Stephen Jerome Lucien, affectionately known as J.L. to his friends is, by all considerations, a good brother. Born in the City of Montreal, Quebec, to Haitian immigrant parents, he's a church-going and hard-working lad, who's sometimes a bit too good for his own good. And that is the source of much pain and frustration in this promising young man's life...
In today's North American society, a law-abiding, hard-working and all-around good and decent black man is considered overrated and the beautiful black ladies are all about the thugs. Thugs, thugs and more thugs. Day in and day out. That's what a lot of young black women apparently crave. And when they're done with the thugs, they move on to the white dudes. What's a good brother to do at a time like this?
Stephen Jerome Lucien is one of those brothers pondering that very question. What's wrong with an educated brother who wants good things for himself, his family and his community? Why are all the good sisters chasing the thugs? Stephen was mystified by such things. In fact, you can ask this of anyone who knows him, from his fellow civil engineering students at McGill University, to his church-going buddies at Eglise Sacre Coeur, Stephen is "too nice."
Emmanuelle Pierrot is the polar opposite of our lad Stephen, to say the least. Six feet tall, gorgeously dark-skinned and curvy, blessed with a keen mind and a sassy attitude, Emmanuelle definitely puts the O in opinionated. And that's how she likes it. A Criminal Justice student at the University of Montreal, an occasional attendee of Eglise Sacre Coeur, and a full-time scandalous diva, Emmanuelle Pierrot is a gal with a bad reputation. The kind that the fellas want, and whom smart women dutifully keep their boyfriends and husbands away from.
One day, though, Emmanuelle Pierrot had a life-changing experience. While walking around the Rockland Mall in the City of Montreal, Emmanuelle was accosted by a pair of racist clerks who followed her around several stores, since in their feeble minds, any black shopper is a potential criminal. Well, Emmanuelle confronted them, and the two white clerks, David and Christina, lied to their teeth when the tall, confident and outspoken young black woman called them out on their racist bullshit.
"Folks, I've observed you following the young lady and she did nothing wrong," said a deep voice, and both the clerks and Emmanuelle turned at the sound, and found themselves gazing at a tall young black man in a security uniform. The gentleman in question was none other than Stephen Jerome Lucien, church-goer, engineering nerd at McGill University and, apparently part-time security guard at one of Montreal's busiest shopping centers.
"I believe you owe the young lady an apology," Stephen said, and the two clerks, chastised, happily obliged before walking away with their tails tucked between their legs. Emmanuelle looked at the retreating clerks, then at the tall young brother who came to her aid, and smiled. Stephen looked at the young woman, whom he recognized as a member of his church, though they'd never spoken, and his heart skipped a beat.
