Bro-mance 101 (2 page)

“That’s why we have
pre-recorded
programming
,” Ramon reasoned
. 
“
Put that sucker on
auto-pilot
and run thirty minutes
of a repeat segment.  Even better, catch a ride with me and we can chill
at my place
tonight
.  I’
ve got a case of
Shiner Bock
on ice.  We can get shit-faced.”

Devlin laughed. 
Ramon
had the quintessential bachelor pad, furnished primaril
y with alcohol and
two
big screen T
Vs.  Devlin would love to cap off the evening with a beer or two–or three or four
, b
ut he
felt he
owed his listeners more than
pre-recorded chit chat
.  Faithful fans didn’t want to hear a repeat
performance
.  He was committed to providing quality. 
Ramon
produced three other
radio
shows
, b
ut
Bro-mance
101
was Dev
l
in’s baby.  He
’d
started it five years ago from an idea.  Today, it had grown into a lucrative talk show.  There was even mention of taking some of his popular blog response
s and turning them into a movie
. 
He had a duty to his listeners and he wasn’t about to let
a freak storm
dictate his schedule. 
“No thanks
,” he told Ramon.  “
I’
ll h
ang out
here
for a while.”

Ramon
shrugged his boney shoulders.  “Suit yourself.  I’m outta here.”

“See ya Monday.” 

A flashing light signaling an incoming call on the audio console’s switchboard caught Devlin’s attention.  He
donned
his headset and prepared to answer the call. 
His listeners
were depending on him.  Only when the show was done, would he allow himself to go home, relax, and enjoy a guilt-free weekend
.  He looked up just in time to see a jagged bolt of lightning streak
across the sky and illuminate the dark horizon like a neon bonfire.   He took a deep breath.  He hoped he wouldn’t regret his decision to stay.

TWO

Sw
hoosh,
swhoosh!
 
S
w
hoosh
,
s
whoosh
! 
The rhythmic tempo of
Zhané
’s windshield wipers
echoed inside her
car
as
the rubber blades frantically swe
pt
sheets of water from her windshield. 
Navigating traffic from the exclusive neighborhoods of Sugarland
, Texas
to the southwest side of Houston was normally a cinch for her.  But on a Friday night, when party-goers mixed with
torrential
rain, it could be a reci
pe for disaster.  It might have been easier if she
w
eren’t
driving
through
a
tear-stained
haze.
 
She had her boyfriend
,
Malik
,
to thank for that.  Well, ex-boyfriend now.  He’d lured her out i
n the rain to an upscale restaurant downtow
n
on
the premise of discussing s
omething important.  Stupid her; she
imagined it was a proposal. 
She
’d
rushed home from work, dabbed on some Vera Wang perfume, pulled her tangle of curls into a fashionable upsweep, and changed into a slinky
,
black dress and matching
pump
s.  She would
n’t
have gone through all that trouble if she’d known she was going to a
break-up dinner.

She’d be the first to
acknowledge that lately
things had been
a bit
rocky with
Malik
, but she never
expect
ed him to drop this
bombshell.
 
When
the two met
last December at a
Delta Sorority Mixer
,
the
y
’d
h
it it off immediately. 
The
y
seemed to b
e
perfectly suited
with the same ambitions and values
.  Both
of them were business
professionals
.  Both of them graduated from
the University of Houston
in
the same year
. 
They b
oth
e
njoyed
the smooth sounds of Kirk Whalum’s saxophone
.
They even drove the same car–although hers was a newer model. 
Their relationship seemed idyllic. 

The
n, she got a promotion at the
firm
where she worked
.  Initially, it was the blessing she’d sought mo
s
t of her adult life. 
As one
of the few female
execu
t
ives
in the
o
il
and g
as industry
, it was a significant
accomplishment, and proof of her
years of dedication.  Not to
mention she now had a six-figur
e salary.  She could do
all
the thi
n
g
s she’d been wanting
to do,
like put a down-payment on a new home, finally pay
off
her student loans,
travel the
Mediterranean
, and
support the charities that meant so much to her. 
However, h
e
r new-found success
came with a cost.  She had to continue her grueling pace to show
everyone that
she deserved that promotion and all the perks that came with it. 
While her
male counterparts
were networking on
the golf course, she was elbow-
deep in reports, RFPs, and
online research.
She couldn’t afford to get caught slipping. 

With her working so hard
,
and
Malik
launching a
sports promotion
business
(
in addition to his continual training for the New York marathon
)
,
the threads of their relationship had begun to steadily unravel.
 
In her naivety,
Zhané
thought they could work it out. 
Malik
apparently hadn’t felt the same. 

Now, she was driving from the restaurant,
biting back the s
our taste of heartbreak mingl
ed
with the salty remnants of Orange Roughy and spinach
she’d eaten
. 
She
choked back a sob as she gripped the steering wheel.  It was almost ten p.m.  She should be in her bed reading a good book instead of traversing these slick roads.  Imagine, her man breaking up with her in a crowded restaurant.  He
said he
f
elt she was less likely to become violent in a
public venue.  Her?  Violent? 
Nonsense!  She hadn’t wanted to strangle
Malik
.
She’d wanted to bury her head in the sand and not come up until she felt better. 

Zhané
’s
cell phone
chimed
, signaling an incoming text.  Her best friend,
Kat
ina was trying to contact her. 
She glanced at the
glowing green words on the screen of her cell phone
.

Did you say yes?

Zhané
flung
the cell phone onto the floorboard
of her car
.  She didn’t believe in texting while driving.  Anyway, she had nothing to report to Katina but shame and embarrassment. 
She
’d invested
six months in this relationship with
Malik
.  She thought they were going
somewhere.  Then all of a sudden,
he told her that he was
dumping
her because
they weren’t equally yoked. 

At first, she thought he was referring to the biblical verse.  She wasn’t on intimate terms with her bible, but she did know there was something
in those sacred pages
about being
unequally yoked w
ith
non-believers.  She
’d
assured
Malik
she certainly believed in God, and she considered herself
a
Christian. 

Malik
clarified by explaining
it wasn’t religion, but finances he was concerned with. 
He
’d heard on Bro-mance 101 that
a couple should
be equally yoked
financially
. 
Devlin Hart, the host of the
popular
radio show recommended
that
couples
have the same financial mindset
and spending habits
.
She could still hear
Malik
’s words resonating in her ears. 
‘Devlin Hart says
a man should only
consider
a long-term relationship
with a woman who is
free of debt
or has an aggressive plan to tackle
her bills
.  He says once a woman gets married, she’ll expect her husband to take on that debt.  Then, we’ll both be in debt
,
Zhané
.  W
h
en you get your
financial obligations
cleared up
maybe we can think about re-connecting.’

Malik
’s hang
-
up was her financial aid bills. 
She’d never asked him
for one damn dime, so she was shocked that he would twist his mouth to
utter
those words.
 
He
also accused her of s
pen
ding
money
too
frivolously
.  That was in direct
contrast to his
“rainy day”
na
ture
of saving
.  And the most hurtful jab
–
he had a problem with
her salary
, which w
as now thirty thousand
dollars
higher than his.  He felt he had to be the principle breadwinner. 
Once again, he quoted that damn radio show. 
‘
Devlin Hart sa
ys
a woman who earn
s more money than her mate will
probably
have control issues
in the relationship.
’
 

Zhané
wondered what the hell
Devlin Hart had
to say about
an
ambitious wom
a
n who
’d
achieved success despite insurmountable
odds.
 
Did Devlin Hart know how it felt to have your mother die when you were barely twelve years old?  Had he ever cried himself to sleep wondering how to
juggle
two jobs while carrying a full load of courses?  She’d worked hard to get to this point in her life, only to have some
misanthrope
sabotage her relationship. 

She
furiously wiped a renegade tear that slipped down her cheek. 
She should have seen this coming.
She and
Malik
had
b
een spending less and less time together
, and
the
rare occasions when
they did see each
,
other felt rushed.  If
Malik
paid as much attention
to her a
s he did
to
that fool on the radio
, they might still be together
.