Advantage Disadvantage (3 page)

After college graduation festivities ended,
Elizabeth came home for the summer to her family’s spacious
penthouse to plan her future. She had great options for the fall:
DePaul Law School or Northwestern MBA or a two-year stint in South
America working for the Peace Corps. Helping her Dad with the
basketball league and other temporary jobs gave her something to do
for the summer while she sorted out her fall choices.

Elizabeth became the scorekeeper for the Board of
Trade Basketball League. Participants in games usually ended up at
a funky, downtown Chicago watering hole called The Bar Double R
after each game. The staff team led by Marcus Imari lost the first
three league games to the members, and Elizabeth could not help but
razz Marcus one night at the bar.

“At least your team is very consistent this year”
she teased. “Maybe you could beat my little brother’s team!”

Elizabeth surprised Marcus with her opening salvo
for this conversation. She normally ignored him – instead seeking
the company of the young, white and up-and-coming traders. He found
her beauty quite appealing, but perhaps out of reach for a college
dropout.

“We could beat any of the teams in the league if we
really want to,” Marcus replied. “We found the secret.”

“What about the undefeated “Trader Carl’s” team?
They beat you last week like a drum. I’m serious, you might not win
a game this year,” Elizabeth paused. “Alright, what is the
secret?”

“We need to charge up on barbeque ribs from Tropical
Hut. It is a smokehouse on Stoney Island. That’s our secret plan,”
he laughed.

Elizabeth persisted. “What a great plan – load up
right before a game and be slower than you are already! I really
think that you probably are not going to win a game this year.
Let’s make a bet on your next game against Trader Carl’s team. How
about this - if you lose to them, you have to bring me Tropical Hut
Ribs?”

“And if we win?”

“Marcus, you don’t have a chance of that. However,
if you win, I will bring you lunch from Manny’s Deli. OK?”

Sensing an opportunity but being nervous about
crossing an unspoken, invisible line, Marcus debated about his
response Throwing caution to the wind and ignoring the fact that
she was Caucasian and the daughter of one his bosses, he replied,
“That’s not enough, given how good Trader Carl’s team seems to be.
They are undefeated. How about this - if we lose, Tropical Hut Ribs
are ok. But if we win, you must promise to go out on a date with
me.”

Marcus stunned Elizabeth by his counteroffer; this
was a test of her idealism. She was not really inclined to date a
black man, but she was so sure of the cocky Trader Carl’s team
against the staff’s ragtag squad. It may have been the wine cooler
talking but she replied, “You’re on, Marcus Imari. By the way, I
like ribs with mild sauce!”

***

Marcus reminded her of the bet the next few times he
saw her at the gym. The staff team continued to lose games because
Marcus had not yet showed his complete skill set. He anxiously
anticipated the upcoming game against Trader Carl’s team. If
somehow his team won, he would have a date with a fine woman,
albeit someone way out of his social and educational range. Before
the game, Marcus asked his team to gather round for a meeting.

“Fellas, I want you to know something about this
game. I made a bet with one of the boss’ daughters that we would
win. “

“Are you crazy, Imari?” broke in one of his
teammates. “We haven’t won a game yet, and you think we can beat
the best team in the league?”

“I’m just asking you to try hard tonight. I’m going
to play tougher than you’ve seen so far, and I might hog the ball a
little – because I’m not going,
we
are not going to lose
tonight.”

No one took offense at Marcus’ instructions. Most of
them suspected that so far he was playing at half speed anyway.
They left the locker room fired up, ready to contribute to their
first team win.

“Elizabeth, the bet’s on right?” he reiterated as he
went by the scorer’s table.

“Remember, mild sauce, please,” she shot back with a
smile.

The game started with a couple of missed jump shots.
After snagging one of many defensive rebounds, Marcus dribbled the
ball “coast to coast” and dunked the ball for an inspiring score.
His teammates marveled at the range of his skills unseen until that
night. They were reluctant to shoot in the first half, and it was
all Marcus. He swatted Trader Carl’s shots away on defense and put
in layup after layup in his own basket. As the game wore on, he was
double and triple teamed which allowed his fellow teammates to have
open, uncontested shots. The staff team’s first win shocked
everybody, especially Elizabeth. She knew she had to face the date
arrangements at The Bar Double R that night after the league games
ended.

“How’s Saturday night?” Marcus asked Elizabeth.

“I don’t, don’t know” She stuttered as she
anticipated her father’s objection to her going on a date with a
black man.

“You can’t skate on this bet. No reneging allowed. I
will pick you up Saturday night. You’ll have fun and I promise to
get you home safely.”

Thinking she would satisfy the bet as quickly as
possible, she said, “OK, OK. Let’s go early. How about 5:00. Pick
me up in Hyde Park”.

“I can’t wait,” he replied.

***

Music was blasting from the windows of the car as
Marcus drove south to pick up his date. Maniacally he changed
stations, honking at stopped cars not immediately recognizing the
green light ahead of him, and checking his watch persistently. He
turned off the radio a few blocks away and practiced aloud, “Good
evening, Elizabeth, you look fine tonight!”

“Hi Elizabeth. You look beautiful tonight!”

“Hi, you look nice! That is it. I’ll keep it
simple.”

Elizabeth was waiting under the protective awning
leading into her father’s Hyde Park condominium. Marcus pulled up
in his modest five years old, four cylinders Ford Maverick. He got
out of the car thinking he should call up to the condominium to
pick up his date, but immediately saw Elizabeth waiting by the
sidewalk. She had pulled her hair back and she was wearing makeup –
she looked beautiful in the late afternoon sun. Marcus opened the
car door for her and off they went.

“I’m so used to seeing you in basketball shorts and
t-shirts. You look very nice tonight dressed-up,” she said to break
the silence.

Marcus was so nervous he forgot his practiced
opening line and blurted out, “You smell good, too”. Her lilac
perfume was distinctive, but so much for his practice
greetings.

“So, where are we going to eat?” she asked.

“I want to take you to get ribs at the Hut, but
before we go I need to make a quick stop. I hope that you don’t
mind.”

“It depends on where it is.”

“I want to introduce you to my kids. It will just
take ten minutes, and then we’ll grab dinner,” Marcus said.

The word “kids” was ringing in her ears. She had no
idea that he had children. She was shocked. This was going to be
the worst date of her life. Her stomach flipped over. As if he did
not have enough strikes against him already, she regretted ever
making the bet with Marcus. Her face became flush. Any small amount
of enthusiasm she might have had flew out of the window as they
made the short drive to the near west side. Marcus parked the car
in front of an old high school building in the Englewood
neighborhood. He shut off the engine and got out of the car. Being
a gentleman, he hustled awkwardly around the passenger side and
opened her door.

“Come on,” he suggested as he put his hand out to
help her out of the car. “My kids are inside.”

They walked through the heavy wooden doors and up a
long creaky flight of stairs. He led her down a short hallway and
opened a classroom door. As soon as they popped inside, five boys
ran toward Marcus. He put one knee down to their level and had a
group hug with all of the kids. The boys were looking at Elizabeth
and whispering questions to Marcus.

“Something’s not right here,” Elizabeth thought.
“The boys are all about the same age, maybe 10 years old, and they
are calling him Mr. Marcus.”

“Boys,” Marcus said. “I want to introduce you to a
friend of mine. I work with her at the Board of Trade and she came
with me tonight to meet y’all. This is Ms. Elizabeth.”

“Hi Ms. Elizabeth,” the boys shouted in unison as
she shook their hands in turn.

The high school kid, who was watching the boys
before Marcus arrived, waited for the commotion to die down and
asked, “Mr. Marcus, would you like the boys to read their stories
to you and Ms. Elizabeth? They have been working hard today.”

Marcus winked at the older boy and said, “Love to
hear them. Let’s have ‘em”.

One by one, each child read his story to Elizabeth
and Marcus. They were all similar versions of the following:

“Mr. Marcus is our basketball coach at Englewood
Boys Club. He is so cool and very tall. He helps us learn
basketball. We have fun with him too, but he makes us do homework
before we can play.”

Elizabeth understood, these were not his biological
kids – he was a volunteer big brother. He was a huge influence in
the boys’ lives. She felt emotionally moved by how much respect the
kids showed to Marcus. Based on the way Marcus and the kids
interacted, they might as well have been his real children. She was
so impressed. “Your stories are awesome,” she told the boys.

“Well, kids. Ms. Elizabeth and I have to roll. I
know you guys have swimming tonight, so have fun and remember to
read your books at home this weekend. I’ll see you Monday after
school.”

One of them begged, “Can’t you watch us swim for a
little bit?”

He looked over at Elizabeth. She broke in, “Why
don’t we stay for a little while. I’d love to see the boys
swim.”

“Yeah!” the kids shouted and they grabbed their
towels and suits.

Elizabeth was gushing and could not restrain herself
as they followed the boys to the pool. “Marcus, I can’t believe you
never told me about the Englewood Boys Club. These kids love you.
It’s so obvious how important you are to them.”

“Most of these kids are like me when I was young –
they don’t know their fathers. I am just trying to fill in part of
the void. To tell you the truth, I think I get more out of it then
they do!”

Elizabeth responded, “I doubt that. The time you
invest here is invaluable, I am sure. You are going to make a great
dad someday with your own kids too.”

“I’ve never thought about it that way – all I know
is that it feels good to spend some time here.”

After watching the kids swim around for 20 minutes,
Marcus left the balcony and said goodbye to the boys. Before
leaving, they splashed a little water on him. He walked Elizabeth
to the car and they drove to the famous Tropical Hut restaurant on
Stoney Island Street, a few miles southeast of Englewood. When they
walked in, they smelled the sweet aromas of Tropical Hut’s
barbeque. This was a well-known dining spot, a mini-melting pot for
all walks of South Siders. The sixty-something host must have
started when she was a kid. No one could remember going there
before she was the greeter. She was a large, light-skinned black
woman that most people called “Mama”. She always wore Hawaiian
moo-moo flowered dresses and she had an incredible memory of the
restaurant clientele.

“Hi Marcus. How are we tonight?” Mama asked when she
saw him.

“Mama, this is Elizabeth. We are doing great
tonight. And you?”

“I’m good, baby. Hey how are those Englewood kids
doing?” she asked.

“As a matter of fact, we listened to their homework,
and watched them swim tonight,” Marcus said.

“You are a blessing to the neighborhood, Marcus”

“Wow,” said Elizabeth. “Everybody knows about your
Boys Club work?”

“It’s no big deal,” Marcus replied.

By the time they sat down to eat, Elizabeth’s head
was spinning. On one hand, Marcus was just a security guard.
However, after this evening, she understood how deep his
accomplishments were and what a great person he was. She noticed
things about Marcus that she never saw before: his green eyes that
stared patiently at her as she spoke, his disarming smile, and his
deep soothing voice. She was falling for him.

At the end of dinner, Elizabeth said, “This place
could be an entry in the
Best Food in the Worst Place
Contest
. Food was great.”

“Don’t fret about the neighborhood. I’ll always
protect you when you are with me,” Marcus said further cementing
her blossoming feelings.

***

Jon Handelair did everything he could to stop the
relationship, as it grew more serious by the day. It became so
serious that Elizabeth decided to attend Chicago’s DePaul Law
School without a real interest in becoming a lawyer. She had fallen
in love with the security guard at the Board of Trade and she
wanted to be close to him.

She bragged to anyone who would listen about Marcus’
tough luck story, which cost him his chance at a college education.
She propped him up to skeptical friends and family members who
pointed out the difficulty in committing to a relationship with
such a wide educational and cultural divide. Elizabeth would
counter repeatedly with her list of Marcus’ best attributes: He was
loyal, intelligent (although not well educated), hardworking,
gentle and loving, very good looking, and great with children. She
understood that not everyone shared her idealism about interracial
marriages, but she had completely fallen for him.

For his part, Marcus definitely loved Elizabeth. He
was not envious of her family’s wealth. Gaining respect at the
Board of Trade was more important to him than anything was besides
his mother and the kids at the Boys Club. He felt the resistance of
those close to her and hoped that Elizabeth’s love for him might
rise above the family’s prejudices.