I think my problems with my parents began when Arthur Adewale asked me to the Prom, and I accepted. Arthur is a handsome young Nigerian who courted me...while we were both pupils at Carthage Academy in the City of Ottawa. I have a thing for dark-skinned guys with accents. I’ve never been attracted to white guys or Hispanic guys. My mother warned me away from Black men. You see, she was married to a Black guy named James in Jamaica before she met my father. According to mom, James was abusive.. "The meeting is scheduled for seven thirty and it shouldn't take more than a half hour as the other partners have other meetings to attend."Mercy lamented, "I guess we're not leaving until after nine at the earliest, are we?"I asked Dewey, "Do you know the hours of the American Express branch?"Dewey smiled, "On the Riviera, it's like everything else, twenty-four seven. You can get your business done anytime."Chuck left the room to apparently get dressed and go to the branch. I thought that. It was not real wedding quality but it was simple, cheap and white. Even her stockings, shoes and panties were white as well and she felt it was appropriate because she was still a virgin.They were surprised that the casino was so crowded at that time of the day but the teeming crowd was noisy and the slots were ringing and making weird noises that drowned out the voices. Donald gave her a couple of rolls of quarters inside a little plastic cup that probably could have held ten times that much.. Beth was never choosy about the men she dated, but when it came to a father for her future kids, no one seemed to measure up. Hard to compete with the ghost of the perfect dad.As a result of wanting but not ever having kids, Beth found herself twice divorced. She thought they were both dad material when she married them, but they soon fell off the list for one reason or another. Once they were off the list, the marriage was all but over.Lisa and Beth spent many hours in that house growing up..