Sneak Peek
Addiction: Chapter 1
1980
It was spring time in New York City. The flowers were beginning to bloom, the birds were singing and chirping, the place was full of optimism and beauty. On NYU’s campus, a man named Trevor Austin met a beautiful young lady named Mary Flowers. For him, it was love at first sight.
Trevor, a black man, from Chicago, IL, was a senior at NYU, set to graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in marketing at the end of the spring semester. His dream was to become a marketing consultant in New York, and create ads for companies, then one day, own his own ad agency.
Mary, a white woman, from San Diego, CA, was also a senior at NYU, set to graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in finance at the end of the spring semester. Her dream was to become a big time stock broker on the New York Stock Exchange.
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Mary came from a small, but loving, family. She was an only child. Her family was well off. Her father was a retired Navy admiral, receiving a pension from the military, and he owned several small grocery stores in the San Diego area. Her mother was a home maker; she made sure their family was cared for and loved dearly.
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Trevor, unlike Mary, came from a broken home. His father died while working as a police officer in Chicago, when Trevor was only six years old; he was shot during a routine traffic stop. His mother died while giving birth to him; thus, he never knew her. Growing up, he never had a family to support him. He was raised by his father’s partner–Henry. Henry was always at work; therefore, he was never really around to help raise Trevor. Trevor would often have to wake himself up for school, feed himself, and practically take care of himself. It was as if he had no one! He only knew how to take care of himself, and he longed for love from anyone.
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One day, Trevor was in NYU’s library reading a book. He was studying for one of his upcoming midterms: when he noticed Mary sitting alone at one of the tables. When he saw her for the first time, he knew that she would be, ‘The one.’ He told himself, “She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, and I need to get her. She needs to be my wife.” So, he decided to approach her and talk to her. His first words to her were, “Hi. Is anyone sitting here?” She looked around to see if there were any other tables that were vacant, subtly hinting that he could sit anywhere else. She then sarcastically said, “Um, no.” He then proceeded to sit at her table across from her.
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While sitting across from her, he tried to strike conversation after conversation with her. He said to her, “Hi. I’m Trevor. And you are?” She then reluctantly told him her name; however, initially she was not the least bit interested in him at all. She was raised in a traditional white home: where white women married white men. For her, dating a black man was wrong.
But, he was persistent, to say the least. He made it his mission to get her to go on a date with him. He found out what dorm she lived in, and then began to send her beautiful flowers, with poems that he himself had written. Eventually, about a week before graduation, she gave in and went on the date that he so desired.
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Of course, like most college students, Trevor did not have a great deal of money to take Mary somewhere extravagant. So, for their first date, he took her out for ice cream. Even though she agreed to the date, she was a bit skeptical. However, she was attracted to him, and she was impressed by the flowers, and poetry that he had written for her.
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For Trevor, the date went extremely well. For Mary, on the other hand, it did not. He was extremely nervous, and she could easily pick up on that. He often stumbled on his words, and even told several jokes that were not at all funny to her. However, he was a complete gentleman, and because of that, she would leave the date feeling a bit more confident in giving him another chance. She even allowed him to walk her back to her room, and gave him a small kiss on his cheek before she went into her dorm room. He was overcome with joy. He longed for love and a family, and he felt as though he could have that with Mary.
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Mary graduated with a three-point-eight-seven-one grade point average, and would be in the top-ten percent of her graduating class, while having the best grades from anyone in her program. Before she even graduated, she had a job lined up to work as a trader on the New York Stock Exchange. She would start out as an entry level trader.
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Trevor graduated with a three-point-nine-one-two grade point average, and would also be in the top-ten percent of his graduating class, and he, as well, finished with the best grades in his entire program. Before he graduated, he had a job lined up to work for a marketing consulting firm in New York. Because of an internship that he had with the company, he was able to start as a mid-level marketing agent.
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Leading up to graduation, Mary and Trevor spent a great deal of their free-time talking to one another on the telephone. They even went on one more date before their graduation. On the day of their graduation, after the ceremony, Trevor went around looking for Mary. When he finally found her, he approached her and attempted to give her a hug. To his displeasure, she acted as if they were not dating. She put her hand out for a friendly handshake. When she did that, he became extremely confused. He tilted his head and squinted his eyes at her, mildly expressing his confusion. Then, from behind her, came this voice that he had never heard before. In a slightly condescending tone, the voice said, “Hi. I’m Mary’s father. And you are?” Trevor looked at Mary as she sat there quietly, with a fearful look on her face. He then said, “I’m Trevor. Mary and I studied together a few times,” as if he knew not to say that he was dating her, because of her actions. He then shook her father’s hand and walked away with his head held low as he sulked.
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Later that night, Mary called Trevor and tried to explain to him that her father would not approve of them dating. She exclaimed, “I’m so sorry about the way I behaved earlier. But, my father would not approve of me dating you.” He then asked, “Why not?” She paused for a moment, because she did not know the best way to explain to him about her father’s hatred toward people of color. She decided to be upfront. She then replied, “He wouldn’t approve of us dating because you’re black.” He attempted to make light of the situation. He jokingly said, “Oh, is that it? I thought you were going to say it was because I was poor!” And they both shared a small laugh together.
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Trevor would not allow Mary’s father’s hatred toward black people to keep him from dating the woman of his dreams. He pleaded with her, “I like you. No, I love you, and I want to be with you. And I think that your father will eventually give us his blessing. But, in the meantime, I still need you.” She agreed. And from that moment, she began to fall in love with him. They continued dating, and she kept it from her family that she and Trevor were an item.
