Today was Julie’s wedding day, the happiest day of her life. It was the day she had dreamed of for as far back as she could remember. And after thirty-two years of waiting and hoping, it was finally coming true!

All she had ever wanted was to be a devoted wife and mother. She’d had countless tea parties and baby dolls growing up. She helped her mother vacuum even when the vacuum cleaner was bigger than she was. When she got a little older, she started helping her mother with the cooking – at first just getting the ingredients, but later chopping and even cooking a few things. All in preparation for the day when she would have her own home and a man to care for.

Julie had rehearsed her wedding numerous times as well. With her stuffed bear as the minister, her baby doll as her bridesmaid, and her imaginary fiance’ waiting for her at the altar, she had walked the aisle more times than she could count. She wanted everything to be perfect.

She thought it was perfect once before. She had found a man who at first seemed to be her Prince Charming. But after a couple years of marriage, she learned he was just another toad. So she divorced him and went on the hunt again – wiser and more cautious this time, however.

Still, the heart is an easily distracted thing and before long it forgot the lessons it learned and once again her eye was caught by another man. This man was different, though. This man treated her the way she wanted to be treated – the way she deserved to be treated. And now she was about to devote her life to him and become his happy loving wife.

Or so she thought.

Julie was waiting in the dressing room doing some last minute touches and going over her vows when there was a soft knock on the door. She knew it couldn’t be David, her intended, because it is bad luck to see the bride before the wedding.

“Julie, can we talk for a minute?” said Diane, her maid of honor and very best friend in the whole world.

“Sure Diane, I was just trying to remember my vows – I’m so nervous!” Julie said.

“Well you may not need to,” Diane said, looking down at the floor sadly.

“What do you mean? What’s wrong?” Julie asked.

“Julie, I’m your best friend, you know that. And I would never do anything to hurt you ever. I know this is terrible timing, with you only minutes away from getting married. I tried to tell you before, but the timing was never right...” she said.

“What is it, Diane? Please tell me!” Julie insisted.

“David has been cheating on you!” Diane said suddenly, then clamped her hand over her mouth surprised she blurted it out like that.

“WHAT?” Julie said, standing up suddenly.

“That’s right. He’s been fucking around on you with Carol Albright ... it’s been going on for about two months now, I guess. I overheard a couple other girls talking about it and wanted to tell you before now, but we could never get any time alone together. I’m so sorry, honey, that I had to be the one to tell you – and on your wedding day. But you deserved to know,” Diane said.

“Are you sure it was David? Maybe it was someone who looks like David?” she said, hoping against hope that Diane was wrong.

“I’m afraid not, honey. It was David. He was seen getting into his Camaro – he’s got the only candy apple red ‘69 Camaro with two wide white stripes down the hood, roof, and trunk. It’s a unique car in these parts,” she said.

Julie got very quiet and Diane became concerned. “Are you all right sweetie?” she asked.

Julie snapped out of her thoughts. “Yes, I’m fine. Listen, don’t tell anyone about this, I want things to go on just as planned. I have an idea on how to handle this.”

Diane didn’t argue or push the matter. She was still friends with Julie and was happy with that. Julie said she would handle it in her own way and that was what Diane let her do.

The wedding ceremony progressed. Julie walked down the aisle just as planned and even managed to look “radiant”. She saw David standing there and kept her cool. Her father and three older brothers were on her side of the aisle, smiling and happy for her.

The minister began speaking and she stood there just as she had practiced a thousand times. Finally, it came time to recite the vows each had decided to write to one another. David began and his vows almost turned Julie’s stomach. Had Diane not told her about him, David’s words would have melted her heart. Now they just made her all the more furious with him. If they were anywhere else but in a church in front of witnesses...

Then it was Julie’s turn. She cleared her throat and began her vows:

“David, today I stand here in front of you and all our dear friends gathered around us to declare that you are a lying, scheming, two-timing son-of-a-bitch and if you think you are going to have my hand in marriage, you are sadly mistaken! Yes, that’s right – I found out about you and that man-stealing whore Carol Albright, you piece of shit, and just in time too. To think I ever thought of marrying you! You’re lucky I don’t cut your pecker off and drag IT behind the car! Now get out of my sight you fucking bastard, before I turn my brothers loose on you! And don’t ever think of contacting me ever again!”

The whole crowd sat there dumbstruck, their mouths hanging open. David was horrified that she had learned of his secret affair. “I said get out of here!” Julie screamed at him. David took off like he had been shot out of a cannon.

Before David could make it to the door to the church though, Julie was surrounded by her bridesmaids like a protective wall, comforting her and keeping all the men away.

Julie made her apology to the minister both for the outburst and for her choice of words. The minister was very understanding though, and then she was whisked away to one of the back rooms by her bridesmaids.

“Julie, honey, can I come in?” she heard her father’s voice outside the door. He cracked the door and saw his little girl, the youngest child in the family, sitting on the bed, tears streaming from her face and her makeup wrecked.

“Oh, honey, I am so sorry. I know how much you wanted this. I wish there was something I could do...” he said.

“I just need to go for a drive ... just get away from here and all this. Please Daddy,” she said crying on his shoulder.

“Take the limo then, it’s already paid for anyway. Just go wherever you need to go. But give me a call in a little bit so I know you are okay, all right?” he said. Her father knew that taking the limo, even though it would cost him more, would be far safer than having her driving around in this condition. Plus, the driver would look out for her and make sure she didn’t do something she shouldn’t.

She ran out and got into the limo and with the simple command “Drive. I don’t care where just away from here!” the driver took off.

Julie’s dad called the limo up a minute later and briefly, explained what had happened. “Take her wherever she wants to go locally, but take care of her. Don’t let her do something stupid. She isn’t thinking clearly right now, and she needs you to watch out for her,” he said.

The driver drove to a small park across town and pulled into it. He parked and then got out and opened the door for her. “Here you go miss, this is about as far from the church as we can get and there’s no one around but the two of us. Your father told me what happened and told me to watch over you. My name is Jerome. Would you like to sit and talk – about whatever you want to talk about?” he asked.

Jerome was a thirty-four-year-old black man, handsome and impeccably dressed. At six foot six inches tall, he had the build of an athlete.

“Thank you, Jerome,” she said. They got out and he walked with her to a nearby picnic table and they sat down.

“Jerome, what is wrong with me? Why can’t I find a guy who will stay with me and stay loyal to me? Am I that hard to love? I just don’t know. All I’ve ever wanted was to be a loving, doting, dutiful wife to my man. But finding that man is proving to be impossible!” she said, exasperated.

“Miss, I don’t know you so I can’t give you an answer, but maybe you are looking too hard ... trying too hard. Love isn’t something you can go out and get, it’s something that is given. You can’t earn it by being good or by doing good. It is something that one person gives you because they want yours in return. And apparently, your ex-fiance’ didn’t. And if you don’t mind my saying so, miss, that makes him the fool not you. He’s the one who couldn’t see the gift in front of him. He is the loser in this contest.

“Believe me, I’ve seen this movie before. He left you for some other piece of tail who he thought was hotter or younger or whatever. But she is going to use him and discard him like so much trash when she’s done with him. Then she’ll be off looking for another man to steal while he sits at home, wishing that he’d stayed with the one woman who would have stuck by him,” Jerome said.

“I hope you are right, Jerome. But how about you, do you think I’m attractive?” she asked.

“Oh, miss, I don’t think...” he said.

“Julie, my name is Julie. And it’s okay, I want your honest opinion. Do you think I’m attractive, Jerome?”

“Miss Julie, I think you are quite beautiful and any man would be lucky to have you. Your ex-fiance’ was an idiot to let something as fine as you go. I can’t imagine what he could have possibly found that would make him turn you down,” he said.

“Really, Jerome? You really think that?” she asked.

“Indeed, Miss Julie. I don’t have a girl myself, but if I had one as fine as you I sure as hell wouldn’t be looking anywhere else. You are very beautiful and would make any man proud to be seen with you,” he said.

“Oh, Jerome! Oh, you don’t know how much I needed to hear that right now. Thank you,” Julie said, pulling him down to kiss her.

It was only supposed to be a thank you kiss, a little kiss of gratitude for making her feel appreciated. But as she kissed him, something else happened.

She felt it ... a desire, a need for him. She hadn’t planned it, and she didn’t see it coming, but there it was – Julie needed this black man.

“Jerome ... I-I want you. I want you to fuck me. Please, Jerome, please – I need to feel like I am still desirable. Please take me someplace ... anyplace ... and fuck me. Make me feel needed and wanted. Please?” she said. She looked up at this man, fully a foot taller than her, and her eyes implored him. He knew she needed this.

“Do you live alone?” he asked her.

“Yeah, I have my own place. Want to go there?” she asked.

“Well, we’d go to my place but it’s a bit of a mess. Besides, I think you’d be more comfortable in your own home if that’s okay with you,” he said.

“That’s fine with me, let’s go!” Julie said.

“I have to take the limo back to the office and then we can take my car to your house. I’ll take care of the paperwork tomorrow when I come in,” he said. He opened the back door for her “There might be someone in the office when we get there. No one is supposed to ride in the front seat of the company limos.”

“I understand, I wouldn’t want you to get into trouble on my account,” she said. On the way back to drop off the limo at the company, Julie called her father and let him know she was okay ... that she just needed some time alone to think and figure out what to do now and that she would call him again in a day or two.

Once the limo had been dropped off at the company, Jerome and Julie went to her place.

“Have a seat, baby, would you like something to drink?” she asked.

“Sure, whatever you have is fine,” he said. She came into the living room with two glasses of wine.