Blind Ambitions

by Lolita Files

  “I know. It’s like a dream come true. Next stop … producing!”

  “This has been a dream for us all, Bettina,” Desi replied. “Hey, where’s Steve?”

  “He’s right here. Is Randall in the same kind of daze that Steve is?”

  “Yeah. He’s been slack-jawed and wide-eyed for a good little while.”

  “You’d think they’d never won Emmys before,” Bettina said.

  “Wouldn’t you? Oh,” Desi remembered, “I’ve got Sharon on the other line.”

  “Okay, I’ll make this quick. Steve wanted me to find out if you guys wanted to meet over at Roscoe’s later.”

  Desi scrunched up her nose.

  “I’m more of an M & M’s girl, myself.”

  Desi heard Bettina say something to Steve in the background. She heard Steve mutter something back. Bettina laughed and said something else in return.

  “He wants to know if they have fried chicken,” she said to Desi. “I told him yes. Is he not the blackest non-black surfer boy you ever met in your life?”

  Desi smiled into the phone.

  “We don’t mind going to M & M’s,” Bettina said. “Ask Sharon if she and Glen will meet us there, okay?”

  “Sure. I know she’ll be down. What time is good?”

  “How about … say, seven? At the one on Manchester.”

  “Fine, and seven is perfect,” Desi agreed. “We’ll see you then.”

  She clicked back over to Sharon.

  “My daughter told me to tell you hi,” Sharon droned. “I just blew the dust off of her, now she’s headed off to college.”

  “I’m sorry to keep you on hold so long,” Desi chuckled. “That was Bettina. She and Steve want us all to meet them at the M & M’s on Manchester.”

  “What time?”

  “Seven. You down?”

  “Yeah,” Sharon said. “I’ll see if I can pull my man away from his role modeling long enough to eat.”

  “You think Jet and Jackson might want to come?” Desi asked.

  “Jet might be hard to track down. I spoke to him last night, and he was supposed to be flying to Chicago this morning. He wanted me to keep him updated on the nominations, so I’ve been sending him pages and emails.”

  “What about Jackson?”

  “He’s in Zimbabwe.”

  “Oh. Well, I guess it’s just us chickens eating chicken.”

  “Fine by me,” Sharon said.

  “Alright then. See you at seven?”

  “With a big ol’ belly in front of me, you will.”

  “Here’s to doing something this town didn’t think we could!”

  Randall had his glass of lemonade iced tea raised in a toast. The food had just arrived, and they had already said grace.

  “We jumped in the game,” he continued, “and, in our first season, ended up with six nominations!”

  Sharon, Glen, Bettina, Steve, and Desi all raised their glasses.

  “Doesn’t matter if we win,” Randall said, “although, don’t get me wrong, that would be right nice …”

  Everyone laughed.

  “What matters most is that we’re in the game, and we’re in it fierce.”

  “Here, here!” Glen chimed.

  “And we’re sticking together, thick and thin, through it all,” Desi added.

  “Here, here!” Sharon mimicked, taking a sip of tea.

  “And this is just the beginning for Vast Horizons,” Bettina said. “Our next goal … world domination!”

  “Here, here!” they all agreed.

  All eyes fixed on Steve, who was aggressively digging into his macaroni and cheese. They waited for him to offer up a toast.

  Steve felt the burning eyes and glanced up from his food.

  “Hey … how come nobody ever told me about this place?” he asked, his cheeks stuffed full of macaroni.

  The table erupted in laughter.

  “Come on, Steve,” Bettina said, nudging him. “Be serious for a minute. You’re not even supposed to be eating just yet.”

  “Alright, alright,” he managed, swallowing. He lifted his glass of lemonade.

  “To a job well done. There’s no better formula for success than a lot of faith, and a little ambition.”

  “Amen!” Desi and Sharon piped.

  “Now,” Steve continued, “let’s dispense with all this chitter-chatter. There’s a bird on this plate that’s been calling my name.”

  Randall clapped him on the back, as everyone dove into their food and the eating began.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I give all glory to God, for loving me, ever changing me for the better, and having the patience to walk with me, and often carry me, as I make my journey through this maze of life. Without Him, I would be lost. Through Him, I am becoming all that I could, and should, be.

  Extra Special Thanks to:

  My wonderful, amazing mother, Lillie B. Files, who has evolved into so many things for me—my counselor, my sounding board, my inspiration, my friend.

  My brother, Arthur James Files, Jr., for teaching me so much so early in my life.

  Michael Cory Davis, my confidante, my soldier, my friend. Thank you for walking with me and fighting for me. I appreciate all that you have done, and all that we have gone through together. As a result of knowing you, my life has been forever changed. You have a magnificent spirit, and I know that you are destined for many things positive and great.

  Victoria Christopher Murray, my dear, dear sister-in-spirit and friend. You are a reminder to me that God is real and has purpose in all that He does. Your presence in my life is a miracle. Vickilita, I thank Him for you every day.

  Eric Jerome Dickey. What would I do without you? You are one of the kindest people I have ever met in my life. Your generosity of spirit would fill up a stadium. You make me laugh, you listen, you encourage, and you refuse to watch me settle for less in anything that I do. Thank you for challenging me, harassing me to write, and being a blessing to my world with every breath that you take.

  R. M. Johnson. You are, indeed, the most incredible person and THE kindest man—so calm, so centered, so considerate. You are Peace in Pants. To borrow from Billy Joel, “he comes to me when I’m feeling down … inspires me, without a sound.” Meeting you was something bigger than I could have ever imagined.

  Jacquatte Rolle. Amazing how we always reconnect, isn’t it? That’s because our souls are bound, my sister. My love for you is infinite.

  Courtney Rolle. You will see me very soon. I may seem absent, but you are very much present in my heart.

  Bryan Keith Ayer. For just being Beav.

  The Brackett Family—Eric, Sharlyn Simon, Charles, Ted, Jim, Bobby (Percy), Sallye Cooper Brackett, Shunda, Cheric, and Charleston (P-nut) Brackett, Charla and Chauncey Shines, Curtis and Debra Cooper and kids, Daetrick Brackett, Wanda in Orlando. The Files Family—Louis and family, Charlestine (Dot) and Sam Carter and family, Ella Mae, Betty Jean and family, Rural (Bumpsy) Files and family, Lura (Niney) and family, Inez Files and family, Cleveland (Benny) in Natchez, the Files clan in Birmingham, Alabama, and any other Files (there are far too many to mention) that I may have forgotten, you are remembered in spirit.

  The Davis family from Brooklyn—Chez (what a warm and beautiful spirit you are!), Seabert, Kishane and Irish, Nicole, and the great and wonderful Doris Rattigan.

  Shirley Ann Mausby and family, Douglas White (you and Lynn and I will hang out eventually, I promise!), Mary and Willie Davis in Atlanta, Willie Mae Baltimore, Annie Pearl Nixon and family, Shara, Walter, and Alicia (Nikki) Dickerson and the rest of the May family, Shirley Brackett and John, Harry C. Douglas, Jr., Rachel Douglas, Pamela O. Douglas, and Willie Mae Douglas and Harry Douglas, Sr., the Capers, Prince, and Fenderson families, my newfound family in Southern California (Patsy Davis and the rest of the families), my Boston family the Essexes (Dawn, Petey, Sandra, Michelle, Addie Belle, Bo, and everybody), all branches of the Rolle family, Lisa “Brownie” Brown and her sister Kim and family, S
uzette Webb and family, R. Malcolm Jones and family, Shonda Cheekes and family, Yvette Hayward and family, Karla Greene, Dominique Dickey, Pat Houser and family, Brenda Alexander and family, Brenda Williams and family, Frank Jenkins and family, Sherlina Washington and family, the Brown family in Hollywood, Florida, Rhonda Ware and family, Mommy German and Ed, Vernette and the rest of the Mayweather family, Bernadette Andrews and family (wherever you are), Andrea and Patrick and all the old crew, Bruce McCrear and all my peeps in Birmingham, Keith and JoAnn Davis and family, Eric Warmack and family, Andy and Mary Gregory and family, all my old friends from the KinderCare days, Blake and Terry and the crew in L.A., Carol Ozemhoya, Kim Bondy, Bo Griffin, Olive Salih, and Alison Tomlinson, Pamela Crockett and family, Leroy Baylor, Michel Marriott, David Aronberg, Kevin Cowan, Abdul Giwa, Jr., M.D., and family, Louis Oliver, Bryonn Rolly Bains (we MUST see each other soon, this is ridiculous!), my live twin, Theresa Coffer and Antoine Coffer of Afrocentric Books (I luh y’all … it’s time we got together again and did something crazy and fun), Troy, Rejeana, and Jalen Kobe Mathis, Eric Saunders, Lee Eric Smith, Rod Crouther, Dana, Kristi, Madison and Shelby Lee, Rodney Lee and family, Cyndi, Dionne, Darryl Ranard Nobles, Marry and Monique Berg and Dinky (Eliane), Linda Ferguson in L.A., and Lance Powell in New York.

  All my friends who weather the entertainment industry (books, film, TV, music) with panache and aplomb: Shaun Robinson (girl, the glazed walnut prawns at Eurochow! My goodness!), Sherri Sneed (thank you for all the wisdom and knowledge you have so willingly shared with me), Dawnn Lewis (you have truly been a blessing in my life), LaJoyce Brookshire (love ya much) and family, Kimberla Lawson Roby (my sister-in-spirit) and family, E. Lynn Harris (thank you for making this walk so much easier for all of us), Sheneska Jackson (can’t wait to hang out with you now that I’m in Cali), Van Whitfield (the phantom—I don’t get to talk to you nearly enough), Colin Channer (I cannot say enough about you … you are a mind-reader, a side-splitter, an anecdote-teller without parallel, and I’m so happy to say that I can call you my family), Timm McCann (we go way back, don’t we?), Omar Tyree, Yolanda Joe, Franklin White, Blair S. Walker, Steven Barnes and Tananarive Due, Patrice Gaines, Tawanna Butler, Kiki Henson in St. Louis, David Haynes, Lisa Saxton, Sharony Andrews, Christine Saunders, Jackie Jacobs, all my old friends over at Warner Books (Taura, Doris, Cheryl, Michelle, and Cassandra), Caryn Karmatz-Rudy and Anita Diggs (you are both two truly kind individuals), Larry Kirshbaum (for being one of the first people to believe in me), Dr. Joseph Marshall, Jr., Jill Tracey, B.J. Barry, Raj, Nanci Thomas, and all the other authors, artists, and creative spirits out there striving to make it through.

  A special shout-out to my renewed friendship with Alton “Butter” McLean, music exec extraordinaire. While the means in which we met were somewhat shady (haha), now there’s nothing but bright light shining through. I know in you I have a friend indeed. We now truly know the meaning of “keeping it real”!

  To all the bookstores who’ve had my back: The Florida Connection—Janet at Tenaj, Jackie at Montsho, Felecia at Books for Thought, Naseem at Nefertiti, D.C. at Afro-n-Books-n-Things, and Akbar at Pyramid; Shondalon and Sundyata at RaMin Books in New Jersey, Desiree at Afrocentric in Chicago, Shelly and David Jones of Mirror Images Books and Toys in Charleston, S.C., Jim at Zahra’s in L.A., James at Eso Won in L.A., Faye and Cassandra at Sisterspace in D.C., and anyone else I forgot to mention.

  Much thanks to the Sorors of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and all the organizations and book clubs that have shown me so much support.

  Thanks to my editor Dominick Anfuso, to Catherine Hurst for all her support, and to Dawn Daniels and Imar Hutchins.

  To Shannon Jackson, for making my life so much easier.

  To my four-footed furry joys—my boopies, the Reco-Fivises (my dogs)—Milo, Lola, and Brooklyn (and Telly in Florida). If only you could talk, type, and take dictation. What a wonderful world this would be!

  If I forgot anybody, please forgive me. It’s because my brain is too jumbled, but know that you are present and acknowledged in spirit.

  And to the readers, none of this would be possible without you. Love infinite.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  LOLITA FILES is the bestselling author of three novels, Scenes from a Sistah, Getting to the Good Part, and Child of God. She has a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism and is currently developing projects for television and film. She lives in Los Angeles.