The Temp

Dinah loved to hear Tabitha and the oldest boy sing old school music. Her love for R&B and especially blues was passed to her children. However, Tabitha stilled seemed to viewed the world and rhythm to the sounds of hip hop and rap music.  Dinah hated it.  But, she tolerated it in the house for the sake of her Tabitha and the other children feeling comfortable at home. She did not want to feel they had to steal away to their friend’s homes where parents were more lenient.  Dinah did not mind Tabitha sitting in the living room playing her CD's on her box.  She knew Tabitha would be careful.  She purchased an artpiece from an auction that was simply a giant West African baobab tree standing strong and firm near a body of water.  The tree reminded her of the nobility and the strength of those first “migrants” stolen from the shores and shipped to a land of criminal strangers. There was a mountain and waterfall behind it. This piece gave her a feeling of peace and serenity.  She hung it at the foot of her bed.  A thought came to her mind as she looked at the picture on her wall.  “I don’t think I have ever felt this good in my life,” she spoke loudly.

As she laid her clothes out for the next day, she thought about the difficulty she had trying to earn a college degree, and raising the children alone. Then,  according to her sour aunt, she had the audacity to enroll in master’s degree program.   It takes most people four years to finish a simple BA.   Life had made Aunt Pearl bitter.  It took Dinah eight years to finish because of her responsibilities of caring for children. Though she had the academic skills, she wanted to properly take care of her babies, they meant a lot to her. It takes time to nurture and rear them properly. She was proud of herself. She finally did it; they were all almost out of high school and adults! She wanted to encourage other single mothers to have courage and patience, and pride within themselves and to pass it to their daughters and sons.  Dinah didn’t think about being alone as much as she used to.  She spent her time just trying to get through the day.  She was free to love, yet nobody was in her life who wanted to love her.  In each moment she contemplated the joys of freedom,  she knew it was going to be just another lonely day.

Still living in Chicago battling the harsh winters, Dinah loved the lakefront beaches, the parks, and the zoo.  She loved spending her time listening to the percussionist have their regular jam session at the 63^rd street beach.  She was afraid to get out there herself with her shakore, so she used her fingers to tap out the beats on her steering wheel.  She liked to read while she sat there or to watch the families have such a great time barbecuing and picnicking outside the beach area.  There was always something to do in Chicago, especially in the summer that was free on the lakefront.  In the winter there was a free gospel concert at so many churches throughout the city.  They usually included praise dancers, she still loved the dance.  Being the place where stepping was created, Dinah could always find a steppers class to attend that didn’t cost too much.  This way she was entertained and got in a good workout at the same time.  The museums were fantastic and they still had one free day each week for visitors like Dinah.  Even though gang violence was taking over some areas of the city, Chicago was an absolute marvelous place and she loved living there.  She didn’t mind doing anything alone anymore. Besides is was much better than being someone’s temp.

Reuben didn't like being alone anymore. He couldn't remember when he wasn't alone.  Though he worked two jobs and had people around him most of the time, his heart was in teaching.  As he reflected on his work at the Los Angeles Community College where he taught Political Science, he thought about Richard, a young man in his Wednesday morning class.  Reuben had taught only a few young men like Richard in his 15 years as college professor.  He could see loneliness in the young man’s eyes and suspected that he was at his wit’s end.   Being a friend to loneliness he knew it well.  He invited Reuben to join the spoken word group he chaperoned.  He was playing match maker and figured Richard would take to one of the young ladies in the group.   He chose the proverbial black slacks to wear today. This time though he decided to go with a peach shirt and mildly colorful tie. His dress was usually very conservative.  When Reuben left home that morning he had a feeling that it would be a special day.  Today he dressed in preparation for the blessing he knew he’d attract.   After tying the tie snugly around his neck, he spotted the tweed jacket that went with his black pants.  It was early spring and mornings can be a bit nippy in the east wing of the college.  He was new to the department chair position and his new office was always chilly.

His birthday was in less than a week and Reuben felt his lonely days were coming to an end. While preparing his usual breakfast of coffee, English muffins, and fresh melon salad, Reuben couldn't help but remember the first day he laid eyes on Dinah James, he thought about Dinah, his first girlfriend a thousand times since their high school days. He kept a picture of Dinah from a fashion show she was in she and her sisters organized to raise funds for their dance troupe.  Dinah was his angel but he didn’t know what to do with her.  She had a mature mind for which he didn’t know what to do with.  He imagined her strolling down the school hallway eagerly trying to get to class on time.   Before going to a meeting for department chairs Reuben stopped by the registrar’s office to submit his midterm grades.  

As he entered the building he saw Professor Kelly Shaw, new to the faculty this semester.  Reuben could sense her eagerness to teach.  As he watched her walk into the office he wondered if she would bring his blessing that day.  “She seemed to have chosen the outfit for her first day with care”, Reuben thought.  Looking younger than when he first saw her at a staff meeting the week before, Professor Shaw didn’t look to be forty yet.  Her attire represented her stylish youthfulness yet her suit was businesslike but not too drab. He spotted the pink that faintly appeared between the wool woven tightly together. The straight skirt accented her full figure. Yet the black wool made her stout curves appear slim.  

Reuben loved a woman with a little meat on her bones. When he decided to choose a woman, he wanted one that he could hold on to. He wanted one he could feel.  He wanted to call her by her first name, Kelly that day because he imagined her warm smile seeming to invite him into her life. He wondered if she was already married or dating. He decided right then that he would find out if she was already spoken for.  He wondered if Kelly was soon to occupy at least some of his lonely time.  Reuben intentionally sped up his walk to catch up to her.  As he walked past her getting to the office first, he opened the door, held it in a gentlemanly manner so she could enter first, and greeted Professor Shaw with a kind and exhilarating smile being careful not to be flirtatious as she walked in.  The smile he received in return was standoffish.  He could tell that she held back deliberately.  In the back of his mind he knew that Kelly was not really his type but at this moment in his life she would do until the real one crossed his path and made his heart really flutter.   His aim was to make this a special day as he contemplated the best way to get her attention.  She’d be his temp.