When Suleiman, the man formerly known as Solomon Olivier, moved to the City of Ottawa, Ontario, from his hometown of metropolitan Montreal, Quebec, he initially saw a dead end. After all, as a young Haitian man who converted to Islam from a Catholic background, he was considered a pariah by his strictly Christian family and friends. Even among the Haitian community, typically a very liberal bunch, there were boundaries not meant to be crossed...
To the majority of Haitian immigrants living in Canada, being Catholic and being Haitian went hand in hand. They tolerated religious dissent among their own, hence the proliferation of Haitian Adventist and Haitian Baptist churches. Still, there were limits. They simply didn't know what to make of Haitian Muslims. The Haitian community saw the Muslim minority growing in its midst as a threat, an anomaly, and overnight, Suleiman became an outcast among his own people.
As time went by, Suleiman began getting used to his new digs in the Canadian Capital. After enrolling at Carleton University to study Law, Suleiman began making new friends. There was a vibrant Muslim community on the Carleton University campus, and he embraced this newfound niche with all of his heart. In fact, one of Suleiman's new friends, a Somali guy named Abdi, got him a job with the security company. Yeah, life was slowly becoming okay again for the young outcast...
"Suleiman, habibi, you should drop by the bakery on Innes Road sometime," Sawsan Al-Lebnani said, smiling flirtatiously, and the curvaceous, bronze-skinned, dark-eyed Lebanese cutie walked out of Walmart, practically sauntering. Suleiman stood there, mesmerized by her, and for a moment, his security guard duties were the furthest thing from his damn mind. He took a deep breath, and a smile crept across his dark, handsome face.
Clad in a dark tank top over yoga pants, her long dark hair pulled into a bun, Sawsan looked smoking hot. Suleiman saw a lot of beautiful women of all hues at work and at school, but Sawsan was in a category by herself. A pretty lady with an angelic voice, haunting eyes, and a certain amount of kindness and good cheer which could move even the most jaded and cynical of men...
"Oh I sure will," Suleiman said, mostly to himself, as he watched Sawsan cut through the parking lot, and she got into her car before driving away. The life of a security guard in the City of Ottawa, Ontario, was quite mundane, and that's how Suleiman liked it. Still, every once in a while, something exciting happened. For him, the excitement began with a certain pretty, talkative Arabian beauty...
Suleiman recalled the exact circumstances during which he'd met Sawsan, and it brought a smile to his face. He'd been standing guard at the Walmart door, seven hours on his feet after spending half the day in class at Carleton University. Suleiman would rather be in class or at home, but paying the bills meant working security, and the company he worked for considered Walmart one of its biggest clients. One of the drawbacks of the job? Dealing with irate clients...
"Listen up, buddy, I don't know where you're from, but this isn't how we do things in Canada, I demand to speak to your manager," said the short, angry old white man as he stood in front of Suleiman, gesticulating angrily. Suleiman forced himself to be calm, even as a crowd of customers gathered to watch the interactions between security guard and irate customer. When it rains it frigging pours...
"Excuse me, what gives you the right to speak to him like that?" came a feminine voice, and both security guard and customer turned to look at the new arrival. An attractive Middle-Eastern woman accosted the arguing twosome, and both men looked her up and down appreciatively. She took that in stride, and walked right up to them, looking like she was about to give them a piece of her mind.
