Marv and Briana met at an Alpha Phi Alpha party in college and spent the entire evening talking on the front porch while the party blared on inside. Briana was happy to finally meet a guy who wasn't focused on fucking her and forgetting her. That may have been his ultimate goal, but at least she didn't have to fight him off from the get go. But it really wasn't Marv's goal at all.
Marv was the type of guy who planned everything out well in advance, so he was actually analyzing whether the pretty black girl would be a good wife and partner for his future business endeavors. He realized that they were getting along pretty well, and as he looked at the girl, he thought she might be the one. She looked to be about 5'5" tall and had an athletic body. He guessed her to be about 34-24-36 and her breasts were firm and medium sized. She had a pretty face and had told him that she planned to be a high school science teacher. She was smart and she seemed friendly and had a great smile. "Yes," he thought, "this one could do quite nicely."
As the evening wore on, the two young black students learned about each other and decided to try going out the next evening. And the rest was history. They dated for almost a month before Marv tried to get her in to bed. Briana was beginning to wonder if something might be wrong with him. The sex was just adequate, but they were both content since neither of them felt under any pressure to perform. After graduation, they married and moved to Chicago.
Marv started to work in an investment firm where his uncle was a vice president and he insisted that Briana work in an upscale private school where his uncle was on the board. Her job at the private school carried a certain prestige which was important to Marv. Both of them enjoyed their jobs. The students loved Mrs. Jackson (Briana) and Marv was making a killing in the investment business. And whenever Marv entertained or attended a company function, he made sure that Briana wore a stylish but sexy dress that accentuated her body. He knew that most of the other partners and employees lusted after his hot young wife, and that too, played in to Marv's plan of never being overlooked for important social events that might benefit his future.
The couple had bought a nice big house in the suburbs and had significant stocks and cash reserves. As far as Marv was concerned, life was just about perfect. Although Briana enjoyed their home and their social activities, she felt that something was missing from her life, but it took her a long time to figure out what it was. She finally realized that she wanted to help those less fortunate than herself. So, with summer approaching, she broached the subject with Marv, who said he was "adamantly opposed to the idea of my wife spending any time in the run-down sections of town helping a bunch of stinking bums."
They fought for the entire month of March until Briana finally just told Marv that she was going to do it no matter what he thought. Marv then refused to speak to her for the next six weeks. Finally, in mid-May, he made one more run at convincing her to change her mind, but to no avail. When her summer vacation from school began, she contacted a local homeless shelter and soup kitchen and volunteered.
Marv continued to give his wife the silent treatment until her fist day, when he said, "I still can't believe you're doing this, Bri. Why do you want to be around a bunch of homeless crackers, niggers and spics?"
"Wha . . . what d-did you say, Marv?"
"I . . . uh, I, uh. Well, I'm mad dammit! You know I don't want you doing this. I don't want you around that scum." Briana shook her head and walked out the door still in shock at the words her husband had used.
She spent her first day being shown around the facility and meeting the other volunteers. At lunch time, she buttered bread for the food line and met a few of the homeless men and women as they came through the line. After she helped clean up and make sure they were ready for dinner, she headed home and collapsed on the couch. She got up in time to have a nice dinner ready for Marv when he got home.
She was excited to share her first day experience with him, but he didn't ask anything. When she tried to bring it up, he told her that he wasn't interested and shut down the conversation. During dinner, he lectured her again on how embarrassing it was for him that she was working the shelter. She tuned him out and finished her meal and then went to the den to read. He tried one more time before bed to convince her, but had no luck.
The next day, Briana put on her jeans and tee shirt and went back to the shelter. In the morning, she ran a game of bingo for some of the people and then served coffee and tea during the lunch hour.
"Thank you, ma'am," came a voice next to her.
She looked up at the white man into the bluest eyes she had ever seen. The man must have been in his 60s, but he had a nice smile and a kind face. His clothes weren't rags, but they had definitely seen better days. He was about five or six inches taller than her and didn't appear to have much fat on his frame. She smiled at him and said, "You're welcome, sir."
His face registered the shock as he said, "Sir? Sir? Wow, how did I rate a sir?"
She smiled again and said, "I didn't mean to insult you, but I saw that you were wearing an army jacket and I just assumed . . . . Sorry, I guess I shouldn't assume."
The man laughed and said, "That's true, young lady, but in this case you're right. I was in the army, but that was a long time ago."
Briana reached out and touched his arm and said, "Well, you look like you're still fit."
The man laughed and said, "Well thank you, young lady. My name's Joe."
She held out her hand and as they shook, she said, "I'm Briana. Nice to meet you, Joe."
Over the next two weeks, as things continued to deteriorate at home, Briana and Joe spent more time together. She told him about her husband and her classes at school. Joe told her about his time in the service and his marriage that ended in divorce when he was unfaithful. "That was the dumbest thing I ever did, Briana. She was a good woman and I messed it up."
After that, he lost his will to live for a while and lost everything. She would touch his arm whenever he looked down and spoke quietly because she knew it was hard for him. Eventually, she told him about Marv fighting her about volunteering at the shelter. He reached and touched her arm when she looked on the verge of tears. He said, "I'm glad you did volunteer, Briana. Otherwise, I never would have met such a pretty young girl."
The next week, Joe didn't show up on Monday. Briana didn't think anything of it until he didn't show up on Tuesday or Wednesday. She asked her supervisor if this was normal for Joe to miss meals.
"No, it's not, Briana," she said. "I hope he's OK, but I don't have time to go check on him this week. Maybe next week. But if you have time to check on him, I'll make a takeout bag of food for him."
"Gee, I don't know, Marge. I don't know where he lives and I'm not sure . . . . "
"It's OK, Briana. Don't worry about it. Most of our volunteers don't do home delivery."
Briana paused for a minute while she was thinking and then she said, "No, wait. I'll do it. Tell me where he lives and I'll help pack some food for him." After Marge and Briana packed some food in a bag, Briana left and began walking. She had never walked through an area like this before. Every alley and most doorways smelled like urine. There was litter and trash everywhere. Some of the people she passed actually made her nervous.
It didn't take long for Briana to come to the alley that Marge said Joe lived in. She walked to the end where she saw a shack of sorts. It was made of plastic panels, cardboard, old wood and a 55-gallon drum. She knocked on a piece of wood, but got no reply. She pushed aside a piece of plastic paneling and stuck her head inside. She saw Joe lying on some old blankets covered by another blanket. She entered the shack just as he opened his eyes. The small shack smelled of sweat and spoiled food.
