surviving.” Dad was quiet for a spell, then a tear trickled down his face. Nix couldn’t believe his eyes. He’d only seen Dad cry one time in his life – at Grandma’s funeral. The old Marine sniffed and quickly wiped his face with the back of his hand.
“You are my son!” he roared, shaking his hands. “I could be in fuckin’ quicksand, and I’d still want you to tell me about a great time you had at a party! I could be in the hospital dyin’, and I’d still want cha to tell me about a case you’d won, or how you’d met a gorgeous girl and she had the biggest, prettiest tits you’d ever seen!” Nixon burst out laughing, and his father followed suit. “I’m serious. Who gives uh shit, ya know?” He shrugged. “I want my kids to be happy, to be living good lives. So, I take it this all leads back to one person. The woman whose name I can’t say.”
Nixon smiled. “Yeah, Yasmine.”
“So, you met her, you liked her, and before you knew it you were in love. With all you’ve told me tonight, I am dumbfounded as to how she could have broken this curse you’ve been walking around with. What happened exactly?”
Nixon shrugged.
“It’s complicated, Dad, but in a nutshell, she had a problem. I had a solution. We met; I took care of it for her. Afterwards, I couldn’t get her outta my head. I’ve had great connections with other women, Dad, but this…” Nixon shook his head, “… this was different. She knew what I wanted. She responded the way I needed her to. She’s dope.” He took a deep breath. “I mean, me and this woman have discussions about everything. And we talk all night. We may be discussing the history of rock music, the government, Panama, racism, conspiracy theories or shit like mathematics, the best barbecue chicken recipe, and Egyptian hieroglyphics. I can literally bring up just about anything to this lady, and she knows something about it! That’s amazing! She works really hard. She’s a fuckin’ boss at her firm and does an excellent job. Her family is great. I’ve spoken briefly to her mother and to one of her sisters on the phone, and we plan to meet soon. Here’s the thing though: she’s been through some things, but it only made her stronger and let’s not forget, she’s fucking beautiful!”
“Yeah.” Dad gave a sly smile. “She is really pretty, Nix.”
Nixon took a sip of his wine.
“Be honest.” He grinned. “Were you surprised my girlfriend is Black?”
Dad hesitated for a moment before responding.
“Nah, not really. I wasn’t sure what to expect, truthfully, but in my mind, I pictured a White woman, I guess. When I saw her, I wasn’t surprised or anything. I know my son as far as things like that. I knew she’d be beautiful, whatever race she was if you picked her.”
“What do you mean you know your son as far as things like that?” Nixon sat back against a pillow, legs sprawled.
“Nix, come the fuck on!”
“What?”
“You never brought a bunch of women home for your mother and me to meet, but when we were out, I would notice sometimes the women you’d stare at, and many times they were Black. It happened often,” he said. “We’d go out to eat and you’d zone in on some young Black waitress or customer. One time, in fact, we’d gone to the movies. You were in line buyin’ popcorn. You couldn’t have been more than fifteen or sixteen years old. Anyway, Leo and I were waiting for ya with the tickets. I looked over to see what was taking so damn long, and there you were, staring at a Black girl and tryna get her attention. Like, really staring, and then ya waved your arm around. She was with a group of other teenage Black girls and you were flirting with her. You had no clue I’d seen it all. She and her friends started laughing and stuff. You walked up to her and I couldn’t hear what you were saying, but then I saw her take out a pen and write on a napkin. Obviously, it was her number.”
I can’t believe he remembers that.
“I mean, you looked at other girls, too, Nix. White, Asian whatever, but I noticed the Black ones, because well, that was kinda different, ya know? I never brought it up, and your mother and I never discussed it, either. I’m sure she