Love, Prejudice and Betrayal

January 1995

1995 was a special year for the graduating couple, Aaron and Ava. They started dating during their first year at Birchmount University. In January 1995, they began their last semester together with hopes of graduating in June as a part of Birchmount's class of 1995. It was one of the coldest nights of January but the couple were full of warmth discussing their future plans on the floor of Aaron's unkept dorm room. Aaron had a roommate but whenever Ava came around, Aaron paid his roommate to excuse them.

"I can't believe we are in our last year, Aaron! I can't wait to finish the semester in April. We will have over a month to rest before graduation in June. Maybe we can figure out how to tell my parents about us. Maybe then they would help us get an apartment together." Ava said to Aaron looking up at him with a beaming smile, her head on his lap.

"If only it were that easy. We know your parents would love you to be with someone rich enough to be a support to the family business. Not to mention, they are racist." Aaron stroked Ava's hair.

Ava sat up and looked Aaron in the eyes apologetically on behalf of her parents.

"Babe you know it is just the way they were socialized into society. They've been raised to stay away from black people so they never had a chance to meet some good ones like you. All they know about black people is what they've been taught. I am sure when they meet you they would love you. We just have to find the perfect way to break our relationship to them." Ava explained.

"What do we do after we graduate? We need to figure that out because I am still so lost. " Aaron tried to change the subject.

"Oh yea. I will start working in the family business immediately. If my parents like you, maybe you can work there too. One thing is for sure, we will move in together."

"Sure but I better start looking for a full time job because I doubt your parents would employ me. I have to meet them as soon as possible because I need to know my options." Aaron said pulling Ava closer.

"Yea, yea for sure. I will tell them about you at breakfast tomorrow. Maybe I can get you to come over for dinner on Sunday. Make sure......"

Aaron leaned in for a kiss, shutting Ava up.

"M..m..make sure you bring a nice gift." Ava said as soon as her lips were freed again.

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Ava was having breakfast with her parents and older brother before going to the university campus.

"Dear, you do not have any morning classes. Why do you always leave so early to school? You know you are not in high school anymore and don't have to be on campus all day right?" Ava's mom said while pouring her daughter some juice.

"I have friends. You know I don't just go to school to study right? I have a social life. Besides, it is boring at home." Ava replied.

"I know what it is. She is definitely seeing someone because when she was in high school, she always slept in and was late for class. So there must be someone she can't wait to see every morning on that campus." Ava's brother said teasingly.

"Samuel! Eat your food and leave your sister alone." Their dad warned.

"But what if it is true?" Ava said lowering her head and stuffing herself with a sausage.

"What?" The other three said simultaneously and a loud silence fell over the dining table.

"How long have you been dating dear?" Ava's mom asked softly.

"Since my first year."

"Since your first year? And you did not think it was necessary to tell us? We are your parents Ava!" Ava's dad erupted in anger until his wife gestured for him to calm down.

"What is his name? What is he studying? What do his parents do?" Ava's mom asked.

Ava got up from her seat. "His name is Aaron. He studies agriculture. I will ask him to come over for dinner on Sunday." Ava said as she clumsily wore her shoes and left.

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It was finally Sunday and Ava's family were already setting up the table for dinner.

"I hope he is a responsible person. I trust that Ava would make the right decision." Mrs. Thompson said.

"If he comes here without a gift, I am shutting the door right in his face." Her husband added.

The bell rang.

"Hello, Mr. Thompson, nice to meet you. My name is Aaron." Aaron reached out for a handshake.

Mr. Thompson did not reply. He stood there holding the door ajar but he looked lost, like he was trying to gather his thoughts.

Aaron withdrew the hand he had put forward.

"Dad! Let us in. It is freezing cold."

The dinner was filled with an awkward tension.

"The tension in this room could really make me get an indigestion. Did you bring that for us?" Samuel pointed to the gift bag Aaron brought as he tried to break the ice.

"Oh yea. It is Pu'er tea from one of the countries in Dunia." I don't quite recall but I hear it has a lot of medicinal benefits.

"Oh thank you." Samuel took the tea out of the bag Aaron handed to him. "Wow, it looks...."

"Oh please Samuel. Stop the acting. We have plenty of Pu'er tea and that too from a much better brand. No need to be a people pleaser." Mr. Thompson's words did worse to the atmosphere in the room.

Ava tried to do some damage control. " Do you guys know how smart Aaron is? He has an average of 92% in his courses."

Ava was met with silence. She made many attempts to paint Aaron in a good light but failed each time.

"I really love Aaron so much and I know you guys want me to be happy. You know how silly we are? We already decided on the names of our kids. Our boy will be Adam jr. after grandpa and the girl will be Keisha after Aaron's grandmother."

Ava's father shot her a stern look. That of disapproval and anger.

Aaron gulped hard. The nerves were getting to him. "Thanks for the food. I loved it." Aaron said and he whispered to Ava to walk him out.

"Your boyfriend has a really white name." Samuel teased after Aaron left.

"Samuel!" Ava's dad shouted.

"I am tired. We will talk about this tomorrow." Mr. Thompson retired.

The next day, Ava left home really early to avoid her family.

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Ava got home at dinner time. There was an unusual silence while the table was being set. Ava's mother started the conversation while they ate.

"Ava, do you know Aaron's plans for life after graduation. You said he did agriculture. Is he going into farming?"

"I don't know. I am sure he will find something to do. He is very hardworking. He juggles school with part-time jobs to support himself."

"Of course he doesn't have a plan. None of them do. It is in their nature." Mr. Thompson replied.

"Dad!"

"But it is true Ava! They use events that occurred long before they were born to play victim and excuse their laziness. That is why I warned you about their kind."

Ava broke into tears. "Dad, you cannot assign characteristics to a whole race. It doesn't make sense to make such generalizations. If you do, you're being biased!" Ava tried to talk some sense into her dad.

"Anyway, I do not want to affect your studies right now, so I will let you be but if you're still dating him after you graduate, you will have to break up with him. Hopefully you wake up from this phase before then." Ava's dad warned.

"Well we will see about that." Ava ran upstairs and banged her bedroom door in anger.

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After that day, Ava got into a lot of arguments with her parents. She knew it was because they were angry about her relationship. Every little thing she did made them angry. After graduation, there started to be consequences for Ava not breaking up with Aaron. Her allowance was much lower and her car was seized. Soon Ava decided to abandon everything in Birchmount and move to the capital, Coeur de Cher with Aaron.

They moved to Coeur de Cher in August 1995. They lived with an old friend of Aaron's. The couple slept in a storage room turned bedroom. They were grateful because it was at no financial cost. All they had to do were the house chores and the cooking. Aaron got a job as a janitor in a high school in September. Aaron's friend's girlfriend took advantage of Ava. She made Ava do too much work and run errands for her. Ava often complained to Aaron that she was being treated like a maid. So when they saved up enough money, Aaron and Ava moved to a cheap basement apartment close to the school Aaron worked at in January 1996.

After a couple of months, Aaron tried to convince Ava to take up a job as well because they could barely survive on what he made. Ava had been applying to work in HR at many big companies. However she never got any responses to her applications. Aaron wanted her to go for jobs she would most likely get. Jobs that do not require much qualifications. He encouraged her to apply for jobs at retail shops, fast food restaurants and others alike. However, Ava saw this as a waste of her education. This was the cause of many of their arguments.

Ava frequently threatened to go back to her family in Birchmount to which Aaron gave sarcastic answers like "Go ahead" or "Don't let me stop you princess." Their lovely relationship turned unhealthy. What broke the camel's back was Ava's pregnancy in February 1997.

"Ava, we both know we cannot afford to raise a baby right now. Maybe we could manage if you would just get a job! You need to get that thing aborted."Aaron complained.

"Aaron, this is your child! How could you refer to the baby as a thing? This baby is a gift and I am not getting rid of it."

Their arguments got worse with time. Aaron started to spend the nights out. He went home less and less until he never went back. When Ava realized that Aaron was never coming back, she fell really sick. She was in her fourth month of pregnancy, feeling very weak and the food at home was almost done. She had so little money left from the money Aaron gave her the previous month to do groceries. So Ava took a bus back to Birchmount.

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Her family welcomed her warmly knowing she was no longer with Aaron. She was back in the comfort of her family. She worked in HR at the family's newspaper company. After a month, her pregnancy became too conspicuous to be mistaken for additional weight. So her parents confronted her.

"Dear, are you by any chance pregnant?" Ava's mom asked concerned.

Ava took a deep breath and that was enough of an answer to her parents.

"Okay you've got to abort that now. You are only 24, you have your whole life in front of you. You will meet a nice man and have some beautiful kids." Mrs. Thompson wasn't speaking in her usual soft voice. She was firm in her speech.

"No, mom. I can't. I cannot give up on this baby." Ava said as she lost control of her tears.

"Okay you can keep it on one condition. If it isn't Aaron's child." Ava's father added.

Ava could not stand being around her parents. She could not believe the depth of their racism. They were ready to abandon their own grandchild because of prejudice.

That evening, Ava called her brother Samuel who lived out of town and told him she was planning on going back to Coeur de Cher.

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Ava moved back to the capital. Ava's experience at the family business landed her a job easily. She worked as a receptionist in a hotel. It was not the job she wanted and it was not paying as much as she would like but it was enough to feed her and her child. After going through a lot since Aaron left, she started to understand the pressure Aaron felt being the sole provider. She still blamed him for abandoning her and their unborn child.

Ava gave birth in October 1997 and named her daughter Keisha like she and Aaron planned to. She raised her daughter alone, providing all Keisha's needs. Keisha lived comfortably but with no luxury. Keisha became all of Ava's world. She was the most precious person to Ava. Ava kept the story of she and Aaron a secret from Keisha. When Keisha once asked about her father, Ava told her he left while she was pregnant because their relationship was not working out.

At the age of 19, Keisha was in a fatal car accident. She had to have surgery done. During the surgery, she was visited by an over watcher and she made a deal to travel to October 1978. Of course Keisha did not think the Overseeing world was real. She thought she was having a dream she would wake up from until she found herself in 1978. Her goal was to find her father and see what motivated him to leave her pregnant mother. She hated her father. Keisha's heart ached every time she thought of her mom having to deal with her death. On multiple occasions, Ava had expressed that Keisha was her only reason to keep striving to live. So Keisha was very worried about her. Keisha was placed in the Centennial dorm on arrival and she attended Birchmount University. Keisha moved out of the Centennial dorm permanently in 1980 and graduated from the university in 1982. After graduation, she worked full time as a waitress in a small restaurant. The very restaurant she met Faith and Banji. Keisha planned to move to the capital in the 90s to achieve her goal.