Commencement

by Lawrence Cherry

Allen sat in a booth at the Uptown Soul restaurant waiting for the others to arrive. This was a new hangout that Allen had scouted out and he hoped that everyone would be able to find it. He had sent out texts to all of his remaining friends now that Jim and Callie had put him on their “no friend” list. He told everyone to meet him here at 7:00, but he didn’t get many responses to his text. Allen had only heard definitive responses from Tamiko, and surprisingly enough Richard. Astonishingly, the first person to show up was the last person he would have expected.

  “Hey, Big Al, Whassup!”

  “You’re here and early at that!”

  “Yeah, man. I had to get away from da crib. I love Leandra and all, but she’s startin’ to wear a brother out.”

  “What’s wrong? I thought she might be the one.”

  “Yeah, the one to drive me crazy. She’s jus’ too clingy man. It’s like she tryin’ to have me on Lojack and what not. She got to know everywhere I go and everything I do. I mean jus’ all up in my business. I need some breathin’ room, yo.”

  “Funny, she didn’t strike me as that type of girl.”

  “Me neither man. I thought these educated chicks was suppost to be independent. Not! I’m tellin’ ya I feel like I’m gonna have to cut her loose. Soon.”

  “If it’s as you say I can’t blame you, man.”

  “So what’s this big meeting about?”

  “It’s about a friend that needs our help. I’ll explain it more when the others get here. If they get here.”

  Tim and Tamiko walked in on cue just as Allen had finished his sentence. They were arm in arm, with Tim wearing the same haggard expression that Allen had gotten used to seeing by now.

  “Hey, everybody.” Tim said hoarsely.

  “Hey, man. Are you okay?” asked a concerned Allen.

  “I’m still a little foggy from the medicine they gave me at the doctor

  yesterday and my throat is kind of scratchy from the procedure, but I’ll be okay.” Tim managed sounding a bit hoarse.

  “So what happened? Did they find out what was wrong?”

  “They did some tests, but so far it’s all been inconclusive.”

  “What dey testin’ you for, man? It ain’t nothin’ somebody could catch, is it?” Richard asked moving his chair over.

  “No.” Tim said flatly, rolling his eyes.

  “They were checking to see if it’s stomach ulcers. But it isn’t.” explained Tamiko.

  “Yeah, they already ruled that out. They did an endoscopy on me and they didn’t see any evidence of ulcers”, added Tim.

  “If it’s not stomach ulcers, what else could it be?” asked Allen.

  “I don’t know. I guess I’ll find out soon enough. Anyway, I’m curious as to why you called us all down here.”

  “Let’s order first before we get down to business.”

  Allen signaled for a waitress. She took their orders quickly and left the party, which resumed their original conversation.

  “Wait a minute. This is all of us? What about Davis, and Jim and Callie?” asked Tim.

  “Jim and Callie don’t want to hang any more. Especially, not with me”, answered Allen sadly.

  “Word? What’s up wit dat, man?” Richard asked.

  “Jim has decided that we need to go separate ways. Callie feels the same way.”

  “But y’all was boys, man! Like blood!”

  “And I always had the feeling that Callie was sort of your female half. What gives?” inquired Tim.

  “They’re not too thrilled about my choice to have a relationship with God.”

  “I can’t believe they cuttin’ you off over somethin’ like dat! That’s just triflin’!” exclaimed Richard.

  “I can believe it, especially after the way Jim’s been acting lately. Sometimes things like this happen. Christ said he did not come to bring peace, but a sword…” said Tamiko shaking her head.1 “And what about Davis? Why isn’t he here?”

  “Because the meeting’s about him. He and his family need our help. That’s why I called you all here today”, Allen replied.

  “What he need?” asked Richard with some concern.

  “Uh, Al, this doesn’t have anything to do with what we were talking about the other night? Does it?” asked Tim uneasily.

  “Yes it does. You see, Davis’ mom took out a second mortgage on their house to get some money she desperately needed. Now she can’t afford to pay it back and she stands to lose the house.”

  “How much does she owe on the house?” inquired Tamiko.

  “I don’t know. Davis never told me.”

  “So what’s your plan, Al? Where do we fit in?” asked Richard with some reservation.

  “I was hoping that we could all contribute to a fund that I could manage and invest. When it turns over, we could give it to Davis so his mom can pay off the mortagage. Each of us can contribute say, $2,000.00. I could probably get some money from my parents and Tamiko’s parents as well. We could even get the church involved to help too.”

  “Whoa, wait, hold the phone…what happened with the whole, ‘I’m going to help Davis restructure the loan with the bank’ plan?” asked Tim.

  “I pitched the idea to him, but he won’t let me.”

  “Are you saying he’d rather have the money instead?” Tim questioned further.

  “No. He insisted that I stay out of it altogether”, answered Allen.

  “So how about we go with that plan and stay out of it”, suggested Tim.

  “We can’t. He’s our friend. And I think this is what God wants me to do.”

  “Maybe Allen’s right. As Christian people, we should be looking out for each other’s needs. Like the Bible says: how can we say that we love God and see a brother in need and turn away?” Tamiko offered.

  “But we don’t even know how much they owe. It could be hundreds of thousands of dollars! And let’s say you get enough money for the initial investment. You don’t know when the money is due. The house could be in the process of foreclosure as we speak. And even if it wasn’t, do you really think you have enough time to turn over the investment before the bank forecloses on them?” reasoned Tim.

  “And I don’t know about evybody else, but $2,000.00 is a lot of cheese. Davis is cool and evything, but I don’t know”, said Richard doubtfully.

  “I thought you said you stay paid”, sneered Tim.

  “I do. That’s because I don’t be shellin’ it out”, responded Richard.

  “We’ve got to do something!” Allen pleaded.

  “But is this the best thing? I really want to give Davis the benefit of the doubt, but I think we’re all being suckered into a ghetto ponzi scheme”, argued Tim.

  “You think Davis is goading Allen into this? No way!” said Tamiko.

  “And give me some credit, too, Tim. Do I really seem that stupid?”

  “O.K. Fine. I’ll bite. I will give you $2,000.00 to invest in Davis’, or rather his mom’s mortgage troubles. No, just to show how magnanimous I can be I will give you double that. Now, when you have all the money together and flip it to give to Davis, let’s see if coincidentally he happens to leave town soon after. Any other takers?” offered Tim.

  There was silence as the others pondered over the commitment to making such a large contribution.

  “Oh, come on. Am I going to be the only one? After all, Davis is such a great guy”, goaded Tim with his trademark sarcasm.

  “I’ll give. And I’ll ask my parents, too”, resolved Tamiko.

  “Aiight. I’m in”, Richard said resignedly. “But how you gon flip it man?”

  “I’ve been watching some stocks and I’ve been researching the companies, and I think I know what to invest it in. All I need is just one or two quarters to double the investment.”

  “Sound real risky, Al”, cautioned Richard.

  “There’s no gain without risk.”

  “Stocks are a big gamble. It’s like you’ll be
taking our money to a casino!” exclaimed Tamiko.

  “Now I know this is a ghetto ponzi scheme”, sighed Tim.

  “Just relax guys. I know what I’m doing.”

  “Yeah, that’s probably what Madoff told his investors, too”, Tim added.

  “And we’ve got to keep this thing quiet. I don’t want Davis to find out until we have the money together.”

  “I have an idea! Let’s not wait until Allen invests the money. Maybe when we have the initial investment, we can let Davis know. It will be like a Christmas gift. We can present it to him at my Christmas Celebration.” Tamiko proposed.

  “I don’t know. I’d rather wait until we had everything together.”

  “I second Tamiko’s idea. After all, Al, what if your investment scheme doesn’t work out? Then everyone’s contribution goes down the tubes”, said Tim in agreement with Tamiko.

  “Don’t you have faith in my abilities?” asked Allen.

  “As much as I love you, Al, no. And you can’t blame me. This is potentially tens of thousand of dollars you’re going to be handling, and not just our money, but possibly some of the church’s money, too.”

  “Yeah, Al, I don’t always agree wit’ red bone here, but he’s got a point. It’s not like you got a lot of sperience wit’ da stocks”, Richard put in.

  “Now you guys sound like a lot of those people I interviewed with.”

  “Al, when you were interning, you had the pros to spot you. You’re going to be flying solo on this. Do you really think you’re ready? I mean you don’t even have your broker’s license!” continued Tim.

  “What if I worked with your man Sherman to invest it. Would that make everyone feel better?”

  “Now that would make me feel better. But you do realize Sherman’s not into get rich quick schemes, so we can’t expect our investment back after just two quarters. And remember, his skills don’t come cheap. He’s going to want 10% of any of the profits. That has to be factored in.”

  “Who’s Sherman?” asked Tamiko.

  “He’s my family’s financial manager.”

  “He any good?” asked Richard.

  “If he wasn’t I don’t think I’d be living at the New Towers and driving a brand new Mercedes, now would I?”

  “O.K. I’m wit’ the flippin’ so long a you use Tim’s man Sherm.”

  “But you just heard Tim. Sherman’s not going to be able to pull it off in time”, whined Allen.

  “Which goes back to my original suggestion. Let’s just take up the collection and give him whatever we get. It may not pay off the whole

  mortgage, but it should buy his family some time until they can come up with a long term plan.”

  “Again, I think that’s the best idea I’ve heard all evening. No offense Al.”

  “None taken. All right, let’s vote. All in favor of just giving Davis the initial collection.”

  Tim, Tamiko, and Richard raised their hands in favor.

  “I guess I’m out numbered 3 to 1.”

  “Oh, this is going to be wonderful! I’m going to tell Daddy as soon as I get home.”

  “When’s the deadline to pony up da cheese”, asked Richard.

  “It’ll have to be at least a few days before the party. How about next Friday.”

  “Okay. No prob.”

  “And remember, keep this under your hats. I don’t want Davis to find out before the party.”

  “Oh, but I’m just bursting with excitement….I think we can handle it, Al”, scoffed Tim.

  “I can’t wait to see Davis’s face when he get’s his gift.”

  Fifty-One