Race Relations

Sad Realization

“Don’t do this man, you were doing so great” Mike warned his cousin over the phone. But all he got was a long sigh.

“It was stupid man. It was stupid of me to even entertain the idea of me with her.”

“Don’t do this”

 “Why? So I can hurt her in the future? Let’s be honest Mike; if we even had a thing, figuratively, it wouldn’t last. For crying out loud, I can’t present her to the whole family, not if I want to keep this company. And you know for a fact that dad would take it away in an instant if he even thought that I even had any contact with her.”

“So, you’re just going to let her go? You know Nathaniel?  For a moment, I was so proud of you, I was so happy that the family’s idea about what was normal didn’t get the best of view or at the least, that you were able to surpass it. But here you go!  Falling in the place that they want YOU to fall. What; Are you going to marry Alice now too?”

“Look, I am not going to be marrying her. Nor am I going to be with her. But I can’t be with Leila either. I can’t deal with my family. And if the press gets a whiff of this they will eat her alive. And dad, dad might just suffer a heart attack. She’s not right for me. She never was” he finished

“You keep telling yourself that, and you keep going on the path that you’re going, because you’ll end up like your father; angry, bitter, with a wife that you have no feelings for and friends that you only have because of your money” Mike yelled angrily and ends the phone call

            Nathaniel sighed and placed his phone in his pocket. This morning, he had thought that he was doing everything right, and somehow, he was. He did tell his mother to stay out his life, and when he had called her to ask her to lunch he couldn’t have been more excited.

 But, then it had hit him. What could he offer Leila? Dating in secret? Giving her strange explanations of why she couldn’t meet his parent? Hatred by his family?  And what did he really expect to date her to only then tell her why they couldn’t be really together, at least not in marriage or in front of friends. Not to mention, he ran the risk of losing the company. They both had too much at risk, breaking it off now was better. Nathaniel thought as he slumped somberly into his office couch.

Feeling his phone vibrate, he took it out, only to find her name written in bold letters, announcing that she was calling him “probably because I’m supposedly running late” Nathaniel thought to himself, and as he placed his finger over the ignore button, ignoring her, their date, and their endless possibilities.

            “He sent me to voicemail” Leila informed Thomas. Her heart was heavy with the unrelenting pain of rejection.

“Don’t worry about it, the guy is the president of a company for crying out loud, it might be that he’s being held up in a meeting.”

“Yes, I guess you’re right, I’m going to let him call me, but in the mean time, lets go get something downstairs, get a sandwich or something , because I am starving”

 "There we go! And besides, you are way too beautiful to be getting stood up by a guy.” Thomas said to Leila as she flashed him her pearly white teeth.

 “I hope you’re right, I really like this guy you know”

 “And he likes you, A LOT! Everyone can see that”

                  “Mr. Harrington, Mr. Harrington,” the small voice came over to his ear, but Nathaniel felt too tired to open his eyes, he had lost his life force, he was weak. “Mr. Harrington!” the voice yelled, shaking his sleep off. Opening his eyes, he found his secretary, Sasha standing over him. Her hair falling over her eyes as she bent down trying to wake him up. “Good, you’re awake,”

 “Thanks to you” he said grumpily. “What the hell do you want?”

 “Its your father sir, he wishes to speak with you.”  She informed him. His heart immediately sunk. His mother wouldn’t have told him, would she? She should have already landed.

 “Which line?”

 “One”

 “Ok Sasha, I’ll take it from there” he answered her and picked up the phone and answered to line one. “Hello” he said into the phone.

 “Nathaniel my boy!” he’s father’s voice sounded in his ear.

 "Hello Sir” he said gloomily, not in the mood for his father, it is obvious that his mom hadn’t told him anything. That is why he greeted him so joyously. Because he is still the perfect son; the one that had not let him down; at least yet. The minute he knew about his little adventure, he will be more than happy to ignore him, if not even cut him off.

 “I know of the great things that you are doing for the company my boy, and I wanted to tell you that I am very happy with you. You still haven’t let me down son.” As his father’s word resonated in his ear, Nathaniel felt his eyes make a triple turn to the back of their sockets.

 “Well I’m glad dad.”

 “No, really, people have been raving about me to you, seriously, but they always mention one thing, that I don’t think I am so happy about” Oh shit.  “That you have no leading lady. Now, Nathaniel, I am not saying not to play the field even though you are with her, I’m simply saying that having a woman that comes from a good family boost us up and makes you look like a commitment man.”  Is he fucking serious? Nathaniel thought to himself; he knew his father was a stupid man, but this…this had to top it all.

 “Well there are plenty of ways that I can show that I am committed, other then marriage” Nathaniel answered him, truthfully annoyed.

 “Like what?”

 “Like me taking on a charity, I don’t know, buy a house,” and the last one he placed in, knowing that it would tick at his father’s nerve “I can even adopt a baby in Africa”

 “Don’t be stupid, a nigger baby is impossible, you wont even be able to train the damn thing”

“It’s not a thing dad, it’s a person, and it wouldn’t need training because it’s not an animal dad”

 “What has gotten into you?  Are you becoming their defenders now?”

 “Look, I got to go” Nathaniel lied  “I have a meeting’ he explained and hung up, not willing to deal with his father.”

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