they had available. I didn't know anything about the insurance industry but the invite was on my day off so I decided I might as well go and see what it was all about.
I put on my "interview outfit" which was a floral blouse and a long dark skirt. I checked myself in the mirror and thought I looked fairly presentable for an old gal! The office building was only about fifteen minutes from my house but I made sure to arrive early. I found the building, parked in the large lot, and made my way up to the fourth floor.
I introduced myself and was escorted to a conference room. The room was set up with two rows of two seat tables and each row had about six tables. I took a seat at the second table on the left and sat in the chair closer to the wall so if the room filled up someone wouldn't have to squeeze passed me to sit down. There was only one other person in the room at the time. She was a nicely dressed, attractive young lady. I was about a half hour early so I sat and waited while watching a couple of other candidates stroll into the room. It was a little intimidating as they were much younger. One young man was dressed really well while the other, in my opinion, was under-dressed for a professional setting.
I felt a little better when I saw him walk in. He was a little younger than me but not by much. He was handsome and looked great in a suit and tie. The seat next to me was still open but like I said in the beginning of this story I didn't think there was any way he would take it.
I watched as he took a glance around the room then he took a few steps towards my row and sat down at my table. I was shocked given there were so many other seats but I was happy too. I held out my hand and told him my name. He had a nice, firm handshake and introduced himself as Jim Smith.
"Pleasure to meet you Mr. Smith."
"It's nice to meet you" he responded.
I asked Jim if he had ever been to anything like this before. I said that I don't even know why they called me as I had no sales experience. Jim told me that these insurance agencies hire a lot of people hoping one or two succeed. He seemed wary of the whole thing and I wondered why he was there. We talked for a few more minutes learning that we were both transplants to the city.
The presenter began right on time and spoke for almost an hour. He was entertaining and funny and I learned a lot about the company and the openings they had. I was taking a lot of notes. I glanced over at Jim and he was listening but not writing anything down. One thing I did notice was that every few minutes I could feel Jim taking a peek at me. Was he checking me out? I assumed he was just trying to gauge my interest in the presentation or getting a look at my notes. I was hoping there was more to it than that though.
The presenter finished with what he had to tell us. The next step, he explained, was to fill out a form with any questions we had. It also had a box to check if we wanted to be called for a one-on-one interview. I was quite intrigued with what I had heard and had many questions about the day-to-day details of the job. I was running out of space on my sheet. I looked over at Jim's and his was blank. He was just sitting there thinking, I guess. Jim then made a mark on his paper and turned it over. I figured this would be the last I would see of him when he leaned over and told me he was done but that he was going to wait for me downstairs to hear what I thought of the meeting.
I nodded and whispered "OK". Jim left and a million thoughts ran through my mind. I was excited that someone cared about my opinion. I also wanted to talk more with him. I was pretty much done filling out the paper but I waited a few minutes before leaving. I didn't want Jim to think I was chasing after him like some schoolgirl. I turned in the paper and left. Before taking the elevator down I found a restroom and made sure I looked ok. I was feeling a little flushed to be honest.
I arrived downstairs and found Jim waiting. Jim said that he thought it was an interesting presentation and he wondered about what I thought. I started to answer when Jim asked if I was in a rush to get anywhere. I told him I wasn't and he then asked if I would join him for a cup of coffee so we didn't have to stand in the lobby to have a conversation. Jim said that he loved meeting new people and making friends. I thought that was sweet and agreed to meet him at a coffee shop nearby.
We drove separately and he waited for me by the entrance. We went in and I ordered a coffee. Jim grabbed a juice from the cooler and then paid for both items. I tried to pay my share but he just said that since he invited me he would pay. I was liking him better every minute. It wasn't that he paid the few dollars for my drink. It was that he was kind and a gentleman.
We sat down in a booth and talked about the presentation. I said that I was planning to go to the interview if they wanted to talk to me. It was different than any previous job I had but I wanted to find out more. Plus I said I wanted to earn more money! Jim replied that there was money to be made in this field but that it wasn't easy despite the promises of riches. He showed me how he believed the numbers they were giving us didn't add up.