How do I begin this? How about, once upon a time? Nah, that’s too cliché. A long time ago in a……no, not that either. I’ll start normally. Considering how everything turned out, normal is the only way to start. All of this happened centuries ago.
It was a hot muggy day in South Miami. I was driving home after a long, but easy, day at work. The highways and major streets were packed as tightly as pickles in a jar. None of this bothered me though because I knew all of the side streets like the back of my hand. Not even ten minutes later, I was pulling into my parking spot in front of my apartment. When I got inside, I called out to my roommates. No one answered. This was a rare opportunity for me. I was hardly ever alone. I planned on having a good time that day. Brian and Charlotte must have been in their respective classes. Sweet!! I could play video games for hours without, interruption.
After I put my bag in my bedroom, I came back into the living room and sat on the couch. I think I’ll put the video games on hold for a little while. I need to catch up on my shows, I thought to myself. I turned the T.V. on and started watching the shows I recorded on my VCR. Oh didn’t I mention the year? Yeah, it’s nearly the end of 2000, the end of the millennium. I believe TiVo was in its infancy and DVR wasn’t even thought of yet.
Halfway through one of the shows, Charlotte came home. “Hey James, how was work?”
I put the show on pause. “You know, voice lessons, selling instruments, the usual. How was school? Did you have a lot of classes today?”
Charlotte went into the kitchen through the batwing doors and came out with a can of soda. “I had economics, Calc I, and Chem II. Sooo boring.” She opened the can and sat on the love seat. “Are you watching ‘Kansas’ again?! You are so obsessed with that show.”
I blushed. Well, as much as a black man could blush that is. “It’s my favorite show right now. And the main actor is so beyond hot!!! I’m going to marry Jason Branton someday.” I faked a swoon and Charlotte just laughed.
“What’s the show even about? It seems to me that it’s nothing but pretty people doing nothing in a small town.”
I had to push pause on the VCR again and I got off of the couch. “I don’t know what you are talking about. There’s so much more to the show than that. Though for the most part, they are pretty people doing nothing.”
Charlotte laughed again. “Whatever.”
I was very passionate about the show “Kansas”. I was so passionate that I watched the reruns more than the regularly aired show. And, with that passion, I began to describe the show to Charlotte. “Okay, so the show is about these two siblings, Michael and Priscilla, and they’re from the future. They’re from 1000 years in the future to be exact. Humans that far in the future are more evolved, so they have powers. Michael can manipulate matter and has telekinetic powers. His sister Priscilla can read and control minds as well as teleport.”
Charlotte looked up and gave me a really weird look. It seemed to be one of surprise. I continued with my explanation. “The government finds out about them, so most episodes are about them evading the government agents. Oh, also, it’s about their many adventures in love.”
“But why are they in this time period, and why Kansas?!”
“They came back to change an event that causes the destruction of the world. That said event, which they haven’t named yet, happens in a small town in Kansas.”
Charlotte shook her head in disbelief. “Okay, that seems like way too much drama for one TV show.”
“I know; that’s why I love it so much. Also, the other reason I watch so much is I love to look at Jason Branton. He is so hot!!!”
Charlotte laughed again.
"Oh, I said that already," I said sheepishly.
After my long explanation, I sat back down on the couch. With Charlotte’s permission, I started the show again. With only a few more interruptions from her, asking about the plot, we sat in silence, just watching the show.
As the credits rolled, Dinah’s song “Immortal” began to play in the background. That song evoked such longing in me. I really didn’t know why it had that effect, but I always felt so at ease whenever I heard it. It was almost as if it were about me. The song was about an angel who lost his way and became a human. He eventually learned to love again. Considering the popularity of the show, the song and Dinah have gone to number one on the pop charts. But that’s not why I loved it so much. I can’t explain it. However, every time I heard it, I was left breathless.
Charlotte got up and stretched. “I’m going to my room. I need to get this paper done. I have to admit; it is a pretty good show. I’ve never sat down and watched it from the beginning. Maybe I will start watching it with you.”
“That would be cool. None of my friends really watch this show. Well, Matthew loves it, but he won’t watch it with me.”
She laughed again. “Maybe you’re more obsessed than he is.”
“Maybe," I said with a grin.
“Did you want to do anything for dinner? I don’t feel like cooking tonight.”
“Yeah, absolutely! Do you want to try the Pie Place in the mall? I love their quesadillas.” At the time, that was pretty much the only thing I would eat at their restaurant. They did have a great chicken alfredo and awesome crab cakes, but I was really partial to their quesadillas.
“We could do that. I think Brian would like that too. He loves their crab cakes. Give me a few hours to finish this paper. Brian should be home by then and we can all go.”
I nodded. “Sure thing," and then we both went to our respective rooms.
Being a bit of a chat-room junkie, I decided to go online to my favorite chat site, gayschat.com. I loved chatting with random people from around the world for dates and sex. But who was I kidding; it’s mostly been for sex. However, that evening I was looking for a date. I hadn’t been on one in like a month. The last one was with this guy named Larry. We went to school together. He was a second year undergrad when I was a fifth year undergrad (I changed majors too many times to graduate in only four years). The date was alright, but I didn’t really feel a connection. He was very beautiful, but we had nothing in common. Well, we did have one thing in common; he was also a pianist. He was a very good one at that. But after the date, we both agreed to stay friends. It was strange though. I had such a crush on him when we were in Men’s Chorale together. I wondered what happened to change how Larry and I felt towards the other. But all of that aside, I was now looking for someone else.
Within minutes, I started talking to this dark-haired, blue-eyed Adonis who lived off of Brickell Avenue.
For the next hour or so I got lost in the tangled web of cyberspace chatting with so many guys. The Brickell Ave beauty seemed the most interested, so I bid adieu to everyone else and gave my number to him. In no time at all, my phone began to ring. And, for a couple of hours, we were on the phone talking like two high school sweethearts. His name was Connor. He was a financial planner based in Miami, with offices in Chicago, Atlanta and New York. And, being gay, of course he gave his physical statistics. He was 29 years old, 5’11”, black hair, blue eyes, and 175 pounds and worked out like every day. The picture he sent me was of him in a suit, so I didn’t get to see this great worked out body he said he had. He looked really awesome in his suit. He was also properly tanned. By that, he didn’t look like it was all done in a tanning bed. I had a thing for white guys. I don’t know what it was. I guess because it was the opposite of me. Larry was also white. Another trait he shared with Connor was the black hair and blue eyes. That was my favorite combination.
I sent a picture too, but I described myself anyway. I was 23 years old, about 5’9”, 190 pounds of chocolate loving, brownish black hair, brown eyes and I worked out 5 days a week. Connor confessed he had a thing for black guys.
“Well then, I guess it’s a match made in Heaven. So, how about actually doing this for real? Let’s go out on a date," Connor said.
“I’m free this weekend.” I was trying to contain my excitement.
“Does Friday afternoon work for you, like around 5 or 6?”
The sound of his voice was driving me crazy. “Six o’clock would be better for me. I don’t get off of work until 5pm.”
“Awesome. I actually need to go right now. I have some work I need to finish. Can I call you tomorrow for all of the details?”
“Absolutely. I can hardly wait.” Just then, Charlotte knocked on my door. “It seems I have to go myself. I will talk to you tomorrow then. Have a good night.”
“You too James. Talk to you later.”
As I hung up the phone, Charlotte started to giggle. “What’s so funny missy?!”
“Nothing, it’s just that you look so happy. Who was that?”
“I’ll tell you at dinner. Is Brian home yet?”
“Yeah, we were just waiting on you.” She was giving me her customized sly grin. It was the grin that said I knew what you were doing and wanted to rub it in your face.
“What? Oh my God, what time is it?” I started scrambling to get ready.
Charlotte attempted to calm me down the best way possible. “It’s only 7:45. We said 8 o’clock remember?”
Letting out a huge sigh of relief, I sat down on my bed. Charlotte went into the living room still laughing and Brian sat down next to her. They talked for a few minutes laughing at what just happened and held hands while gazing at each other. “Aww, I want that too. You guys look so happy together.”
“From what I just heard, you might have just found someone to make you happy too,” Brian said with a smile.
“We’ll see. It is internet dating after all.”
Charlotte got up and stretched. “Do you have a picture of him?”
“Yeah I do, but it’s on my computer and I just turned it off. I’ll show you when we get back from dinner. Come on, let’s go," and we left the apartment, locking the door behind us.
We crossed the foot bridge by the apartment; we crossed the street and then went into the mall parking structure. We entered on the west side of the building and walked the full length of the mall to get to the Pie Place. While we waited to be seated, we started talking about our respective days. I’m not going to go into that though. Being the hero of this little tale, I should properly introduce myself.
My name is James Charleston Osabarama Kwadwo Taylor. I know it’s a mouthful, but that’s my name. Growing up, no one could pronounce it. Actually, to this day, people had problems saying it. I usually just say my name is James Charleston Taylor. That one just rolls off of the tongue. And you don’t have to tell me; I know my name is James Taylor. It was a total coincidence. I was given that name by my father and grandmother in honor of my Great Uncle James. They are both from Ghana. Never been myself, but I plan to make a trip there some day when I have the funds to do so. My middle name has a meaning. It translates to “warrior born on a Monday". Remember it. It comes into play later.
Now, to understand the type of person I am, you need to know exactly when I was born. I was born on February 21, 1977 at 8:12 am on Monday during the height of the worst recorded blizzard Boston had ever seen. Well, it was the worst blizzard of THAT year. Needless to say, there are times when I can be one frigid bitch. I’m never cruel, or at least, I try not to be. However, I do have a bad habit of always being truthful….to a fault. I won’t lie in order to spare your feelings. Nothing is ever sugar-coated. It is this very reason that people either love me, or hate me. Despite all of that, I do have a lot of friends. I have so many friends in fact, that I’m starting to have trouble hanging out with all of them. You see, they aren’t friends with each other, just me. Most of them don’t even know that the other exists. I’ve been trying to rectify the matter, but not finding a good solution. Maybe if I threw a party then they all could meet. I probably should have done the party thing when I graduated.
I graduated from the University of Miami in May of 2000; about three months ago. I graduated with a degree in vocal performance with a minor in business. I wanted to be a singer in L.A., but for the time being, I was just enjoying life in Miami. I worked at a music store in Kendall where I taught voice and piano lessons and was also the second assistant manager. My second job was singing for this church across from the campus in Coral Gables. My free time was usually spent with my friends or playing video games. I also went to the movies a lot by myself. It was so cheap with my student discount.
I used to be part of the South Beach Gay Men’s Chorus, but the season ended in June. I started back in February. They were working on material for the big summer concert. I was one of the leads in the show. It was so much fun. There was this one number that paid homage to “Sister Act” where I put on a habit and everything, just like Whoopi Goldberg’s character did. During the rehearsals, I started to fall for the lead actor in the show. He was so cute that I couldn’t help it. I tried to go on a date with him, but he stood me up. I called him the next day but he didn’t answer, so I left a scathing voice message. I didn’t hear from him for about a month. He called apologizing and begging for forgiveness. The reason he didn’t show up for our date was because there was another guy that he had wanted to date for the longest time. They were usually both in a relationship, so nothing ever happened between them. Newly single, the guy called my guy to go out. They go on a date the day before I was supposed to go on a date with him. I asked him why he didn’t just call me and cancel. He said that he was afraid of what my reaction would be. I hung up the phone shortly thereafter.
It’s not like this was my first rejection. I’ve actually been rejected quite a lot. The first guy I ever liked told me he couldn’t date anyone as young as I was at the time. I’ve never actually been in a relationship. That’s the reason I was always online. I was desperately searching for that one guy who would change all of that. I was hoping this guy Connor was that one.