Saturday mornings she normally kicked back and tried to relax after her workout but she had work to do today. Today’s work had nothing to do with the advertising agency. Although, maybe some of the skills she’d acquired as an advertising executive could help her out with her manhunt. After all, she was skilled in product placement and creative design. Some of her knowledge would come in handy for the task at hand.
Opening her file cabinet, Danetta searched for the file labeled Husband Material. As she pulled it out, a picture of her and Marshall tumbled out and fell to the floor. As she bent down to pick it up, a smile crept across her honey-toned face. They had been hugging as they sat on the steps that led to the Howard University student library and a friend had snapped a picture of them. Danetta’s head lay on Marshall’s chest, while he put his arms around her and drew her closer to him. Danetta had hoped that Marshall would open his eyes and see her as more than a friend. But the night she threw herself at him, he’d made it abundantly clear that he was just not that into her.
Humiliated after that crushing blow to her self-esteem, Danetta had gone from one man’s bed to the next, trying to take back her heart. But none of the men she’d dated had measured up to Marshall Windham, and her heart remained broken. So, she finally stopped trying to date and just concentrated on her career.
And now she needed to move on with her life. She opened the file and began reading the list she had created about five years ago that detailed her perfect man. At the top of her list was the fact that she wanted to spend her life with a man that she could trust with her heart.
“So why’d you keep this picture of Marshall inside your Husband Material file?” she wondered out loud. Marshall was his own number-one fan and couldn’t possibly do right by her. But as she read the rest of the list and was reminded that she wanted a man who would be about his business, charming, handsome, adventurous, financially secure and someone who was able to make her smile...who enjoyed the same things she did, she realized that Marshall fit every characteristic but the first one.
Then Danetta got to thinking about where she had gone wrong. She reasoned that no one was perfect, and if she continued to wait for a man who satisfied her every hope and dream, she might be alone for a long time to come. But what if she threw away her list and just began to date men whom she found interesting. She jotted “lose the list” on the notepad on her desk.
She stood up and began pacing the floor. “Okay, I can forget about everything but my number-one item. I have to be able to trust the man I marry...bottom line.”
She walked into her bedroom and stood in front of the full-length mirror. Danetta knew she wasn’t beautiful or what men would consider sensual or alluring by any means. She had long hair that she mostly put into a ponytail or in a tight bun atop her head. It was just too much trouble and too time consuming to worry about styling her hair every morning. Since she had just finished her morning workout, Danetta was wearing a jogging suit, but her normal attire was business casual with an emphasis on below the knee or calf-length skirts or loose-fitting navy blue, black or brown pants.
Her face was devoid of makeup. In fact, Danetta rarely wore anything more than her favorite Crème d’ Nude lipstick from M.A.C. and a little mascara. She’d never understood how or why women took the time to put all that war paint on their faces, when they would just have to wash it all off later that evening.
The longer she checked out her image in the mirror, the more confused she became. Danetta had no clue what men were looking for in a woman. It had simply been too long since her last date. She needed help from an expert.
Her phone rang. She saw that it was Marshall so she picked it up. “Hey, whatcha doing?” he asked.
Danetta grabbed the remote and hurriedly turned on her television. “Nothing much, just watching TV.”
“Whatcha watching?”
She hit the guide to see what channel her TV was on. “The Hallmark Channel.”
“One of those love movies, huh?”
“What if it is?” Rolling her eyes, even though Marshall had watched these movies with her on more than one occasion, he thought the whole thing was a joke and that the kind of love they showed on television didn’t really exist. Although she could swear that she heard him sniffling during An Affair to Remember.
“Don’t get testy. I was just asking. Which one is on today?”
“It’s called Love Begins. I read the book. It was written by Janette Oke.”
“So, why watch the movie if you know how it ends?” Marshall asked.
Irritated by the question, especially since she was only pretending to watch the movie, she said, “Was there a reason for your call?”
“I always call you when I’m out of town...well, unless I’m having a real good time.”
“Yeah, I know all about your real good times. Look, I’ve got to go.”
“All right... I was just checking on you.”
Danetta wanted desperately to ask him how a woman would go about finding a man, but she was too embarrassed to let Marshall know that she had lost her groove on the dating tip, so she just hung up and called Ryla.
Her best friend was not only beautiful and savvy when it came to business matters, but she knew how to handle men. Lately, all Ryla did was turn men down, but she even did that with panache. Danetta picked up the phone and dialed her friend’s number. When Ryla answered, she said, “I need your help.”
“What’s up, girl? I was just about to take Jaylen to her ballet class.”
Danetta took a deep breath and rushed out her request. “I need to know how to get men interested in me.”
“What... What did you say?”
“You heard me. I told you last night that I was going to adjust my plans. And my new strategy is to go on as many dates as possible. But I have to get someone to ask me out first, and I need help with that.”
“It sounds like you need Surry; she’s the serial dater.”
“Yeah, but I’d never get away with wearing some of the outfits she puts on. And besides, I need help finding a man to settle down with. Surry isn’t interested in that.”
“Wow,” was all Ryla could say.
“Stop acting as if this is some big deal. I just need to figure out how to get men interested in me.”
“I’ve known you for five years, and you’ve never gone after men. I mean, you’ve seen Marshall naked, and you can’t even look him in the eye and tell him how you feel.”
“I’ve only seen Marshall’s bare chest, and that’s it. And anyway, this has nothing to do with Marshall.” Danetta nearly screamed those words at the top of her lungs.
“Don’t kid yourself, Danetta. Everything you do has something to do with that mongrel boy.”
“Okay, well let’s just say that what I’m doing now is about moving on with my life and finding someone who wants to be a part of it.”
“I’ve never seen you bat one eyelash in another man’s direction. So, are you really telling me that you are
