Single Mom by Omar Tyree Page A

nodded. “I went to DePaul for a few years and dropped out. It wasn’t my kind of ball game.”
    “Well, it wasn’t mine either. I dropped out before I even went,” Larry said with a chuckle. He seemed to be proud of it.
    “And that’s exactly why you feel inferior to them,” I told him.
    “Why, because I didn’t go to college? That don’t mean everything, man. I shouldn’t have to walk around braggin’ about degrees and shit. Just let me be me, plain old Larry Nicholson.”
    I smiled at him again and said, “Exactly. And that’s why ‘plain old Larry Nicholson’ needs to stay away from ‘Corporate Susie,’ because he can’t handle her. And it’s
not
because he
doesn’t
have a college education, but because he doesn’t feel
comfortable
with not having one.”
    Larry frowned at me. “Yeah, whatever, man. Fuck ’em anyway. They got the same thing every other woman got.”
    “And you want some of it, too. Don’t you?” I asked, teasing him. “Youjust don’t know how to go about getting it. Therefore, it’s driving you crazy. And it would drive you
crazier
if you saw one of these sisters walking around with a white man on her arm.”
    Larry looked at me with his eyes blazing. “You damned right I’d be mad!” he yelled at me. “They don’t have to necessarily talk to me, but it’s plenty of other brothers that they could talk to. They need to at least keep it in the family.”
    “Well, that means that more of you young brothers need to get busy working on your confidence, education, and everything else. Because I’m gonna tell you something, young blood, these women ain’t looking for no ‘plain old Larry.’ In this day and time, they’re looking for a Superman. And I’m not talking about just the money, either. I’m talking about a man who feels
good
about himself
and
who takes care of his business. You hear me, Larry?”
    “Yeah, I hear you. And I’m a Superman right here,” he said, pounding his chest with a smile.
    I shook my head and pitied him some more. Larry didn’t have a clue. It was going to take him another ten years to find out what I already knew. Maybe longer than that. Some brothers never learn; a woman can never be more than an equal match for a confident man, no matter how many degrees she has or how much money she makes. A confident man can always rise to the occasion. I firmly believed that. That’s just the way the Lord made it. One confident man and one confident woman make for plenty of confident children.
    Before I knew it, Larry was falling to sleep in his chair. I told him to climb in the sleeper and get some rest so he could take over the wheel that night. Then I got to thinking about Denise. Thinking about her made my trips seem a hell of a lot shorter, and my return a lot more meaningful. There was a time, back in my early years of truck driving, where I looked forward to getting away and seeing new places. Even while I was married, I looked forward to getting away. Every trip was like a mini vacation to me. But after twelve years on the job, I’ve seen just about all I want to see, and the thrill of going away is gone. Denise gave me the thrill of returning home.
    I reminisced on the first time she agreed to go out with me on a real date. It was after the Fourth of July weekend. Both of her boys had gone away to summer camp, and Denise had a full week to herself, which was a blessing in disguise; and a big opportunity for me.
    I bought some Giorgio Armani cologne because of its mellow, nonaggressive appeal. Although I had stopped working out, at six foot one andtwo hundred pounds, I was still no cream puff, and I didn’t want to overwhelm Denise with my physical presence. I wanted that first date to be a meeting of our minds.
    I hopped out of my Maxima, fresh from the car wash, and knocked on her door. It was the first time I had ever worn a suit on a first date in my life. Denise opened her door, wearing a midnight blue, curve-hugging, knee-length