A Good Black Man in Gatineau

The first time I laid eyes upon June Andros, I knew she was something special. A six-foot-tall, beautifully curvy young Black woman striding through the crowded Place Cartier Mall in the City of Gatineau, Province of Quebec. You should have seen her, man. She looked really hot clad in a long-sleeved Black T-shirt featuring Bob Marley, Black leather pants and a Red Sox baseball cap on backwards. I was hanging out with my friend Nicole Carlson at the time. Nicole is a tall, blonde-haired and blue-eyed, muscular and tattooed Englishwoman whom I met at Carleton University in the City of Ottawa, Province of Ontario. Nicole is openly gay and we met in the Gender And Sexuality Studies class last year. People, especially Black women and white men, always make assumptions when they see us hanging out together in Ottawa. Simply because I'm a Black man and she's a white woman.

Anyhow, Nicole and I walked into a bookstore and looked for some science fiction novels by the great ones like Samuel R. Delany, Teejay LeCapois, Kevin Grievoux, Stephen King and Isaac Asimov. We're in the Science Fiction and Fantasy Club at school. A Haitian guy raised in America and a gay Englishwoman searching for rare books inside a French Canadian bookstore. It's a fascinating world that we live in, isn't it? Anyhow, I was used to people staring at Nicole and I as we walked together. Our arrival into the bookstore did not go unnoticed. The old white guy behind the counter flashed us that all too common phony smile that people give you in Canada when they don't like you. Nicole and I smiled right back at him. As I browsed through the shelves, I accidentally bumped into someone's, um, butt.

A very nice butt belonging to a very attractive someone. The person in question was the tall, curvy Black lady I had previously seen walking through the mall. I excused myself, and she smiled, saying it was okay. That's when Nicole joined us, clutching a copy of Robot City by Isaac Asimov. The tall tomboyish Englishwoman gently touched me on the shoulder and looked at the young Black woman. The Black chick looked at us, smiled, and said we made quite a cute couple. I smiled, but Nicole shrugged and said we were just friends. Ever the bold Englishwoman, she extended her hand to the young Black woman and introduced herself. The other woman smiled at Nicole and introduced herself as June Andros. Both women looked at me askance, and I finally introduced myself. Guillaume Lacroix. June Andros smiled, and asked me if I was Haitian. I smiled and nodded. I told her that I was born in the town of Cap-Haitien in the island of Haiti and raised in the City of Brockton, Massachusetts. The City of Champions. June grinned and asked me what an American like myself was doing in the Ottawa area. I shrugged, grinned, and told her that I was an international student at Carleton University. She smiled coyly and said that I should have gone to the University of Ottawa, the better school, according to her. Jumping into our conversation, Nicole asked June if she was an Ottawa University student, and June pled guilty to that one.

The three of us stood there talking for several minutes, before June Andros excused herself to grab a copy of the novel The Fallen : Forsaken by Thomas E. Sniegoski. I smiled when I saw what she bought. The book was written by a Boston-area author whose novels about fallen angels and their offspring entertained me a great deal as I was growing up in New England. There was a nice vibe between the three of us. Still, we were exiting the store and it seemed a shame to let things end like this. Nicole, once again ever boldly, asked June Andros to join us for a quick bite inside the Place Cartier Food Court. June hesitated, but Nicole's disarming smile seemed to convince her. I was trying my hardest not to grin from ear to ear. The three of us went to the Chinese food place and grabbed some tasty dishes, then we sat together.

As we feasted on some delicious Chinese food, we got to know each other better. June Andros seemed really surprised to discover that Nicole Carlson was an Englishwoman and not a Canadian. Nicole laughed when June told her that she was developing somewhat of a Canadian accent. Nicole playfully tapped me on the arm, and said she blamed me for that. Apparently, to Nicole, both Americans and Canadians sounded more than a bit alike. June laughed and said that Americans sounded nothing like Canadians. According to her, Canadian English sounded classier than American English. I reacted with mock indignity and told her that I was proud of my Boston accent. Both Nicole and June laughed at that, and I reminded Miss Andros that she was wearing a Boston Red Sox baseball cap. She rolled her eyes and said that she won it in a bet against a New Englander friend of hers the last time the Boston Red Sox took on the Toronto Blue Jays. I winced. It's always bugged me when my Sox lost to a substandard team like the Blue Jays. I mean, they're fucking Canadian, what the fuck do they know about baseball? Everybody up here watches and plays hockey. It's state law or something! June playfully slapped my arm when I said that while Nicole said that I ought to keep my voice down, lest I offend the locals and get roughed up.

The three of us were having a nice time, talking about anything from school to sports and the differences between America, Canada and the United States of America. I've lived in America since my parents moved there, three years after I was born. I barely remember the island of Haiti, though it's still close to my heart and I did donate close to one grand to the Yele Haiti Foundation after the 2010 earthquake. I came to Carleton University in the Canadian capital because it had one of the best Criminology programs in North America. Also, I wanted to study outside of America for a change. I was getting bored at Northeastern University. Nicole apparently felt the same way at Cambridge University that's why she ended up in Canada. June Andros story was quite different from ours. Born in the City of Croix Des Bouquets in the island of Haiti, she moved to Ontario, Canada, with her family ten years ago. The gal was twenty four years old and in her final year of undergrad in Criminal Justice at the University of Ottawa. Wow.

The three of us had a lot in common, for we were all within the same field of studies. Nicole was a Criminology student too. We exchanged numbers and added each other on Facebook. Well, Nicole and I added June because we were already on each other's Facebook. Before we all parted, June Andros looked at June and I, smiled, and said that we certainly made an odd pair of friends. I smiled at that. Nicole winked at me and looked June in the eyes before telling her that she and I had a lot in common. June raised her eyebrows, and her eyes widened as Nicole finally dropped the bomb on her. Nicole said that she and I were such good friends because we both loved cute women with big butts. June looked from me to June and back to me. For a moment she didn't say anything. Then she smiled, and shook hands with June. She declared her support for same-sex marriage and said that we had a beautiful friendship. Nicole nodded, but couldn't let June leave without sticking it to me in front of her. Nicole smiled at June and said that I, Guillaume, loved tall women. June smiled and nodded, told me I had good taste and said she'd be in touch, then she left. I stood next to Nicole, astonished at what she said, and watched June go. Hot damn that woman got a booty. I sure hope to see her again!

Nicole told me that I needn't worry, that she could sense June might like me. When I questioned her about it, she said that as a woman, she could tell stuff like that. I said nah, though inside, I hoped Nicole was right...for a change. That night, guess who called me? None other than the lovely June Andros. We ended up talking on the phone for ninety six minutes. I loved talking to her, man. She had a really pleasant voice and she seemed to genuinely want to know me. When I asked her to meet me at the Carleton University Center's Oliver Pub, June agreed and told me that she'd see me there tomorrow. I smiled and wished her a good night. Immediately after that I called Nicole to give her the good news. Nicole told me she was happy for me, then grumpily reminded me that it was one in the morning, cheerfully told me to go stuff myself and then clicked off. I smiled as I hung up the phone. I can't wait to meet June tomorrow. I got a good feeling about this one!