Cover Story: New Kid on the Block

"My mom said, 'Is it OK?' I said, 'Hello! I owe $5,000 on it. Of course it's OK.' ''

Then he was asked to tell the story of the first ten years of his life.

"Are you kidding me?'' he said, laughing loudly. But a few moments later, he was off and telling what he had never publicly told before. "My mom and Vernon got separated when I was one. We kind of lived on the run -- actually, not on the run so much as we moved back and forth to stay away from him. He was an alcoholic and violent and whatnot. We moved so he wouldn't know where I was.'' He went on to request that Vernon Grissom not be referred to as his father. His father, he said, was Ray Parker, his mother's second husband, who died last July: "He is the only dad I ever had.'' He said that he himself most often refers to Vernon Grissom either by his first name or simply as "my sperm donor.''

A waiter arrived with his spaghetti. Aiken said grace, silently, and when he lifted his eyes, he asked to talk about Vernon later. Right now, he would just like to enjoy his food.

[Excerpt From Issue 926 — July 10, 2003]