If there is one part of Ottawa that I can't stand, it's the environs of Kanata. The most boring spot in all of provincial Ontario. Yet for some reason, the security company I work for keeps sending me there. I go where the money is, but I don't have to like it. The other day, I caught hell trying to make it there, man. I live in the east end of Ottawa, and had to walk to Hurdman Station from my apartment near Saint Laurent Mall in order to catch the ninety six bus heading to Kanata. The ride was long and boring, with a lot of people staring at my Black ass for wearing a Santa hat AND a security uniform. Ottawa is full of bigots and if you're not white, they develop a staring problem. I was used to the stare, but this time it was different.
I noticed that it was mostly Arabs and Somalis doing the staring. I guess they're upset that not every Black immigrant in the City of Ottawa is Muslim, in spite of their best efforts. Most of us Afro-Caribbean folks are of Christian stock and damn proud to be. Don't like it? Oh, well. My Haitian ass is staying Christian, thank you very much. The Arabs control the religion of Islam and while I respect their faith, I can't overlook the fact that they treat us Blacks like shit. Why in hell would I want to bow down to them? My name is Carl James and I approve this message. Anyhow, I went to Kanata that night, winding up ten minutes late because the ninety three bus is the only one that goes to the industrial park where I was sent, and it only comes every half hour. If you miss it even by a hair, you're shit out of luck.
We're in early December, and it's snowing a lot in the City of Ottawa. It's exam time at Carleton University, where I major in civil engineering. If I want to stay in school next semester, I'm going to have to fork over twelve hundred bucks. I owe the school and they intend to collect by January. That's why I'm breaking my back working security. That and I've got to pay my rent. My former roommate ( and erstwhile boyfriend ) Ralph Davilmar left abruptly, and we used to split the eight-hundred-bucks-a-month rent. Now I have to pay it solo because finding a roommate in the middle of the winter is gonna be tough. Ralph and I met at school, and we just clicked. It's rare to meet an openly gay or bisexual man who is Haitian. I liked Ralph, and he liked me. The sex was off the chain, and neither of us liked dorm life so we got an apartment off-campus and moved in together. That was a big mistake. Ralph was insecure, with anger issues. If he hadn't left, I would have kicked his ass out.
I walked up a small hill from the roadside and went to the silvery building, which had a high-tech look to it, and was greeted by an old Black dude working at the security booth. He let me in, introduced himself as Paul, then he asked me for my Ontario Security Guard licence, and signed me in. Dude then pointed me to the security office, where I got my marching orders from a matronly white lady who introduced herself as Marsha Kelvin. Apparently, for tonight's assignment, I had to watch some contractors. Sounds good to me because watching contractors while they did their business is a big part of security work. I'm a floater, meaning that I go from site to site, I don't have a permanent workplace.
As soon as midnight struck, Paul the old security dude and our dear supervisor Marsha Kelvin left the site, put it on lockdown. The contractors left, and I was told that I was expected to stay until seven in the morning. I waited for everybody to leave, then made myself comfortable. I ordered from Pizza Pizza, the only company in Ottawa that will deliver anywhere in town regardless of time. Forty five minutes later, the pizza delivery guy showed up at the door. Well, guy might not the right word. The delivery person in question was definitely not a man. A tall, skinny dark-skinned Black chick with hair dyed bright red and green contacts stared at me awkwardly while banging on the building window. I let her into the building lobby, and took the pizza box she handed me. That will be twenty dollars, she said with an accent I couldn't place. I handed her twenty three dollars, giving her a decent tip because I once did deliveries for Boston Pizza and they treated me like shit.