Fried Bologna: More Than an Anomaly

Chapter 1

Seven months earlier, LaTrea Campbell’s company offered her two years of tuition assistance, when they laid her off. After twelve years of faithful service, her supervisor had called a meeting on a Friday and told everyone that half the office would be laid off in thirty days. Unless some opted for early retirement, it would mean a total of twenty-five people off payroll, based on seniority. Even though LaTrea had twelve years with the company, she was not very high on the seniority list. There were quite a few long timers there. She was not at the bottom of the list but she fell within the twenty five. Fortunately for her she lives in a basement apartment of her parent’s home. She has lived there since she came home after her second year of college. She pays her parents a minimal amount per month, plus helps with groceries and any other bills they need her help to pay.

When the layoff occurred, her father asked her why she did not use the time off and the tuition assistance to go back to school and get her Bachelor’s degree. That thought had already occurred to LaTrea, but she still wanted to find another job. She really wanted to look into going to school online. Her parents told her, she should go to school full time to finish as quickly as possible. They even said they would not charge her rent until she graduated. She now remembers telling her parents she was thirty-two years old and she should have a place of her own when she graduates.

Oh listen to that Donald, her mother had teasingly said to her father, she has not even enrolled into college and already she’s talking about moving out after graduation.

LaTrea had argued that she can take classes at night and work during the day to which her father replied. That’s just why you did not go back to school twelve years ago. You started working at that company and ended up with just your A.A degree. Going at night will take you twice as long to finish. I think you should go full time. He had told her.

LaTrea’s mom agreed with her father. LaTrea tried to argue again. Mom, I just turned thirty-two. I am thirty-two, she repeats. I will be entering college as a junior. My peers will be between nineteen and twenty-one, what will I have in common with them? Besides my termination pay runs out in October. I will not have the money to buy books or any other necessities.

We will give you an allowance, LaTrea’s father said, and then added and you will not have to pay rent from now until school starts either, so you can save your money.

Why not go to the school of your choice? You could attend the college in Massachusetts that you had planned to go to twelve years ago. And don’t forget you are eligible for unemployment LaTrea’s mother reminded her.

That conversation had taken place in July of the previous year and LaTrea’s parents had been very persuasive as well as true to their word.

Donald and Louise Campbell have been married for forty years. And have lived in the same house for thirty-five of the forty years of their marriage. Donald is a prominent Connecticut attorney and Louise, a retired schoolteacher. They have three children. Shante, the oldest, is thirty-six and the only one of the children not born in the family home. She is married with two children, ages fourteen and ten. She got married after dropping out of college and lives a couple of miles away from the family home.

LaTrea is the middle child yet her sister always calls her the spoiled one. The only time she has been out of the house is when she went away to college for two years. They have a younger brother Donald Jr. who is twenty-seven and prefers the name Ringo. After he graduated from high school, he went to Design School in New York and never came back. During Christmas holidays, he visits home bearing flamboyant gifts for the family and then cuts his trip short, because he always gets into an argument with Donald Sr., who refuses to call him Ringo.

Donald Jr. often asks LaTrea how she can stand to live with such unreasonable people.

In reality LaTrea gets along very well with her parents. Oftentimes, they are in her business a little more than she likes but sometimes that is to her advantage. She now wishes she had taken their advice when they tried to warn her about her fiasco with Paul Blackwell. She dated him for five years. At first, he had gotten along well with her parents. They had all had fun together. After the first couple years of them dating, Donald and Louise wanted to know what his intentions were. LaTrea wanted to know the same thing, but she did not want Paul to feel pressured. So, she started spending time at his place to keep her parents from asking him embarrassing questions about when they planned to get married or what their plans were for the future.

LaTrea’s mom told her she needed to be out of the relationship long before it actually ended. The last few months of their relationship they barely saw each other. Paul always had some excuse why she could not come over and he would not come to her house. He said because of her parents, though there were nights in the earlier years when he had come over and spent the night.

LaTrea has a separate entrance to her basement apartment and can come and go as she pleases. When she and Paul officially ended their relationship LaTrea missed being around him until she found out two months later, that he had gotten married. Three months after that, Paul and his new wife had their first child. LaTrea never saw that coming, even though both of her parents had warned her about that very thing. She still wonders how they knew.

But that happened three years ago. Today, LaTrea is in the middle of her second semester of her junior year at college, a thirty two year old, soon to be thirty three, fulltime student living away from home. Her father arranged for an apartment in Boston with one of his old school buddies, Henry Baylor. It is a row house that has been divided into upstairs and downstairs apartments, what some would call a duplex.

When LaTrea first moved in, Henry explained he was rarely at home, because his job requires him to travel, which keeps him away for weeks at a time. He needs someone there to keep up the place. He assured Donald that it was a secure place and he would look after LaTrea whenever he was in town.

So far the arrangement has worked out. LaTrea saw Henry Baylor once or twice the whole first semester she was there. The last time, he was coming home from a business trip as she was going home for Christmas vacation. Other than that, she has not seen much of him since the day she moved in. And he told her father, he would take good care of her.

It is a cold Wednesday morning in February and LaTrea is looking out the classroom window at the fresh fallen snow. She was distracted all morning because Henry Baylor had called last night and said that he would be home in a week or so. There is a stairway and two sets of French doors that separates LaTrea from Henry; but she still does not feel comfortable when he is around. But her father trusts him, so she has no reason not to.

LaTrea’s musings about how she had gotten to this point in her life has taken her through most of Professor Washington’s lecture.

Professor Washington is one of the few African American professors at the university, so LaTrea usually tries to do a good job in his class. As one of the few African American students at the university, she works hard in all of her classes, but she puts in extra effort for Professor Washington. He is in his mid-fifties, very distinguished and a great creative writing instructor. He has several books published and he treats LaTrea as a very good friend. This morning he is talking about prose and content. LaTrea has her tape recorder on, but she is still trying to take notes as he talks but with little success. He announces they are going to have a guest lecturer for their Friday’s class and as LaTrea looks up, he introduces Professor Alan Templeman.

LaTrea stops her musings to listen. Alan Templeman is saying he is the Journalism professor, he writes a regular column for the local Boston newspaper and he looks forward to seeing them on Friday. When he finishes he seems to look right at LaTrea and she glares back at him. She thinks he is a handsome man, even though he is Caucasian. He appears to be in his thirties and she really likes the sound of his voice. But then she looks at his ring finger and tries to lose interest, but not completely. She is still thinking about him when Professor Washington starts talking again. He is saying that the switching of the classes will help students to decide whether they want to take Journalism in the next semester or during the summer.

LaTrea is still trying to determine why she has been oddly attracted to Professor Templeman. Back home in Connecticut, right after Paul decided he wanted his freedom, a Caucasian guy had asked her out, but she had turned him down. At the time she told herself it was not because he was Caucasian, but because she was still trying to get over Paul. But even then, she had not been attracted to the guy that asked her out or to any guy of that race, except maybe Brad Pitt. Now she finds herself looking forward to Friday’s class.

*     *     *

Professor Alan Templeman goes into his friend’s classroom to introduce himself to the students. He and Professor Washington have done that once a semester for the past three semesters. The past semesters have all been routine. He would introduce himself and come back a couple of days later and pitch his Journalism class, hoping students will sign up the following semester or summer session. This time is different. When he introduces himself to David Washington’s class, there is an African American student that he can not take his eyes off. He knows the first rule of teaching, do not get involved with students, and for the past fifteen years, he has never done so. His marriage has been going south for the past five years and maybe even longer, and he had not noticed. Yet, still he has not been attracted to anyone else and especially none of the students. There is a secretary in the administrative office that always gives him goo goo eyes, or maybe she is just cross-eyed. In any event Alan never gives her any indication that he is remotely interested.

After class, Alan takes it a step further and asks David Washington what is the students name that sat on the front row. Telling David, she looks a little more mature than the other students. She does not look much older, but Alan can tell she is not twenty or twenty-one by the way she carries herself.

Professor Washington arches an eyebrow, but tells Alan the student’s name is LaTrea Campbell and gives him a little background information also. Alan finds himself looking forward to Fridays lecture. He is in such a good mood he decides not to work late. His wife will be surprised to see him home early.

When Alan arrives home, he calls out to his wife, but he does not get an answer. He goes to their bedroom, hoping she is there, for he has been feeling a little frisky ever since he saw LaTrea earlier in the day. The bed is unmade, which is unusual, because his wife always makes the bed. Why would it not be made? Their sex life is practically non-existent, he can not remember the last time that they shared a passionate night. She calls him the ‘one hit wonder’ and it is true. He has to wait a full forty-eight hours before he can rise to the occasion again. But Chelsea married him twelve years ago, anyway, with full knowledge of his inadequacy.

The first three years of their marriage were fine with the basic problems, a young married couple would have: money, careers and chores, but overall it had been fun. The next three years Chelsea started to complain about their sex life. Alan found himself apologizing more and more.

To keep her busy, Alan set Chelsea up with her own catering business, although he thought she is not much of a cook. But there are a few dishes she prepares well. Lucky for her she has a good staff that does most of the cooking. It keeps her out of the house three to four times a week, sometimes more. After seven years of marriage, Chelsea had the seven-year itch. She had an affair with one of her customers for whom she had catered. The affair lasted about a month, and then the hotshot lawyer sent her packing back to Alan. That allowed the lawyer to move back in with his wife or so Chelsea told Alan when she begged him for forgiveness and promised she would never do it again. He took her back and things were very good for a while, then back to normal for a while. Now they are just going through the motions. When Alan started coming home earlier from work to spend more time with Chelsea, so she would not be lonely, she accused him of not trusting her. So, now he stays out as late as possible and lets her have her freedom.

Alan heads back downstairs to see if Chelsea has left a note as to her whereabouts, not that he really cares, but it is one of the motions they go through.

In the kitchen, Alan looks around, but does not see a note. The counters and the stove are clear, but there are two coffee cups in the sink. Alan stares at the cups for a minute. "Stop letting your imagination run wild Templeman; you two are way past that." Alan tells himself. Then he opens the refrigerator, to see if anything is planned for dinner. If so, it is not in the refrigerator. There is a pitcher of grape juice, two bottles of water, a box of baking soda and a Heineken with a post a note that reads ‘do not touch’.

Just as Alan is about to grab the Heineken, the garage door off the kitchen is opened. Chelsea sees him and looks as though she has seen a ghost. What are you doing here? she asks Alan.

I live here. I didn’t mean to startle you. Alan states.

I am just not used to seeing you home so early. Is something wrong?

No, I was just looking in the refrigerator, to see if there is anything for dinner.

There are some dinners in the freezer, I was not expecting you.

I can run to the grocery store and pick up something if you would like. Alan offers.

Do what you want, I am not cooking. Chelsea tells him.

Did you have a job today?

No.

The bed was not made.

So!

Once out of his mouth, Alan realizes he probably should not have said anything, but Chelsea is acting so defensive, he wants to say something to assuage the situation. I just don’t recall you ever going off leaving the bed unmade and you said you did not have a catering job today, yet you don’t want to cook. And the bed is unmade, Alan says again.

What are you trying to say Alan? That I do not cook and clean up the house for you, because for once you decide you want to drop by on your way from work. You are usually not here, how would you know whether the bed is made or dinner is on the stove! Chelsea yells.

Alan really did not want to get into an argument, but he reminds her of the times he used to come home early and she would accuse him of not trusting her. Today I just wanted some dinner, so I did not have to eat alone in a restaurant.

I eat alone every night! Chelsea seems to be very irritated at the succession of Alan’s conversation.

You told me that was the way you wanted it. Alan argues.

So why are you here complaining today? Chelsea shrieks.

Chelsea, I am not complaining. I simply made an observation. I’m sorry I said anything. I don’t know what you expect from me.

Why don’t you start by moving your things to one of the other bedrooms? That way you will not have to worry about the bed being made. You can make it yourself.

Alan is looking flabbergasted. What happened? He had come home early with the intentions of talking his wife into maybe making love with him and suddenly he was being kicked out of the bedroom all together. He thinks he should not have to make an appointment to sleep with his wife and he is going to tell her so. But Chelsea has run upstairs and slammed the bedroom door behind her. Instead of going after her, Alan grabs his coat and heads out the front door, slamming it as he goes.

*     *     *

When Chelsea hears the front door slam, she opens the bedroom curtain to make sure Alan has left. She sees him getting into his BMW, so she starts changing the sheets on the bed. She was rushed that afternoon. Her visitor had not wanted to leave and she had not insisted. They both know Alan’s schedule and they both know that on Wednesdays after his last class, he usually goes to his office to read homework assignments. Most professors have student assistants for that, but Alan insists on doing his own. Still she always gets her visitor out before the last class ends, just in case Alan decides to come straight home, as he had today. She always drives her catering truck so there is no strange vehicle in the driveway for nosy neighbors to see. She had been surprised to see Alan today and hopes he had not noticed the coffee cups in the sink. To cover, she started an argument with him to keep him from asking a lot of questions she is not prepared to answer. She still has not found out why he is home early but she would have to be more discreet with her Wednesday guest in the future. An hour earlier today and Alan would have walked in on what she calls her weekly instructions. Chelsea imagines herself telling Alan to come on in, See this is what you are supposed to be doing. She laughs to herself. She continues to laugh as she thinks about what a sucker she is making of Alan.

‘I know I should file for a divorce like Jeannie did, but I got a sweet deal here.’ she thinks to herself. Which is true, Chelsea does not have to give Alan a dime towards the mortgage or the bills. All the money she makes from her catering business is hers free and clear. They file taxes separately and any of the food she buys is written off as business expenses. If she needs anything extra Alan buys it for her. Her birthday, anniversary and Christmas, Alan always give her some lavish piece of jewelry or clothing. Even Mother’s day, Alan buys her something nice. Only over the last couple of years have they stopped trying to have a baby or so she tells Alan. In reality, her tubes were tied five years earlier. Now when the ‘one hit wonder’, as she calls Alan, comes near her, Chelsea makes him wear a condom.

‘It has been a while; I think it was Christmas or maybe New Years since the last time. Maybe I will let him back in the bedroom for the weekend. Just because he is lousy in bed, does not mean he should not reap some benefit from our arrangement.’ Chelsea reasons with herself. ‘I can see the headline now, Wife divorces prominent Professor because of poor bed performance, Chelsea laughs some more. One thing she knows for sure, she will wait and find someone a little more stable than the last guy for which she tried to leave her husband before she tries to leave again.

Chelsea had met Alan when she was twenty-two. He was her first real boyfriend, and because he was twenty-five, Chelsea thought he was worldly. He told her he was a teacher and he had applied for a position at the University. When they started sleeping together, Chelsea knew something was missing, but she asked her friends and they told her it would get better once he got used to her and knew what she liked. Chelsea took their word and a year later they were married. The first few years Chelsea went along with the program, because she assumed she was in love. The next couple of years she tried to spice up their marriage, by bringing sex toys to bed and making suggestions. By that time she had started her catering business and had met a lot of new people. Alan had gotten the job at the University and was home a lot less. After seven years of marriage, Chelsea wanted to see was there something out there she had missed. At thirty, she considered herself still a young woman and able to start over again if need be.

Chelsea got a chance to experience another side of life when she catered a wedding reception for a lawyer’s twenty-one year old daughter. She had made most of the arrangements with his wife, but on the day of the wedding, she kept going to him, asking was everything to his liking. It was the first time she had blatantly flirted with a customer and she knew he was aware of what she was doing. When she asked for her final payment, the lawyer asked her to come into his study to get a check. She went in and closed the door behind her. The lawyer was surprised at first, but it did not take him long to catch on and lock the door. He gave her what she wanted right on his desk and told her he wanted to see her again. Chelsea was anxious to see him also. This man was forty-five. Twelve years older than Alan had been at the time. She had to see if he had the stamina to please her more than once in a forty-eight hour period. If so, Chelsea would start looking for someone who could satisfy her sexually. It did not take long. They were meeting in hotels and motels and the lawyer gave her just what she wanted to the point where she knew there was something wrong with Alan. She started offering Alan suggestions and positions then she just started complaining about how inadequate he was. Finally the lawyer moved out of the house with his wife and into an apartment. Chelsea packed her things and told Alan she was leaving him. She moved in with the lawyer but soon she realized it was a huge mistake. He told her he had been married for twenty-three years and never used a condom and if they were going to have a sex life, she would have to get her tubes tied, because his kids were grown and he did not want any more. She told the lawyer she would use birth control methods, but he said they were not one hundred percent. So Chelsea got her tubes tied and she was unable to perform for more weeks than the lawyer was willing to wait. He told her, the best thing for her to do was to go back to her husband. She had to grovel and plead to get Alan to take her back. She told Alan the lawyer had gone back to his wife and she could not afford the apartment by herself. If she could please stay with him until she found a place she could afford?

Once Alan had taken her back into the house, she lied and told him they should try to make a baby, because the only reason she left, was because she wanted children and she did not think Alan wanted any, because he never came home from work. She never told Alan about her tubes being tied or that the lawyer had kicked her out.

This time however, Chelsea is making sure her new interest can take care of her in the style she has become accustomed. He makes more money than Alan and as soon as his divorce is final, he will move Chelsea in with him or at least that is what he has told her. Meanwhile she does not want to risk her setup with Alan. So she tells herself, she will definitely apologize by the weekend and let Alan get his one hit in. She laughs to herself again. ‘The things that a good wife must subject herself to.’ She laughs aloud.

*     *     *

When Alan gets in his car and peels out of the driveway, he does not know where he is going but by rote heads towards the university. Once he realizes he is headed in that direction, he does a U-turn in the middle of the street. He always goes to the university, he tells himself. I am going somewhere different. He heads towards South Boston and does not stop until he notices that he is going to one of the more depressed neighborhoods. David had told him that LaTrea has an apartment somewhere near the campus but he does not know where. Alan does not think it is the neighborhood he is driving through now, so he hurries