The Makeover by Vacirca Vaughn Page B

did need me and I—”
    “Don’t say that
about yourself, Phoenix!  You’re—”
     Phoenix
put her hands on her hips.  “You gonna let me
finish the story you begged to hear, or what? I’m embarrassed enough as it is.”
    Ruefully, Paulo
nodded.  “Go ahead.”
    “I met him just
after he finished getting an associate’s degree in bookkeeping from Touro College.  He had a job at Old Navy on One
Twenty-Fifth Street but was trying to break into his career.  He
approached me one day and I was so flattered that he wanted to give me the time
of day; I didn’t even notice that he refused to speak to me in front of his
friends.  I guess he didn’t want them to ridicule him for approaching me
as ugly as I am…”
    “Phoenix—”
Paulo’s eyes were wide.  “I can’t believe you would say that about
yourself.”
    “Just tellin ’ it like it is, Paulo.  For some reason, I
suddenly feel okay saying all this out loud, so let me finish, alright?”
    Paulo nodded as
the Lord spoke in his heart.  Be slow to speak, eager to listen…  
    “So for the
first six months, we would hang out at my place.  We really didn’t go
anywhere together.  He would come over and I would help him with his resume
and help him send it out, make a hot meal for him.  Heck, I would even get
him clothes to attend interviews with employment agencies and prospective
employers.  Sometimes I would lend him a few dollars.  He always
seemed to admire me for having finished college, for being in graduate school
to earn my doctorate in psychology—which I am still working on.  I even
helped him by paying for an attorney to resolve issues with his child’s
mother.  She was vindictive and wouldn’t let Cedric see CJ unless he gave
her money or did something she wanted him to do.  If he was unable, she
would keep Cedric from his son for weeks to punish him—”
    “I don’t
understand women these days.  Didn’t that woman know she was only
punishing her own son more with her games?”
    Phoenix
shrugged.  “My thoughts exactly.  So when he would come over and
vent, I would try to comfort him.  One day, three months into our seeing
each other, I gave him one thousand dollars and told him I made an appointment
with an attorney.”
    “Wow. 
That was kind of you, Phoenix, so soon into your relationship.”
    “Yeah.  I
guess I always have the desire to solve people’s problems.  I hate to see
people suffering and unable to get out of a situation.  Guess that’s why
I’ve always wanted to become a psychologist.  And I’m good at it, unless
of course, I try to help myself.  But with Cedric, as usual, I stepped in
and helped.  And Cedric was so grateful.  He asked me then to be his
girlfriend.  I remember thinking.  ‘Yes, being there for him must
have made him want me.’   It didn’t.  It made him need me.” 
Phoenix spotted a bench and walked over to it to sit, already exhausted from
the walk and the talk.
    Paulo sat next
to her.  “So?”
    “So he was awarded
visitation and they figured out the child support.  He had asked for joint
custody and the judge told him they would revisit the issue in a year’s
time.  The judge said it was possible if he maintained his child support
and kept a steady home, ‘cause up until then, he had always been moving
around.”
    “Well that’s
good at least.  He had to appreciate how you helped him.”
    “Oh he
did.  He did.  So when we won that battle, he officially asked me to
be his girl.  I was thrilled!  Guess I thought my hard work had paid
off.  Only then, I didn’t realize I was working to make this man
want me.  But he asked, and we made a commitment, but three months later,
he got fired from his job.  He came in late for the fifth time in a month
after going to an interview. ”
    “My
goodness.  That must have been frustrating.”
    Phoenix
sighed.  “It was because Cedric could have avoided that situation if he
had simply taken the day off.  But,