Psalm 90:12
“So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
Chapter One
The sun was so hot it could cook an egg on the sidewalk. It would be one nasty egg, but it would be cooked. One nasty pee soaked egg.
Another hot day in New York. The sun peeked out from behind the smog and pollution. Solomon believed he was at least 3 shades darker because the sun seemed to find him no matter where he stood.
Tar Baby.
How many times did he hear that as a child?
It still stung a little. Even when he knew his friend’s were saying it jokingly.
Hopefully the lights will be low and they will not notice his darker complexion.
At least he hoped they would not notice.
Tonight’s ‘competition’ of who could come up with the best put down will definitely go to Reggie again. It always went to Reggie. Reggie was a legend when it came to put downs.
Reggie was the man all of them wanted to be like. He was handsome and witty.
Solomon smiled as he thought of the many times he was the victim of Reggie’s wit.
On the opposite side of the spectrum was Mike. He was the only light ‘brother’ in the group. The weird thing was that he fit in with the group better than Solomon. Mike was a handsome guy with great hair. The kind of hair that made people think he must be a shampoo model.
Not that Solomon noticed of course. He was not a homosexual or anything. He just noticed things that looked good.
Mike loved being known as the ivory ‘brother’. Mike did not participate in the put downs because of his fear of crossing the line and getting a beat-down by his ebony brothers. Solomon’s friends would never do that to Mike. They respected any white man who would approach a group of black men at a college party with no fear.
The possibility of saying something that might make them think of doing something like that made Mike cautious. Honestly it scared Mike. Mike confessed to Solomon one drunken night of his fear of crossing the imaginary line.
Solomon hated that he was giving his friends ammunition to use against him. He felt he might as well go in with a giant ‘Kick me’ sign on his back.
“It’s going to be brutal,” Solomon thought as he approached work.
Solomon smiled as he entered the very modern looking office building. The art work in the front lobby had a sophisticated feel.
He loved his place of work and the people in it. He felt like a man and not the boy he was in college. He was not a screw-up that his father was always disappointed in. His father could finally be proud of him.
Solomon did what was expected of him after years of messing up. He felt he owed it to his family. Especially to his father.
He married a wonderful woman. He stopped smoking weed. A habit he picked up in college. His kids are well adjusted and well behaved.
“I cannot ask for anything more. Thank you Lord,” whispered Solomon as he walked into the front door. God was good to him and he could not complain.
“Then why do I feel like something is missing.” Solomon thought to himself. Something did not feel right but he could not put his finger on it.
Solomon wondered for the second time as he pushed the door open wider. What was he searching for and would he know it if he found it. As Solomon walked through the front lobby to the elevators he spotted John.
He loved seeing John in his uniform because Solomon did see him in a pair of jeans once at a company function. It was not a pretty sight. Not a pretty site! Solomon preferred seeing John in his crisp never wrinkled uniform. Solomon thought of John as the keeper of the gate. John not only greeted visitors but he also determined who went up to the offices and who didn’t.
It helped that Solomon felt like a professional model in comparison to John. John was not noticed by anyone. Especially the ladies. His large nose, crooked teeth, and big ears was not what all the women wanted in a man. Solomon knew of John’s good heart. Very few women gave John the time of day and found out about his big heart.
The heart of a man that was open, giving, and easily broken. Solomon witnessed the easily broken part a couple of times when he stayed late at work. A semi-attractive woman came into the building one time. She came up to John and whispered something into his ear. John’s face fell and he said he waved goodbye.
Solomon went up to John and asked him if he was alright. “She broke up with me,” he said as a single tear rolled down his cheek.
“Are you going to be OK?”
John shook his head yes. John turned around to face the window and Solomon left without saying another word.
Solomon felt really bad for John because Solomon’s kids loved coming to Solomon’s job just to see John.
Solomon did not consider himself a looker or anything. No one would give Solomon a second look either. It was another reason why he felt close to John because they were both average men who got very little play from women.
Solomon thanked the Lord every day for brining Samantha into his life. Solomon did not know what he would do without her. He did not want to find out what life would be like without her.
When they met in high school and then again after college Solomon knew that she was the one for him. She looked beyond his non-existent good-looks and bad attitude.
She loved him despite all of his flaws. The best thing of all was that she is a very attractive woman inside and out. At least Solomon thought so. He could not believe his luck. He Solomon Edwards captured the attention of someone so angelic.
Chapter Two
Solomon finished his day at work on a high note. As he got into his car he thought about the meeting he had with his boss about an hour ago.
“Come in Solomon.”
Solomon entered the room tentatively. He did not know what to expect. He heard about many of his colleagues losing their jobs because of downsizing. Solomon prayed he was not one of the unlucky few.
“Good afternoon Bradley. You wanted to see me,” Solomon said tentatively.
“You have nothing to worry about Solomon. You should have more confidence in yourself,” Bradley said. Bradley said this the only the way Bradley could say it.
Solomon respected Bradley Longfellow. Bradley was very distinguished. His salt and pepper hair was always perfectly styled.
Bradley was not the typical boss that demanded respect. People just respected him because it felt like you should.
Bradley did not believe that anyone in the company was more important than the other including himself. He insisted that everyone call him Bradley including the cleaning staff. He never minced words. He said what needed to be said and he was not shy about telling you that you were doing a bad or good job.
He preferred telling you about the great job you were doing. Bradley mentioned this several times.
“You are doing a great job. As a matter of fact I would love to tell you that you are going to get a raise. Unfortunately, I cannot do that. I can give you this gift certificate for 100 dollars and tell you that you are going to get one extra paid vacation. Hopefully business will pick up soon and I will be able to give you a well deserved raise.”
There was a wide smile on Solomon’s face as he drove to the bar and thought about the gift certificate in his pocket. It may not be a raise but it was nice to be appreciated. There would be a raise next time he went into Bradley’s office. He was sure of it. Business was picking up.
When Solomon pulled up to ‘The Mix’ and smiled.
The bar was owned by his friend Tim. Tim was the child of an interracial marriage. He named the bar ‘The Mix’ because he wanted all his friends of any race to have somewhere to go and hang-out and forget about the outside world. Tim wanted the bar to be a mix of all races and genders.
Tim accomplished this by being sure to have an area for lounging and talking. The music was not too loud in this area. People did not have to yell at each other like they would do in a typical club/bar.
There was even a separate back room where a football or basketball game was always on. Tim wrote everyone’s favorite team and their upcoming games. He would then post the entries on-line where people could vote on what they wanted to see.
The bar was a success because it was the ultimate place to unwind after a long day. There was no pressure to talk to anyone. You could sit at the bar and never say a word except your drink order.
Solomon really wanted to unwind after the long week he had. The praise from Bradley was not undeserved. Solomon had a busy week at work.
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