Soulful Strut (19 page)

“Tell me about it. I sat in a prison
dormitory because of those two.” Monette examined all the angles,
looking at them from Jerry’s point of view. “Yeah. Jerry will bet
that Winn comes out on top ’cause he always has before.”“And Winn
might forgive and forget if Hines changes his story about you being
framed.” Jim rubbed his jaw and rocked his leather executive chair
harder as he thought about the consequences.

“Bye-bye pardon,” Monette put in. She didn’t
need to have a deep legal mind to reach the obvious conclusion.
“Hell, by the time those two finish, they might revoke my
parole.”

“Not likely. You were eligible for
consideration. As long as you comply with the conditions of your
parole, we have no problems.” Jim sat forward and planted both
elbows on his desk. He gazed at Monette with a serious expression.
“That means you have to be squeaky clean. No close calls or even
little slips.”

Monette cleared her throat as she thought
about her adventure with Candi. “I’m almost eligible for sainthood
I’m being so good. Look hard and you’ll see my halo.” “I’m serious,
Monette. Winn has a lot at stake. Bringing you down is probably his
one and only hobby right now.” “No way. Drinking and wild women are
his favorite pastimes,” Monette retorted.

“Monette.” Jim’s somber expression did not
change. “Okay, okay. Don’t sweat about me, alright? I know how
dangerous Winn Barron can be. My survival skills will be working
overtime for the next few months.” Monette’s skin prickled at the
thought of going back to prison. Being locked up again would be bad
enough. Pepper and her gang would probably plan a deadly welcome
reception.

“Just focus on following the rules. In the
meantime, keep doing what you’re doing. Pile up the good works. You
might want to avoid talking about Barron. No need to poke that pit
bull for now.” Jim tapped his ink pen on the desktop.

“Right.” Monette forced her hands to relax
their grip on the arms of her chair. Despite her show of bravado
and bad jokes, Winn still inspired a primal sense of dread in her.
None of the ghetto thugs she’d known had frightened her as
much.

“Listen; let’s not make Barron out to be
invincible. The good news is we’ve still got a lot on our side.
Hines spilled way too much. He can’t take it all back at this
point. If necessary, we’ll pull out the stops to throw every sordid
detail back in Barron’s face. His reputation is permanently
damaged. His self-righteous denials will be taken with more than a
few grains of salt,” Jim said with enthusiasm, as though to counter
the grim situation. He stood and came around the desk to put a hand
on her shoulder. “If Barron wants a fight, we’ll give him one.”

“Sure.” Monette nodded and forced a smile.
“He’ll be sorry if he messes with me again.”

Jim was right about one thing—Monette needed
to maintain her focus. Not just because of the hearing, but for her
own good. Jayson’s solemn, handsome face came to mind with that
thought, and she blocked the image. She concentrated on listening
as Jim told her about the hearing process and what to expect. He
went over a few other legal details, and their meeting ended. He
walked her to the reception area. Monette maintained her assured
façade right up until they said good-bye. She stepped into the
sunshine and put on her sunglasses. Now all she had to do was live
up to her gutsy words. Jim had implied it, and Monette knew it was
true. The one person who could really ruin her chance to start over
was Monette Victor.

***

Monday morning Monette met Jayson in the
radio station lobby. She smiled at the way he was dressed. He wore
a red-and-blue-striped tie, a starched, pale blue shirt, and neat
navy blue slacks. A glance at him would lead anyone to believe he
was a high school teacher instead of a mechanic. Not a spot of
grease could be found under his fingernails.

“Hi. Hope I’m not late or anything.” Jayson
rubbed his large hands together nervously.

“Good morning. You’re actually early,”
Monette replied.

“I’m used to getting up before sunrise. My
day starts at six down at the garage. If it’s a problem I could
come back.” Jayson seemed ready to bolt

“No, it’s okay. Come with me. We can have
coffee and chat in the meantime.” Monette tried to put him at ease
with talk about the weather and local news.

Jayson looked around him as they walked. He
kept up his end of the conversation, but Monette noticed that his
intelligent brown eyes took in every detail. She led him to the
station lounge. Two of the male on-air personalities were there,
and she introduced them. Jayson talked baseball with the men, one
of whom had a sports show on a local-access television channel.
Fifteen minutes later they went to the studio. The producer of
Monette’s show joked around with them for a few minutes before he
had to go back to his controls.

“Feeling okay?” Monette asked. Jayson looked
more relaxed.

“Yeah. I don’t know what I expected. More
wires and stuff I guess.” Jayson smiled and lifted a shoulder.

“We’re living in the age of cool technology.
I’m still catching up on everything that’s changed in the past few
years.” Monette shuffled articles on automobile repair. Then she
took out index cards with notes.

“Uh, you seem really prepared. I didn’t write
down anything.” Jayson shifted in the gray vinyl chair. Worry lines
appeared over his dark eyes.

Monette looked up at him. “Just my cheat
sheets. You’re the expert, not me, so 1 had to study. Don’t tense
up on me now.”

Jayson gave her a faint smile. “I promise not
to pass out.”

“Please don’t. We’ll have so much more fun if
you’re conscious,” she wisecracked. When the producer waved to her,
Monette nodded back. “Here we go.”

When jaunty music from a real estate
commercial went off, her producer pointed at Monette. She flipped
the switch on her microphone and went through her usual intro
routine. Jayson seemed fascinated watching her. Monette kept an eye
on him to see if he looked woozy at all. When he smiled, Monette
gave him a wink of encouragement

“Good morning, Baton Rouge. This is Monette
Victor. I’m your guide to the real deal. Today we’re going to talk
about cars. One of the biggest investments we make is buying a car,
whether it’s used or new. We’ve got a pro in here to give us the
story on how to avoid auto repair scams, take care of our cars and
more. That’s just a start. Then we’re going to talk about the
challenges small- business owners face. Listen up while we pay the
bill with some commercials, and then we’ll jump on in.” Monette
turned off her microphone.

“See how easy?” Monette took a sip of her
coffee.

“Looks simple.” Jayson nodded.

Monette listened as an ad for a local beauty
salon ended. “Hello again, Baton Rouge. I’m Monette Victor, host of
Hot Topic. Thirty minutes of bringing you the real deal. We’re
talking about cars. Ladies, if you’re anything like me, pay
attention. Single or paired off, we need to know how to take care
of our vehicles. Guys could probably learn a few things, too.
Welcome and good morning to Jayson Odum, owner of Quality Car Care
Centers.”

“Morning,” Jayson managed to blurt out. He
stared at the microphone as though alarmed.

“Jayson, let’s get right to it Women more
than men get taken advantage of when it comes to car repairs. Why
is that?” Monette asked.

“Well, uh, a lot of ladies didn’t tinker with
motors and stuff the way guys did growing up. So typically women
come in knowing a lot less than men. But you need to find out more.
Ask the men in your life to help so that even when you go in for
routine care you’ll know what to expect” Jayson relaxed into the
topic that he knew so well.

For about ten minutes Monette took phone
calls from listeners. Jason answered questions with assurance. His
explanations were simple yet informative. Monette enjoyed the
smooth tone of his baritone voice. She’d toss in a joke every now
and then. Jayson took her antics in stride and didn’t get
flustered.

“We’ll take another short break, but when we
come back Jayson is going to talk about the challenges of starting
and owning a business. Start dialing, people.” Monette flipped the
microphone off. She called one of the station interns and asked him
to bring in more coffee.

“This isn’t bad at all.” Jayson loosened his
tie.

‘Told ya so. The thing is most of the
listeners want you to do well. That’s what surprised me. Where I
come from, you expect the worst of folks. I’m still adjusting to
the world.” Monette accepted the paper cups of black coffee from
the student. He also deposited packs of sugar and non-dairy
creamer. “Thanks.”

“The world?” Jayson took the second cup. He
poured in generous amounts of sugar and cream.

‘That’s what prisoners call life on the
outside. Prison cuts you off from the real world, ya know?
Different rules. You learn stuff inside that only applies to life
behind bars.”

Monette sipped from her cup. She could tell
he was curious. He nodded and seemed to consider how to frame his
next question. Before he could ask, the last commercial spot ended.
Her producer gave her a go signal.

“In case you just tuned in, you’re listening
to Hot Topic. I’m your host, Monette Victor. My guest is local
entrepreneur Jayson Odum, owner of Quality Car Care Centers. So,
Jayson, tell us how you got your business started.” Monette nodded
encouragement to him.

“Well, uh, I had a dream.” Jayson stopped,
blinked a few times, and then laughed. ‘That sounds a little self-
important. I’m not talking about anything as noble as Dr. King’s
dream of equality. I just wanted my own auto repair shop.”

“Dr. King talked about economic power to the
people, too. So, your dream is exactly what he meant. In fact, the
African-American small-business owner has been critical in our
communities. But they face unique hurdles. Tell us about some of
those.” Monette sat back to coast into the last part of the show.
She grabbed her paper coffee cup to take a sip; sure he’d go on
about injustices for at least a couple of minutes.

“Frankly, I don’t think we have it as tough
anymore,” Jayson said. “Certainly we have fewer resources, but in
many cases we’re not doing our homework. Any barriers thrown at us
can be overcome.”

Monette choked on her mouthful of coffee. She
caught herself in time to keep from spitting it across the room.
Jayson seemed not to notice, he was so intent on giving his point
of view. She finally swallowed, cleared her throat, and managed to
speak. When she glanced at Irvin, the young producer shrugged, and
then shook his head.

“Say what?” Monette broke in.

“Listen, we can’t keep claiming victim-hood
on everything. Black Americans don’t save enough money or practice
some commonsense financial planning. We have to face facts; we’re
in a global economy these days. You snooze, you lose as the old
folks used to say. No more whining.” Jayson tapped a forefinger on
the table as he made his points.

“Wait a minute. Are you telling me that the
playing field is level when it comes to race? Are you serious?”
Monette stared at Jayson as though he’d just landed from Mars. “You
must have been living in another solar system. Racism is no figment
of our imaginations.”

“Of course we’ve faced hardships and racism
in the past. But we’re running out of excuses. No—make that we’re
already out of excuses. We live in one of the richest countries in
the world. Being poor in America is nothing like being poor in
Africa, Indonesia and countless other Third World nations. Time to
stop complaining and get to work.” Jayson’s brown eyes burned the
fire of conviction.

“Every oppressed group has its own unique
battle. The fact that we live in a developed nation doesn’t make
injustice less real. Black folks are discriminated against every
day. Look at the Mack farmers. The feds finally admitted that the
Department of Agriculture pretty much conspired to put them out of
business.” Monette took a deep breath to keep from losing her
temper. “Those brave people lost land that had been in their
families for generations.”

“A tragedy that could have been avoided for
some with better business management.” Jayson waved a hand as
though dismissing her arguments. “Look, past injustices aside—”

“That’s just the point you’re missing. Those
injustices aren’t in the past and shouldn’t be ignored,” Monette
cut him off harshly. “Hold on. You’re one of those black
conservatives?”

“I don’t follow the typical ethnic party
line, no. And I don’t buy into blaming everything on race,” Jayson
tossed back. Gone was the nervous demeanor of a man not used to the
spotlight. He raised an eyebrow at her.

Monette stared at him with her mouth open.
Finally she noticed Irvin gesturing at her frantically. She looked
at him. “What? Oh, I mean, let’s take a commercial break and pay
the light bill. That will give me time to pick my jaw up off the
damn floor.”

Irvin’s eyes stretched wide, and then he
burst out laughing. He controlled himself quickly. “Stay tuned to
Hot Topic, ’cause we’re definitely turning up the temps in here.
This program is brought to you by our sponsors.”

Monette tuned out Irvin’s voice as he droned
on doing commercials. She made sure their microphones were off.
“What the hell was that all about?”

“I’m giving my opinions like you asked me to,
that’s what it’s about,” Jayson said evenly. He sat back in his
chair and crossed his arms as he returned her gaze.

“Have you lost your mind? You can’t really
believe that crap you’re talking,” Monette blurted out.

“I most certainly do believe it,” Jayson
replied in a voice that sounded starched, it was so crisp.

Irvin opened the door between the sound
studio and his control room. “We’re running overtime, and it’s too
bad. The lines are jammed. Monette, you have to wrap up.”