TRUE BERYL

I’m writing this in July 2024, and Hurricane Beryl has just stormed through Houston, leaving in its wake power outages and mass destruction. But this isn’t about that Beryl. Rather, a memory of another Beryl who I once knew …

When I operated Wall Street Design Studio in Houston about 25 years ago, I hired, as an assistant and salesperson, a very, attractive blonde named Beryl. Not just attractive, but you could tell that she was a workout guru just by looking at her. And the two, she was literally a stunner.

After about a week, a man standing about 6’5”, weighing around 300#, who was built like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson except that he had a big, thick beer-drinking hick belly, came into the office with a dozen roses and asked for Beryl.

At the time, I was around 32-33 years old, 5’11”, a fit 190 lbs., and BLACK!

Need I continue?

I couldn’t afford any other employees at the time, so she and I worked together eight hours a day, five days a week in a 1,200 square foot office near the rear of a tall office building.

Turns out, this guy was the Strength & Conditioning Coach for the University of Houston football team and, obviously the two were dating. She expressed that he had never shown up on her job with flowers before. I knew he had come to check me and I told her she could come into work in lingerie if she wanted to and that dude wouldn’t have to worry about me making a move on her. Ever.

I could only imagine the conventions they had leading up to that visit. Him inquiring about her new job. Her telling him that she works alongside a black guy about five years older in age. Alone. He’s probably thinking of black dudes he’s seen inside college locker rooms , well-built and well … you get the picture.

I’m from Acres Homes — “The 44” — where you won’t find any Beryls. Trust me. That’s the only recollection of dealing with a “Beryl” in my life. And until this summer, the only one after.

~ Craig L. Amos