Be Bold to Be Beautiful

Reedsy Short Story: “Be Bold to Be Beautiful”

by Odiseo Quintin

It was difficult for Roger, the police rookie, not to feel overwhelmed upon his arrival at his assigned metropolitan precinct. The highways and surface streets he would patrol carried millions of drivers on a daily basis. But for having graduated first academically in his academy class of 140 cadets, he refused to be intimidated by the task at hand. Besides, he had an axe to grind. 

During his previous struggles with adolescence, the enmity from men wearing a badge provided for the seed that germinated in Roger’s psyche that led him to this career path. Those officers from his rural hometown had been adept at spitting out upon him a regular shower of disdain when detaining him during routine traffic stops. His revenge was innocent enough—he decided to put one over on them (in a way) by becoming the best police officer ever.

Jessica was a young lady raised and bred in the big city. On the other hand, Roger worked out his teen growing pains living on the family cattle ranch. The girl recently took the reins of her church’s young adults group as president. In part, Jessica planned on using this new position to free her from the chains that bound up her wings; namely, shyness, insecurity, and self-doubt. Roger was welcomed into the prayer group with open arms.

Not feeling at all attractive to the opposite sex, Jessica had trouble expecting anyone to take an interest in her. Roger was still scarred by the tumultuous end of a relationship from a few years past. He was not looking to be struck by Cupid’s arrow. In fact, for the time being, Roger had ruled out any possibility of romance. His training and job performance were his only concerns.

Well, the good thing about Jessica was that she was not at all bashful. Why, then, was she so inhibited? The fault most obvious to her and others surrounding her was her own complexion. Her skin was not silky smooth, and much to Jessica’s chagrin, Roger had kind of a fetish for anything or anyone with a beautiful texture. If Jessica were to reveal her attraction to Roger at a prayer meeting, potluck, or field trip, would Roger ever be able to accept this fault and overcome his peculiar preferences?

A crises soon developed at Roger’s office that would tip him into a downward spiral ending in his resignation from the police force! The personality clash that spewed out between Roger and his training officer resulted in less than satisfactory evaluations. This unexpected downfall destroyed his self-confidence so that he began to second guess every move during contacts with the public. An officer without command presence is no good even to himself. Upon turning in his badge and gun, the captain explained that Roger could reapply and repeat the police academy if he so desired. That’s exactly what Roger did, which took much of the sting out of a humiliating and premature end to his vocation. But God had other plans.

Unemployed for the moment, Roger called on support from his parish young adults group. Not mentioned before, the group was open to both single and married persons up to 35 years of age (although the upper age limit was variable, depending on individual circumstances). It was obvious from the beginning, that more girls participated in the group than boys. I mean, at times Roger would find himself the only man at that week’s planned function. But rather than take advantage of the male/female ratio in a romantic sense, Roger dug himself even deeper into the notion that the group would not be employed as a source of dates.

That being said, with respect to camaraderie, Roger treated the group members equally. Jessica would continue her secret interest in Roger for a time. However, the day finally arrived when she could not contain herself any longer. She had to confess her attraction or she would burst like an overinflated balloon! But as previously stated, her inhibitions still overpowered her executive sense of leadership and she bit her lip. 

Taking a big risk, Jessica revealed her crush on Roger. The admission was not made to Roger himself, however. Jessica divulged her attraction to Roger to a married member of the young adults group whom she trusted. Now Ellen, the married lady, was privy to the “affair”. The question now became, could Ellen keep this gossip to herself?

Just so happens, Ellen and Roger teamed up one day because they both shared the same problem, unemployment. Before arriving at the job fair together, Roger made Ellen crepes for breakfast at his apartment. He sensed a nervousness in Ellen that morning that he believed was out of character. Roger kept her under observation the remainder of the day. By the way, Ellen was a special lady with an attractive manner of expressing herself. Roger found this trait and her smooth skin enticing, but her married status and his previous “vow” of temporary celibacy extinguished any and all flames of appeal.

It was going to take place sooner or later. At an evening social event sponsored by the young adult’s group, Ellen let it slip out that unsuspecting Roger had won the affections of Jessica. The atmosphere in the room took a turn for the worse, now it became an uncomfortable situation in a previously happy-go-lucky arena. Of course, Jessica was embarrassed by Ellen’s betrayal. At the same time, Jessica was hopeful that something good would arise from the gloom. Ellen felt no remorse for taking the role of working as an amateur matchmaker.

Would Roger have a change of heart and open up to the affections of Jessica? It certainly seemed so when he invited Jessica over to his apartment for dinner. During and after the meal, Jessica didn’t know what to think. Roger was a cordial host and with the added wine, Jessica felt at ease. But when Roger matter of factly told Jessica: “you’re so easy”, her feelings became extremely conflicted! Roger was otherwise a gentleman and did not initiate any inappropriate touching. The evening ending in a brief embrace.

The following day, Jessica decided to write Roger a letter and ask him to explain why he expressed both positive and negative vibes during their meal together. The suspense was killing her as she waited for a response. Roger’s answer arrived without delay. He explained that if only Jessica had revealed her interest in him in the first place, the sharing of “breaking of bread” together could have begun much earlier in their friendship. He castigated her gently for her lack of courage and initiative. He balanced his criticism by encouraging her to become more honest, receptive, and positive in the future (for her own good and peace of mind). 

Jessica and Roger continued to see one another at the group events but did not spend any more time alone together. Jessica took this to mean Roger was not interested in her as a sweetheart. Her conclusions were correct. She continued to write Roger on occasion where she would point out what she perceived as character flaws of his own. She expressed these sentiments not only as advice to be taken from the heart by Roger, but also as an exercise in developing her own good character and maturity.

Once in awhile Jessica would interpret something from Roger that gave her a false hope of raising their platonic status to the next level. For example, at the restaurant/bar where Jessica invited friends to help celebrate her birthday, she hoped the farewell embrace from Roger that lasted a few moments longer than usual was a sign of a possible future together. Alas, not the case at all!

The funny thing is, Jessica married a man in the end that was not “religious” at all. And Roger married a Hispanic girl like her. And thanks to Ellen handing him a hiring announcement from the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Roger embarked on a new and successful career.