Excerpt from

G. Percy Smalley’s

THE ROCKY ROAD AFFAIR Ó2001

3895 WORDS

CHAPTER ONE

THE CAT NAP

Through the rearview mirror Gary could see the gun pointed directly at his head and he quickly visualized his own blood splashed on the windows, his brains splattered all over the dashboard. As the horrid pictures of President Kennedy's assassination flashed in his mind, Gary realized he was about to die simply because he had fallen in love.

Strangely enough, the thought of not being with her turned his fear into anger, which surprised him. This wasn't a movie and he wasn't James Bond, but love and passion have a way of bringing out the courage in a person, and this moment had done that. All he could think about was finding a way out.

Unfortunately, there was none. So, with his own death before him, Gary thought about how this would devastate his family. He thought about how he had been worried about losing his father to cancer, yet here he was about to lose his life in a more dramatic fashion: murder. Had I never met the woman of my dreams, none of this might have happened, Gary thought. But given a choice, I’d do it all over again.

It all started on a Friday night. Gary’s weekly commute from San Diego back home to Los Angeles was an eagerly anticipated trip. Gary did not take to airplanes too well and he often said he didn’t fear flying, he just preferred to stay on the ground. The fact that his father worked for the railroad might have been a factor. It was Gary's 31st birthday and although he would be spending it alone, he felt content in knowing that his business was doing well and he wasn’t in debt. Gary Shuley had a lot to feel special about. He was a handsome entrepreneur who had started his own video production company right out of college. Though he had yet to fulfill his dream of breaking into feature films, he had managed to make a living producing industrial videos and training tapes.

He had been staying in San Diego during the week working on a video shoot for First Mission Bank. Though the commute was a pain, the project paid well and when you're a young black man in business for yourself you've got to be flexible. When the teacher recommended several people for the job, Gary was one of them.

Gary usually took a later departure and he was now reminded why. The 5:15 departure was pretty crowded and the October rain didn't make things any better. Still, it felt good to sit down, and in a few hours he would be relaxing in his own bed, not one at the Balboa Hotel. As he opened his briefcase while waiting for everyone to board, he pulled out a birthday card his father had sent him while at the hotel. He must have gotten the address from Mom. The outside of the card read, "To my son on his 31st birthday." But before he opened the card he glanced out of his window and spotted the most beautiful black woman he had ever seen. Wouldn't it be nice to have her as a birthday present? She was a caramel brown with an umbrella that matched her coat. She was looking around for someone on the dock and Gary wondered why this beautiful queen couldn't be looking for him. He felt like knocking on the window to let her know he was there. Her lips were luscious and even in the rain her fire engine red lipstick stood out.

Her hair was cut short and in a cute style. Although it was hard to tell from his vantagepoint, it looked like one side was longer than the other. She had a scarf on but he knew that he would love her hair if only given the opportunity to play in it. Her eyebrows were thick but neatly arched. As she crunched up her nose while scanning the train station, he couldn't help but smile at how incredibly attractive she seemed without even trying. He was staring now, as he even thought he saw her nipples surface through the material of her blouse. He wondered what she would look like in his silk robe. Gary could feel his tired body indicate that he needed rest and his eyes got heavy even as his curiosity grew stronger.

Although tired from a long week of production, Gary felt hungry, and as a porter walked by he stopped him and asked if they had any ice cream in the kitchen. "Sure. What flavor did you want, sir?" "I don't know, I've got a taste for some Rocky Road," Gary replied with a devilish grin. "I'm sorry sir, I'm afraid we don't have Rocky Road. Just Strawberry, Vanilla, or Chocolate." Gary thanked the porter anyway, realizing that it was really the beautiful woman that he hungered for.

Nevertheless, from his seat on the train, Gary continued to watch his fantasy love goddess. He wondered what she did for a living. He thought how nice it would be if she were an actress. That way they could have something in common. Gary had always dreamed that one day his industrial video business would develop into a full-fledged feature film production company, like that of his idol, Spike Lee.

Feeling himself get even sleepier, Gary decided to snap out of his lustful, boyish fantasizing over a woman he didn't know. She's probably just another material girl, like Linda, he thought. She's probably got some sugar daddy somewhere taking care of her and the guy is probably a balding, 5'6" dude that weighs 350 pounds.

Gary opened the inside of his birthday card and it read, You may be stubborn-headed sometimes, but you're my stubborn-headed son and I love you. Love, your daddy, Lester. P.S. Lester Shuley! Gary hadn't spoken to his father in months and now he had done something that really pissed him off. He had sent what Gary considered to be a beautiful birthday card! Gary, although sleepy, could feel his eyes starting to water up. He couldn't figure out why he got so emotional over things lately. Maybe it was a sign of age, he thought with a smile. Gary could not remember being as emotional about things growing up in south central Los Angeles. But now he remembered crying when Magic Johnson's number was retired on television. He remembered crying the first three times he saw the movie, The Five Heartbeats. Now his father had touched him with this birthday card.

Gary's mother, Freda, had divorced the old man several years ago but the two of them remained best friends. After Gary’s Grandmat passed he found his relationship with his father grow even more distant. Ironically, whenever Lester Shuley would come to Los Angeles, he would stay with his ex-wife and they would hang out together like running buddies. They seemed happier and more loving to each other divorced, than they ever did when they were married. And now Gary's dad had gone and surprised him with a card that seemed to spell out the love they shared in spite of their differences.

In his window seat he turned once again and glanced at his mystery princess. He came to the realization that this was a woman whose bath water he could drink. Wouldn't it be nice if I could walk up to her and introduce myself? But just as his distant admiration for her grew even deeper, he was quickly snapped into reality, when a handsome yet mature looking man with just a touch of gray, walked up to her and embraced her with a passionate kiss. Damn, a sugar daddy. Gary looked at his card once more then fell into what would be a 15-minute catnap.

CHAPTER 2

KISS ME HELLO

Although he had only been asleep for 15-minutes, it seemed like an hour to Gary who was so tired that he drifted into a deep nap. Suddenly a jerking motion from the train woke him up. He looked out of the window and saw that the train was moving and the rain had not let up. He then looked to his left and saw that someone was in the seat next to him. Still coming out of coma-like sleep, Gary first noticed the Daily Variety Magazine and then it hit him. The person reading it was the beautiful fantasy woman whom he had gazed at earlier. Wow that's her sitting right next to me, he thought. He quickly sat up and tried to get the rest of his body to wake up and take notice. She was reading with her glasses on. She had a distinguished, intellectual look about her now. It was a completely different look from when Gary had watched her from his window seat. Her perfume tantalized him and he noticed her hair was longer than he thought, but just as pretty as he had imagined up close. On the dock she was sexy, but now she seemed to exemplify elegance. Without even as much as a conversation this was a woman who intimidated Gary. He realized this woman was no Linda. She’s sophisticated and is probably well accustomed to the finer things in life. He looked at her finger to see if she had a big wedding stud on but the magazine blocked his view.

He wondered what interest she had in Daily Variety. Maybe she was an actress and the man she kissed was her wealthy husband, who also represented her at the law firm, for which he was a partner. If she was an actress, he had never seen her before. Gary kept up with all of the films starring black cast members and if she were one, he would have recognized her. Maybe she was a singer, he thought. Maybe that man was her producer. Wouldn't it be nice to just ask her why she was reading the entertainment magazine, he wondered. But no words came from his mouth. He just sat there for five minutes trying to think of how to start a conversation with her. He then spent another five minutes trying to figure out what to do with himself.

Suddenly he wondered what he had done with his birthday card when he noticed it was in her lap. At last, a reason to speak. It must have fallen out of my hand while I was sleeping, he thought. In his head Gary tried to practice a cool way to say, Excuse me I dropped my card in your lap. But this is a woman with style, so I've got to come up with a more mature, distinguished tone. I've got to sound more like the Governor or something. Again Gary practiced his lines in his head, as if he were preparing for a play. Excuse me, but I dropped my card in your lap. By the way, I read Daily Variety quite a bit myself. My name is Gary Shuley. I'm a video producer. Now Gary had thought of the perfect way to phrase his introduction to the lady he had been so captivated by for twenty minutes of his life. Just as Gary put his lips together to utter the first words, the porter came back and asked if he could get her anything. Foiled by the porter, he thought. Now he would have to wait another three or four minutes to get his courage up again.

Nevertheless, he got his first opportunity to hear her voice. Much to his surprise her voice wasn't stuffy or over-confident. It didn't sound conceited and filthy rich. She didn't sound like the wife of a prominent lawyer, surgeon, or business millionaire, as if they had a certain kind of voice. Instead she sounded sweet and youthful, polite and sexy. "You know, I really have a taste for some Rocky Road ice cream," she said with a mischievous smile, as if she knew she really shouldn't.

As Gary listened to her request he couldn't believe his ears. Did she just ask for my flavor? "No, sorry we just have vanilla, strawberry, or chocolate. You know, the gentleman next to you asked for the same flavor earlier. Seems the both of you are craving the same thing tonight,” he said with a kind smile. She turned to Gary and asked, "Did you really?" "Yes, for some reason I had a taste for it," he said calmly. She smiled and told the porter that she would wait. As the porter walked away she took her glasses off and again spoke to Gary. "It's something about the rain that makes me want ice cream, though heaven knows I don't need it.” “I never thought of it like that, but I think you're right. The rain does bring out the ice cream in my soul, too.” he said with a smile. She giggled in an almost girlish way and said, "My passion in warm weather is pie.” Gary quickly remarked, “What’s your favorite pie flavor?” “Apple,” she replied as if answering the question to a game show quiz. “Good answer, I’m fond of apple pie myself. I'm sorry but I must have dropped my birthday card in your lap while I was sleeping." "Oh, it's your birthday?" she said while handing him the card back. "Yes, I'm now officially thirty something. But I feel pretty good about it. I just might make it through the night." She laughed and told him not to worry about it. She said that he would be fine and to remember, he was not getting older, just wiser. He jokingly replied, "Did you say wiser or wider?" Again she laughed and suddenly what seemed like such a task, to talk to her became natural and easy.

Her laughter was symphonic and her mannerisms made him feel incredibly comfortable. Her conversation was friendly and her response to his witty remarks was countered with a charm and wit of her own. Although she was devastatingly beautiful, she generated a girl-next-door quality that made her personable and Gary's intimidation and wall of insecurity came tumbling down as a friendly banter set in.

"I noticed you were reading Daily Variety. I'm an industrial video producer myself,” he said without hesitation. "Oh really! I'm an aspiring writer. I've been working on my first screenplay for about a year now." Gary was delighted with the discovery of her writing aspirations, for it meant they had something in common. "I want to write for animated features,” she added. "Animation huh? Are you an artist as well?” Gary asked with a genuine enthusiasm that Pam recognized and returned. "As a matter of fact, I sketch a little." Pam took out her sketchpad and showed Gary some samples of her drawings. Wow, she's a writer and an artist. This woman with the super model qualities is someone with imagination and creativity. "These are a few storyboard ideas for an animated feature concept I'm working on,” she said with an enthusiasm that matched his. “These are really great characters you've created here," Gary said with admiration. Pam had some bears and other animals sketched out in pencil scenes that seemed to have a story sequence. Gary told her how professional her work looked and how impressed he was with what he saw. Pam seemed happy with his admiration, as if she needed to receive the approval. Their conversation flowed smoothly.

"I would have thought you were an actress with your beauty and all," he said without realizing the nature of his compliment. Suddenly, it dawned on him that he had just told this enchanting woman that he thought she was beautiful. He didn't want to insult her by appearing to give another come-on line, so he tried to offer a retraction to his previous statement. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that you were beautiful...” "You didn't?" "Well, no...I mean you are, but I didn't mean to imply... I mean I'm not trying to... Oh boy!… My name is Gary, anyway," an exhausted Gary sighed. "Nice to meet you. I'm Pam Morgan," she said with a giggle.

The mere fact that he had blunderingly tried to explain his sincerity was justification that he was a nice guy. She thought he was cute and the fact that he had a sense of humor made him even more attractive. That men tried to hit on her all the time, was in reality a fact, but she could tell that Gary was a gentleman and was not trying to maneuver himself into her panties.

"I hope to write and produce feature films someday. I've been producing various industrial videos for different companies," Gary explained. "I'm a week away from finishing up on a training tape in San Diego, however, I'll be starting another project for the company after that." "How interesting,” she said with a smile. She thought, not only is he charming, cute and polite, but he's ambitious. Suddenly Gary noticed that she didn't have the gigantic diamond wedding ring that he had imagined, "What kind of movies do you like?" she asked. Gary was caught off guard with the realization that she was not wearing a ring and took a minute to snap out of his trance. "I'm sorry. What did you say?" "What kind of movies would you like to produce someday?" Here is the most beautiful woman in the world asking me, what kind of art I want to extract from the depths of my imagination, Gary thought. He felt like he surely had died and gone to heaven, for she really seemed interested.

"I want to produce films that show the romantically, suspenseful side of the black experience. I mean, every successful black film seems to dwell on either the shoot-em up action, the bad ass, or the hip hop comedic buffoons.” Gary's intense conviction that the industry was in need of change showed on his face. Pam could see that he was not only a man of ambition but of substance as well. He explained that he loved to see Wesley Snipes in the tough guy roles but he also wanted to see him in all kinds of different roles, and the romantic suspense film seemed to be the kind that Hollywood stayed away from.

Gary lowered his voice, as not to offend any of the other passengers, and in doing so he made their conversation even more intimate. Pam looked into his eyes, as he went on to say that he wanted to show love relationships between the black woman and the black man. "We fall in love too. And some of us would even jump out of an airplane to save the person we love. We might even put aside our personal wealth to be with the one we love. I want to show the passion and the love that exists between us. Oh, sure, we can wrap it up around plot twists that excite the viewer, but I want to show that the power of love does exist within our culture, too." Gary looked at his fist and noticed it was clinched and wondered if he was talking too much. He apologized and explained that he often got worked up about the lack of quality films released in the Afro-American genre. "Images… I guess it all comes down to creating images that reflect the various dimensions of our people and not just a few,” he added." I know what you mean. I read an article in Essence that said, Can A Brother Get Some Love?" she replied with laughter. "Wow I read that article too. Even though I'm not going to admit I read Essence to anyone outside of this conversation." Pam laughed as Gary continued to explain about the dearth of sexual intimacy between black couples on screen, to which the article alluded. Pam showed empathy for his feelings. She explained how she thought the world of animation had a long way to go in the area of diversity also. Then Pam touched his hand and told him. "I think it’s great to have such a strong conviction about the kind of art you want to create.” Her voice again sounded like a symphony. Her smiles were like priceless portraits, and her laughter was like the chorus to a love song. “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything. Right Gary?”

As they continued talking about writing, the industry, and the arts, Gary couldn't help but wish that he were traveling to New York instead of just up the coast to Los Angeles. Perhaps if they were going to New York he would have more time to get to know her better, then make her dump the other guy and work his way into a wedding proposal. Why haven’t I ever met someone like this before? Someone with wit, beauty and an interest in the same things, he pondered. Linda was interested in one thing only, money! Before Linda there was Diane, very affectionate but not the smartest girl in the world. He almost married Wanda but when he found out that she was sleeping with his doctor, he resorted to his usual line of therapy, his work. It seemed ironic that a man who believed so strongly in producing a film about the power of love, had himself been missed by its sting so many times. With humility he decided that this was a woman he would like to remain friends with, if nothing else. Who knows, maybe they could even see each other sometimes, he thought. He decided that he would forgive her for having a sugar daddy.

"So who are you sharing your birthday with?" she said, with what he thought was a flirtatious rasp. Did she just flirt with me? No, no, I must have read it wrong, he thought. "Well, I haven't really planned anything other than crawling in my bed. The Balboa Hotel is cool but there's no place like home, as Dorothy would say.” "What, no girlfriend?” she countered. OK, now that was definitely flirtatious, he thought. However, he gathered his composure and decided to be cool and calm about what was unmistakably a mutual return of interest. "I'm not seeing anyone right now. I’m waiting to see the Wizard of Oz first.” “Oh you’ve got to get a heart first, huh?” “No I’m in need of courage. Maybe that's why I want to write and produce love stories so badly. Hey, I think I've just psychoanalyzed myself.” "Be happy. Now you don't have to pay those outrageous therapy bills," she said with a serious tone, as if she knew first-hand.

Pam had made him feel so comfortable that he had exposed more about himself than he anticipated. Thus he felt relaxed when he asked her about her gentleman friend he saw her kiss at the train station. "Listen, that was a good-bye forever kiss and nothing more," she said, having somehow expected to be given that moment in private. "You could have fooled me,” he returned while studying her embarrassed posture. "Listen, after we go out and celebrate your birthday, I just might show you what a hello kiss is like. And it's nothing like a good-bye kiss. In fact, it's much better."