Author's note: Not much to say about this chapter except that I predict we'll be seeing ads like the one described here in Austin, New York, D.C., L.A. and the Bay Area within the next couple of years, and in every major media market by the end of the decade.
You need to read chapters 1, 2 & 4 for this chapter to make sense. Chapter 3 is optional as it is a flashback and contains a major spoiler in the final paragraph.
Disclaimer: I have Melissa quote a statistic I found once on the internet (I don't remember where), but I can't vouch for its accuracy.
Standard disclaimer: All explicit sexual activity described in this chapter is between consenting adults 18 and older.
Enjoy!
CHAPTER 5
May 2019
Melissa and I had been seeing each other a little over seven months now, and it had been almost five months since she introduced me to her daughter Angelina who had just turned four last month. I now realized Melissa had been right to wait until we were both sure of our feelings for each other before introducing me to Angie as I had come to love her as if she were my own child. Seriously, if I had met Angie earlier and things didn't work out between me and her mother, I would be heartbroken not to be able to see her anymore. But now that we all knew each other, many of our dates would be during the daytime on weekends and included Angelina and my boys. They were just as smitten with Angie as I was and were very protective of her. That's not to say they didn't get on each other's nerves sometimes. William got easily annoyed by Angie's love of kiddie-pop music and Justin considered it beneath him to watch Sesame Street with her. And Angie didn't want to do "boy stuff" like football or wrestling with them. But overall, they got along better than you would expect them to.
This weekend, the boys were staying over with their father and my former college roommate Betsy, with whom I had set him up last year. So today, it was just me ringing Melissa's doorbell. I could hear loud barking inside that I recognized as Avon Barksdale, their German Shepherd, which reminded me that even though the door was unlocked, I needed to wait for someone to let me in. Melissa had gotten Avon to guard Angelina after Melissa's abusive ex-husband violated his restraining order and broke into their home. Avon and I had become friends, but I was always careful around him. I couldn't afford to not be conscious of the reason he was named after the bad guy on "The Wire." One false move and I would wind up like Stringer Bell at the end of Season 3.
Angelina opened the door and seemed much more excited to see me than she usually was. "You're here!" she screamed while she hugged my legs tightly. Before I could reach down to hug her back, she let go and skipped into the living room, bouncing her head back and forth and repeating in a sing-song voice, "She's here! She's here! She's here! She's here!..." Avon sniffed my hand for a bit before licking it, then followed Angie as she skipped and sang.
A few seconds later, Melissa's voice interrupted Angie's singing and said, "Okay, sweetie. Why don't you and Avon head out back and play with your Aunt Kelly and cousin Ryan?" Melissa walked up to the door wearing what passed for casual clothing for her: a yellow floral print sundress with spaghetti straps and high-heeled sandals. Her hair, makeup and nails were all impeccably flawless. "Come on in. I have something I want to show you."
We went to the living room and sat down on the sofa in front of the TV. "We're going to start running this ad the week of June 1
st
." She turned the TV on, then got out her tablet and made a few swipes before an image of the pride flag came on the TV screen. And in front of the rainbow backdrop was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my life. Like all the other ads she had done, onscreen Melissa was wearing lighter than normal makeup, but instead of the usual red polo shirt with the company logo, she was now wearing a t-shirt with the Carroll Honda-Acura logo superimposed over another pride flag.
"Happy Pride Month, everybody. This is Melissa Carroll, vice-president, COO and General Manager of Carroll Honda-Acura. I'm not straight, but these deals sure are!" At this point, the stripes on the pride flag in the background parted, alternating left and right, and now Melissa was superimposed onto a video of the dealership lot. "Throughout the month of June, we're having special Pride Month discounts on all our vehicles! $1500.00 off Civics and HR-V's! $2500.00 off Accords and CR-V's! $3500.00 off all Pilots, Passports, Odysseys and Ridgelines! And $4500.00 off all Acura models! Plus, $1000.00 cash back on all pre-owned vehicles! All with 0% financing with approved credit!"
The shot switched off Melissa and onto a bunch of rainbow-striped merch with the company logo. "And, if you identify as a member or an ally of the LGBTQ+ community, you get your choice of a Carroll Honda-Acura pride bumper sticker, a Carroll Honda-Acura pride license plate frame, a Carroll Honda-Acura pride keychain, a Carroll Honda-Acura pride travel mug," The shot switched back to Melissa superimposed in front of the showroom. "Or a Carroll Honda-Acura pride t-shirt, like the one I'm wearing! All absolutely free with purchase of a vehicle! Limit one item per purchase. At Carroll Honda-Acura, we promise to be a safe, welcoming space for you and your family, regardless of who you love or what gender you identify as."
The background changed back to a pride flag and onscreen Melissa wrapped up. "I just came out in this ad! Now it's your turn to come out to Carroll Honda-Acura! The only area dealership run by an openly proud member of the LGBTQ+ community!"
Flesh-and-blood Melissa turned off the TV and asked me, "What do you think?"
I was shocked. "Are you sure you want to go ahead with this? There's still lots of homophobia around. I don't want you to lose business."
"Yes, I'm sure I want to run this ad. And part of it is calculated. Research shows people who buy Hondas and Subarus are typically more progressive on social issues, while people who buy Fords and Toyotas are usually more conservative, and people who buy Chevys and Dodges tend to be somewhere in the middle. So I think I'm just playing to the market I already have."
She took both my hands in hers and continued, "But another reason is you. I've heard through the grapevine that my mother thinks of my sexuality and our relationship as dirty little secrets that she tries to cover up when her friends talk about you and me together. But I don't want to keep you a secret. If I thought the dealership could make money by running an ad where I say 'I'm in love with Kay Reynolds', I'd do it. I'm so proud to be your girlfriend, and I don't care who knows it. I love you so much, baby."
"I love you too, Sunflower."
We kissed for a few seconds before we heard the back door open, and in walked Melissa's cousin Kelly, Kelly's teenage daughter Ryan, Angie and Avon. Angie was still just as excited as she was when she answered the door a few minutes ago. She bounced up and down and asked Melissa, "Mommy! Mommy! Didja ask her? Didja ask her? Didja ask her?..."
"Not yet, Sweetie."
But Angelina wasn't listening anymore. Like before, she was skipping around the room with her head bobbing back and forth singing "Didja ask her? Didja ask her?" repeatedly while Avon trailed her.
"Ryan, Kelly, can you take Angie up to her room for a bit and read her a story? I should have an answer by the time it's finished."
Kelly grabbed Angelina off her feet and carried her upstairs with Ryan and Avon in tow. "C'mon, Sweetie. What do you want to hear this time? 'Goldilocks?' 'The Three Little Pigs?'"