The Alpha For Her

“You’re beautiful,” he finished. “And, in you on that video, and in you now, naked and unadorned, I see…”

“Yes?”

“…I see a chance for happiness.”

“Happiness,” Jen echoed. “It’s not a silly goal?”

“No,” he said, kissing her.

“Who’d a’ thunk it.”

“I honestly believe,” Jennifer told her audience, “that the psychologist who came up with the concept of ‘cognitive dissonance’ had to be recalling their high school freshman year.”

The audience chuckled, though it was clear that half of them didn’t know the concept.

“And you will go through that your whole life,” she said, “knowing something to be true, but believing so hard that it isn’t. Like a friend of mine, a transgendered woman who, having become a woman, thought that she should like boys. But, turned out that she still liked girls, and now, because of the persistence of this other girl friend of mine, they’re both happy.”

The audience applauded politely, some cheering. Jennifer glanced down at her guests. Candy beamed and took Billie’s hand. Billie flushed bright red.

“The strength that you can find within yourself,” Jennifer continued, “can be absolutely awesome. Faced with failure, ridicule, humiliation, and total defeat, your human spirit can find ways to overcome that will astound you.”

Lisa smiled, nodding.

“Take another friend of mine. She is a brilliant, beautiful, tall, black idol of a woman who looked like she had it all, and was gunning for more. She wanted to be a player, and she thought that she had what it took. She thought that she had the chops. She just couldn’t see that she was angry inside, and because she was angry, she was really a snarky, vindictive witch.”

There were some chuckles.

“It took strength for her to listen to her friends, and see herself. She’s now in therapy; she’s gonna be cool.”

There was laughter and some cheers. Candy gave her a thumbs-up.

“And then there’s my own self.” Jennifer said, looking down at Flint and Alaiah. “That chubby little black girl found success alright, but she had to find the strength to believe that she could ever find happiness. That little girl just could not believe that her prince would ever come to her. She had to become a woman to find that strength, and meet her prince – if you know what I mean.”

Some got it, many didn’t. Flint grinned.

“They say that all a dreamer gets is sleep,” Jennifer concluded, “But, you gotta start somewhere. And, what’s wrong with a little nap now and then? So, I am here to tell you, that on your way through life, if anyone ever tells you that you can’t do it, or that you aren’t good enough, or that you don’t deserve it, or that you shouldn’t even try, you just slap their silly face and you go do.”

“That was cool,” Alaiah, said as the graduates and parents milled and congratulated one another.

“High praise,” Flint said.

“And here comes more,” Candy remarked.

A small gaggle of girls approached Jennifer, asking for her autograph. Jennifer agreed, but only if they showed her what they were wearing under their graduation gowns. The gleefully did, and Jennifer praised their taste. The whole while, Alaiah stood by Jennifer, as if to lay her claim. After the girls had giggled away, Flint moved to her side, staking his own claim.

“So, what’s next for you two?” Billie asked, “Serenity or Cornwall, Connecticut.”

“Vanuatu first,” Jennifer said. “We’ve decided to talk about that on the trip.”

“Meantime, what shall we do?” Candy asked. “Don’t know about anyone else, but watching a secondary school graduation builds up a thirst.”

“And I’m hungry,” Jennifer said.

“You owe me a pizza,” Lisa said.

“Pizza,” Alaiah said. “Cool.”

The end.