The Sexual Assistant

Chapter 5

The Airbus jet taxied towards the end of the runway. Onboard were 178 passengers on a flight to London, England. Included on the roster were the names Harris Harrison, Buffy VanderRye, and Nancy Jade. Nancy had the window seat. Next to her were Harris and Buffy. Harris was fiddling with a tablet trying to start his in-flight movie. Buffy was finishing a text message to Neil.

"Going to be out of town for two weeks...Do you want to talk when I get back?"

She put her cell phone back in her pocket and then turned to stare at Harrison.

Harrison looked up at Buffy and uttered, "What?"

"We have to talk," said Buffy.

"What about?"

"Alisha. That's what about," replied Buffy in a tense voice.

"What about her?"

"I saw you grab her ass at the office. That's sexual harassment, buster!"

"Oh, that. It's okay. It's a long story," replied Harrison.

Buffy grabbed Harrison's knee with enough force to cause shooting pain to fly up his leg. "It's a long flight. Talk," demanded Buffy.

"Okay, okay," Harrison said as he gently pulled Buffy's steal grip from his leg. Then he told the story.

"Alisha now holds the record for time spent working with me. The second place goes to a woman who lasted two weeks before she bailed. Alisha has been with us for over two years. She joined us as a twenty-year-old recovering Heroin addict. No hope, no friends, and not much of a future. Look at her now. Confident and in control. So, please sit back and listen to what is going on between her and me. Just keep it confidential." Harrison continued the story.

"Let me tell you about my past first. Then we can talk about Alisha."

"I got the name Harris Harrison because my mother and father were both drunk at the time of my birth. Mom had forgone alcohol during pregnancy but took it up again as she started to go into labor. Dad was a professional drinker. He never paused while Mom was pregnant. They both thought my name made a good joke.

"By the time I was 15 years of age, my Aunt and Uncle had taken me in to get me away from my parents. I had to learn to be an adult fast. Only mathematics saved me. Yet, I was still a broken child. The University of Michigan and Harvard both threw me out for being too angry. You would be angry, too, if you knew the truth about mathematics and had parents like mine."

Buffy was still looking at Harrison with anger on her face. Harrison went on.

"Now, let's talk about Alisha. She is broken. Do you know what everyone else wants to do?" he asked rhetorically. "They want to 'fix' her. They want to force her into a cliché white girl's fantasy. You know, find the right guy, get married, have kids, and always be happy. Except that is never going to happen for Alisa."

"I have a different attitude and approach to being broken. When I was sixteen, I found this book by a guy that said suffering is a natural part of being human. We need to accept who we are and our situation. We must live our true life through self-awareness. The author's name was Buddha. I think his first name was Richard or something. I really don't remember."

"So, when Alisha showed up for day two of working with me, I was intrigued. I bought her dinner that night. I wanted to hear her story. We talked for hours. We killed a couple of pots of coffee after dinner and destroyed an entire pie. I took her home, and we talked some more. I told her the best way to deal with being broken is to own the lifestyle. Take a look at the cards life had dealt you and play your best hand. If possible, see if you can draw a couple of new cards to improve the situation."