The Goddess of Gatineau

"Geoffrey, I'm so sorry about Felicia, if you need someone to talk to, I'm here for you," Francine Charbonneau said softly, and she gently laid her hand on her friend Geoffrey Darrell's arm. Geoffrey shrugged and looked at her, smiled faintly and then looked out the window. They were on the crowded number eight OC Transpo bus leaving downtown Ottawa, Ontario, for the nearby City of Gatineau, Quebec, on a rainy day in May...

Gatineau, a small town right there on the border between Ontario and Quebec, is considered one of the toughest spots on this side of North America. The kind of place that lots of 'good' Canadians turned their noses at. With an influx of Africans, Arabs, Asians and Latinos mingling with the traditional French Canadian and Aboriginals that made up the bulk of the population of Quebec, it was a melting pot and a powder keg all rolled into one. The place Geoffrey Darrell and Francine Charbonneau have called home for practically their entire lives...

"It's all good, Francine, I kind of saw it coming," Geoffrey said, and when Francine looked into his soulful brown eyes, there was a hollow, defeated look that haunted her. Geoffrey looked haggard, and she wasn't sure how to take it. Francine had known the six-foot-tall, burly and dark-skinned, Afro-sporting young Jamaican practically her whole life. Hell, they grew up together on Boulevard Labrosse, one of the City of Gatineau's most 'storied' neighborhoods.

"No offense, Geoffrey, but Felicia is a bitch, she doesn't deserve you," Francine said hotly, and Geoffrey bit his lip, and kind of nodded. Sporting his University of Ottawa Gee-Gee's sweatshirt and a pair of blue jeans, Geoffrey was just coming back from a long shift at the local Loblaw's, and he was tired as can be. Those ten-hour shifts were killer, and Francine, his friend and former co-worker, definitely knew it...

"The signs were all there, I should have known," Geoffrey whispered, shaking his head morosely, and Francine leaned closer, straining to hear him. Francine licked her lips, unsure what to say. Geoffrey had always been there for her, always protecting her from bozos and now that he needed her help, Francine was at a loss for words. Geoffrey had always been there for her, like a rock. Seeing him so rattled hurt Francine to her core...

Born in the City of Gatineau to a French Canadian mother, Annette Bineau, and Arthur Charbonneau, an Aboriginal father originally from the Ojibwe First Nation, Francine Charbonneau grew up with a foot in each world. For Francine was considered too pale for the Natives and too dark for the whites, or something to that effect. Five feet five inches tall, sharp-featured and curvy, with long black hair, light bronze skin and light brown eyes, the exotically beautiful young woman was often mistaken for various other ethnicities.

"I'm half Native and half white," Francine Charbonneau always told both casual acquaintances and strangers when they inquired about her ethnicity. Francine was so used to being asked about her origins that she didn't know what to make of Geoffrey Darnell and his parents, Nicolas and Yvette Darrell when they moved to Gatineau, Quebec, from the island of Jamaica. They didn't speak French, spoke English with an odd accent, and kept to themselves.

"I'm Geoffrey, good to meet you," those were Geoffrey's first words to Francine when he and his family moved into the old neighborhood on Boulevard Labrosse. Francine smiled hesitantly and then shook the tall, brawny young black man's hand. Thus the two of them met, and forged a lasting friendship. In time, Francine and Geoffrey became inseparable. They went to the same school, and attended the same Catholic church, Eglise Du Sacre Coeur De Gatineau.

After graduating from the local Catholic academy, the two best friends began to take divergent paths. Francine opted to study Nursing at Universite du Quebec en Outaouais, the Gatineau campus of the University of Quebec. Geoffrey, though bilingual at this point, didn't want to attend an exclusively French-language university. That's why he chose the University of Ottawa, a decision which baffled Francine since the Quebec universities were a lot cheaper than the ones in provincial Ontario.

"J'aime vraiment pas la ville d'Ottawa," Francine often said to a smiling Geoffrey, even though they both worked there. Gatineau, Francine and Geoffrey's hometown, wasn't like the nearby City of Ottawa. On the Ontario side, people were outwardly friendly and polite but passive-aggressive and mean as hell, while on the Quebec side they were a tough-talking bunch, overtly hostile at times, but usually quite friendly once you got to know them. Ottawa people creeped Francine out with their passive-aggressive bullshit...

"Life goes on," Geoffrey said somberly, his deep voice snatching Francine out of her little trip down memory lane. Francine grinned at her friend and patted his shoulder. Geoffrey looked at his phone, and Francine winced as she noticed that he was still using Felicia Thompson's picture as his screen wallpaper. The tall, dreadlocked, big-bottomed and chocolate-hued Jamaican gal had done a number on Geoffrey, slapping him around and cheating on him with some Irish guy she knew at work, yet Geoffrey was still sweet on her. Men and their bullshit obsessions with the women who hurt them, Francine thought, shaking her head.

"Hey, star, ever thought about changing your phone wallpaper?" Francine asked, and as a surprised Geoffrey looked at her, she snatched his phone from his hand, activated his camera, and took a selfie with it. As Geoffrey blinked, a grinning Francine took a second picture with his camera, and managed to install it as his wallpaper before he snatched his phone from her hands. Geoffrey shook his head, and Francine smiled innocently...

"Francine, tu es une petite peste," Geoffrey said, laughing, and he held up his phone, looking at the new wallpaper. Francine looked at it and smiled. Clad in her blue Walmart work-shirt and Yoga pants, she looked alright, even though her long blonde hair was a mess. Only five-foot-five and a bit on the chubby side, Francine looked a bit tiny next to Geoffrey, who looked like he could be an NFL or CFL linebacker. Still, they looked good together...

"Yeah, but you love that about me," Francine said, and as Geoffrey nodded, still looking at the phone, she hesitated, and then planted a kiss on his cheek. Geoffrey whirled around and looked at her, stunned. Francine looked at Geoffrey in a way she never had before. He wasn't sure what he saw in her light brown eyes. Francine's heart thundered in her chest. Now or never, the young woman thought as she drew closer to the object of her affection...

"Newsflash, Geoffrey, mon beau, there are other girls in this world besides Felicia Thompson," Francine said hotly. In a moment of uncharacteristic boldness, the short, lovely young woman grabbed the burly young Jamaican by the collar and yanked him close, then kissed him on the lips. Geoffrey looked up at Francine, amazed. Smiling, the young woman looked at him and shrugged. Geoffrey's full lips tasted sweet. Truth be told, she'd been wanting to kiss him for a while...