Author's notes: Well, here's another story that been rolling around in my head for while. This story actually started out as a small scene that I was going to include in "Bobby's Angel" but I decided to make it a full blown story. I've taken the liberty of making Lewis the same age as Bobby and giving him a first name. (Yes, I know Lewis maybe his actual first name, but until the show actually gives him a full name, I'm going to assume Lewis is a last name.) Here comes the usual disclaimer: LO:CI and its characters belong to Dick Wolf and company; I'm just taking them for a spin. Any and all mistakes made are my own. Read, review and enjoy. :o)
5/30/08: I'm re-posting to correct a format error.
Wednesday, August 28, 1963
Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D. C.
"And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, 'Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!'"
Frances Goren clapped as hard and as loud as she could at the conclusion of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech. She was bursting with pride to be a part of such a historical event. She didn't care if her husband Richard thought that she was a fool for getting involved with "those Negroes and their problems" as he so bluntly put it. She felt that she had to make a difference, a change in the world. And if getting involved with "those Negroes and their problems" was a way to start, then so be it.
"Mommy!" Frances looked down and smiled at the angelic face of her 2 year old son, Bobby. He was tugging on the end of her skirt. He held up his arms to her, wanting to be picked up. She gladly obliged him by scooping him up into her arms. She rubbed her nose against his, which made him and her both laugh. Bobby wrapped his arms around Frances' neck and squeezed as hard as he could.
"Ack! Bobby, you're choking me!" she exclaimed as she pried his arms open. Bobby let go of her neck and clapped his hands, laughing. Frances shook her index finger and head at him, a stern look on her face. "No," she said. "That's not nice." Bobby stuck out his bottom lip and pouted, giving his mother a sad puppy dog look. Frances smiled in spite of herself. She knew she couldn't stay mad at that sweet face with the big soulful brown eyes for too long.
A cute dark skinned little girl wearing a yellow and white checkered sundress with 2 pigtails in her hair, came up to Frances. 5 year old Frank Goren came up behind her. The little girl touched Frances and the black woman standing next to her on their arms. "Miss Frances, Miss Lonnie," she said, "Mama and Daddy said we need to be heading back to the car." "Okay, Claudia. We're right behind you," Lonnie said. Claudia and Frank took off, weaving their way through the crowd. "Frank, Claudia, watch where you're going!" Frances shouted after them.
Lonnie laughed. "If I had half of their energy, I know I'd get the house clean in an hour." Frances chuckled, nodding in agreement. She shifted Bobby from one hip to the other as she and Lonnie walked along. "You want me to carry him for you?" Lonnie asked. Frances shook her head as she said, "No. That's okay. I've got him." Frances smiled as Bobby smiled at her. She ran her fingers through his curly brown hair and kissed his forehead. "When you and your brother grow up," she thought to herself, "you're going to be just like Dr. King and make a difference to change the world to make it better."
Wednesday, April 4, 1968
New York City, New York
"Oh my God! I can't believe you're actually CRYING because that man is dead! Frances, you are such an idiot!" Richard Goren yelled. "Who cares if he's dead?!" Frances tore her gaze away from the newscaster who had just reported that Dr. King had been killed to look at her husband. Tears were streaming down her face. "How can you say that?!" she yelled back. "Dr. King was killed for trying to help people! He was killed for trying to make a difference in the world! We should all care!" Richard scoffed and threw up his hands as he shook his head. "God! My wife is stupid and crazy," he muttered to himself.
9 year old Frank Goren and his 6 year old brother, Bobby, were in their room, with their ears pressed to the closed door. "What are they yelling about, Frankie?" Bobby asked. "Sshh!" Frank said sternly. "I'm trying to listen." They listened as their parents argued back and forth. "Is this dead man somebody we know?" Frank shrugged. "I don't know," he replied. The sound of a door slamming loudly caused both boys to jump. They stood very still, holding their breath, as footsteps went passed their door. When they heard another door slam, they both exhaled.
Bobby looked to his brother for guidance. "What we gonna do now, Frankie?" Frank shrugged. "I don't know, Bobby." He sighed before walking to his bed and picking up his jacket. He put it on and said, "I'm gonna go to Mickey's to find dad. You see what's wrong with Mom." "Why do I always gotta check on Mom?!" Bobby said as Frank opened the door. Frank turned around to look at Bobby and said, "Because you're too young to be going into a bar! Geez!" With that, Frank walked out of the apartment.
Bobby walked quietly towards his parents' bedroom. He knocked softly on the door. "Mom?" he said. "Come in," Frances answered between sniffles. Bobby turned the knob and opened the door. He stood in the doorway, looking at his mother. Frances was sitting on the bed, dabbing at her eyes with some wadded up tissues. "You okay, Mom?" he asked. She nodded her head. He walked towards her carefully and slowly, not wanting to make her any more upset than she already was.
Bobby stopped in front of Frances, looking at her with wide brown eyes. She looked back at him, a sad smile on her lips. She grasped both of his hands in hers and ran her fingers through his unruly curly hair. "What's the matter, Ma?" he asked quietly. Frances shook her head. "Nothing that you should worry about," she said. Bobby tilted his head to the side, giving her a "tell-me-the-truth" look. She chuckled softly at "the look" Bobby had perfected since the age of 4. Frances grunted slightly as she pulled Bobby onto her lap to give him a hug.
"I want you to always remember something," Frances said. Bobby looked deep into her eyes as he listened. "It's not right to judge people because of their skin color, race, religion or any other differences. You have to take the time to get to know someone before you decide if you want to be their friend or not. Do you understand?"
Bobby slowly nodded his head up and down. He glanced briefly at the floor before looking back into Frances' eyes. "Is it okay to love someone with a different skin color?" he asked innocently. Frances smiled as she nodded her head and said, "Yes, it's okay to love someone with a different skin color." She kissed his forehead and hugged him, gently rocking her body from side to side. "Whatever bigoted or racist ideas your father has, I pray those ideas don't rub off on you boys."
Tuesday, September 6, 1977
Hudson-Brooklyn High School
16 year old Bobby Goren scowled angrily as he turned the dial on the combination lock that was on his locker. "For once, why can't you do what I tell you to do?! I asked you to do one simple thing, Bobby! Just one! And you can't even do that right! You go and call your brother! If he's not with you when you decide to return, don't even bother coming back to this room!"
Frances Goren spat those angry words at Bobby yesterday afternoon from her bed at Saint Joseph Hospital's mental ward. He called Frank's apartment for the 6th time that day and pleaded with him to come see their mother. "Maybe seeing you will calm her down," he said. Frank told him, for the 6th time, that he'll be there as soon as he could.
But Bobby knew better. He knew Frank wasn't coming at all. He heard Frank's roommates in the background tell him to hang up and get back to the poker game. "The hell with this," Bobby told himself as he hung up the phone. He told Doreen, Frances' 1st cousin, that he was going home and asked her if she could stay with Frances overnight. "Of course, I can, honey," she said. She slipped Bobby a ten dollar bill and told him to get something to eat and get some rest. She'll come by the house to wake him in time for school.
"I always do what you ask of me, Ma!" Bobby thought to himself. "It's not my fault Frank's an asshole just like Dad!" He threw the locker door open so quickly and forcefully, that Lewis, his best friend since 5th grade, barely had enough time to jump out of the way. "Damn, Bobby," he said as he rubbed his nose, "warn a guy the next time you throw a door open, will ya?"
Bobby blew out a breath as he shoved 3 of his 4 spiral notebooks into the locker. "Sorry, Lewis," he said. "I didn't see you standing there. I was just…thinking about something." "Yeah, me and my nose could tell." Bobby chuckled. "You okay, man?" Lewis asked. "Mom's been worrying since you and your cousin Doreen left the house yesterday." "Aw, man," Bobby groaned, "I totally forgot about calling your mom. I screwed up again."
Lewis patted Bobby on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it, man," he said. "Mom was talking to Doreen when I walked out of the door. You need a place to crash for a while?" Bobby nodded as he closed the door and shut the lock. "Yeah. Mrs. Neely called the frigging case worker as soon as me and Doreen showed up at the door. Damn nosy neighbor!"
Bobby and Lewis started walking down the hall towards their homeroom classes. "Did you call Frank?" Lewis asked. Bobby scoffed. "Yeah, I called him. The jackass! I called him 6 times yesterday after Mom was admitted to the hospital. 6 times! He kept telling me 'I'll be there as soon as I can.' Ha! As if! Do you know he had the nerve to say 'Call Dad. He'll come and help you take care of Mom.'"
"He said that?!" Lewis said in disbelief. "Is Frank crazy?!" "Either that or stoned outta his fucking mind," Bobby said. "I just don't get why Mom loves him more than me. Why she thinks he's better than me. Who gives a rat's ass if he was valedictorian and got a scholarship to Hudson University? Hell, he's probably smoking and drinking his monthly stipend and whatever money Ma gives him anyway."
Lewis patted Bobby on the back. He opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted by a loud booming voice saying, "Robert! Jedidiah! My two favorite people!" Bobby and Lewis both stopped in their tracks and said, "Shit!" They turned around to look down the hall at Dale Patterson, the person that belonged to the booming voice. Dale was 5 foot 11, slender with some muscles, dark brown hair and hazel eyes. He was kind of arrogant, thinking he was God's gift to the girls since he was captain of the school's wrestling team. Some of the teachers thought he was quite charming, while others thought he was downright annoying as hell because he was always trying to talk himself into good grades instead of working for them like the other students.
Like some of the other kids at their school, Bobby and Lewis couldn't stand Dale because he was always talking someone into doing for him or with him with a promise of something in return. Dale rarely, if ever, followed through on his empty promises. He backed up those empty promises with more empty promises. Dale waved at Bobby and Lewis as he walked towards them.
"What does he want?" Bobby asked. "Who knows," Lewis replied, shrugging. "I just know if he calls me by my first name again, I'll punch his lights out." Lewis disliked his given name of Jedidiah, having been named after his mother's great grandfather ("I promised Dad that his grandfather's name would be passed on," Mrs. Lewis always explained to her son). No one called him that except his mother when she was mad at him. Everyone, including his family, called him Lewis.
"Did he ever pay you for fixing that beat up old truck of his?" Bobby asked. Lewis shook his head. "Of course not." He sighed and shook his head again. "I knew I shoulda got those Kiss albums up front before touching that stupid truck." "You know, he's looking quite…red today," Bobby said, observing Dale's arms. "Yeah, he sure does," Lewis said. "Like he's got a real bad sunburn or something." Bobby gave Lewis a sideways glance, a mischievous grin on his face. Lewis returned the grin, nodding. "Oh, yeah. I'm with ya."
"Hey, guys!" Dale said as he playfully jabbed at their stomachs. "This was the greatest summer ever! Me and my cousins had a blast in the truck. How was you guys' summer?" "Great," Bobby said. "Wonderful," Lewis said. Just as the first school bell rang, signaling everyone to head to their homeroom class, Lewis and Bobby said in unison, "Fantastic!" as they each slapped Dale on his sunburned upper arms. Hard. Dale groaned in pain as he rubbed his arms. "Later, Dale," Lewis said. "Yeah, see ya, Dale," Bobby said with a smile. They turned around and walked off, smiling to themselves as they headed towards their separate homeroom class.
Tuesday, September 6, 1977
Hudson-Brooklyn High School
Mrs. Haynes' Homeroom
Bobby slid into the third seat in the first row next to the door just as the 2nd bell rang. "Okay, young people," Mrs. Haynes said as she stood in front of the class, clapping her hands. "Settle down. Settle down." Apparently, no one was listening to her because the kids continued talking and laughing. "Settle down, everyone!" she said a little louder. Still, no one was listening to her.
Finally, Mrs. Haynes put the 1st two fingers of each hand in her mouth and let out a really loud whistle. All talking and laughing died down immediately. She looked around at the class, a smile of satisfaction on her face. "Thank you all very much," she said. "You're welcome, Mrs. Haynes," Bobby blurted out.
Some of the kids snorted or giggled as Mrs. Haynes turned and looked at him, eyes narrowed. Bobby gave her a his best "what-did-I-do" look. "Mr. Goren, please behave or you will have to explain profusely to Coach Harkins why you missed basketball practice today." "Yes, ma'am" he said, sliding down in his seat a little. A small smile crossed her lips as she shook her head. He gave her a wide grin.
Mrs. Haynes turned her attention back to the whole class. "Well, I'm glad to see you all back from your summer vacation. Safe, sound and ready to expand your minds and gain some knowledge." She crossed over to her desk and flipped open her roll book. She knew most, if not all of their names by heart since she had had them since 9th grade. She turned back around to face the waiting class and said, "Well, everyone, we have a new student in our midst. Cecelia, would you come up here, please?"
Everyone turned around to look at who Mrs. Haynes was talking to. Sitting in the back of the room, in the corner was a pretty black girl. Her head snapped up at the sound of her name. She smiled sheepishly as she stood up and walked to the front of the class. She was wearing a sleeveless white peasant blouse, sky blue skirt that was above her knees and sandals. She turned around and stood next to the teacher. "Everyone," Mrs. Haynes said, "this is your new classmate, Cecelia Harper."
Cecelia Rose Harper was 5 foot 7 inches tall, with cinnamon colored skin and slender. She had bright dark brown eyes and black hair that was braided into tiny cornrows with clear beads on the ends. She had the deepest dimples anyone had ever seen before. So deep that when she smiled just a little, they could be seen. Cecelia stood up with her shoulders straight like a dancer, but held her head down in shyness.
"Do you prefer to be called Cecelia or something else?" Mrs. Haynes asked. "I like to be called CeCe, ma'am," CeCe said with a soft voice. A couple of kids mumbled mockingly under their breath and snickered. Mrs. Haynes scanned the class to find the offenders. "There will be no more of that!" she said sternly. "Another outburst like that will get everyone detention for a week!"
Mrs. Haynes scanned the class one more time before looking at CeCe with a smile. "Alright, CeCe. Why don't you tell us a couple of things about yourself." CeCe looked at her with wide eyes. Mrs. Haynes nodded encouragingly. "I moved here from North Carolina," she said. "I just turned 16 on the 1st and I like to draw."
"Are you related to Derek Harper?" Bobby asked. Derek Harper was the basketball team's co-captain and star athlete. CeCe looked at him, smiling and blushing at the intense admiring look Bobby gave her. "Yes, I am," she replied quietly. "Derek's my brother." Everyone started murmuring excitedly among themselves at this revelation. No one at that school knew Derek had a sister.
"Thank you, Bobby, for stirring up the crowd," Mrs. Haynes said in an exasperated voice. Bobby gave her another "what-did-I-do" look. "Well, CeCe, thank you for sharing and welcome to New York. You may take your seat" CeCe nodded and hurried back to her seat as quickly as she could.
The first period bell rang. "Okay, everyone," Mrs. Haynes said, "that's the first period bell. Go forth, do good and expand your minds with knowledge" She moved out of the way and headed back to her desk as everyone started filing out of her classroom, talking about Derek Harper's unknown sister, throwing glances over their shoulders at her.
CeCe stayed behind, waiting for the classroom to empty before she ventured to her first class. She was feeling nervous, being the new kid in a strange place. "I shoulda stayed in North Carolina. A stranger in a stranger land. That's me," she thought to herself as she gathered up her spiral notebook and sketchbook, slinging her purse over her shoulder, heading towards the door.
Bobby had stayed back, too. He waited at the door as CeCe approached. She looked up at him, giving him a shy smile before glancing at the ground. "Happy belated birthday," he said. She looked up at him again and smiled. "Thank you." Bobby smiled at her, noticing her beautiful brown eyes and how cute she was with her dimples. "Welcome to the Big Apple, CeCe. I'll see you around." With that, he walked out and headed to class.
CeCe stood there with her mouth open a little, shocked by the warm welcome she just received. Mrs. Haynes had just witnessed the smooth moves of Bobby Goren and the effect he had on CeCe. She smiled to herself as she said, "Cecelia, you better head to first period before you're late."
CeCe turned and looked at Mrs. Haynes, a questioning look on her face. Mrs. Haynes laughed and said, "The girls around here usually chase after Bobby. He must find you very special to make the first move." CeCe's eyes widen at that comment. "Wow," she said softly as walked out. Mrs. Haynes shook her head and chuckled as she opened her lesson plan book. "This is going to be a very interesting school year," she thought as she started writing in her book. "Very interesting indeed."
