All heads and eyes turn to Joss.
John quickly shifts the garment bag to his left arm. "Joss I, I uhm. I thought that you would ummm…..that it would be a good idea if we…"
Joss could see the people's heads in the shop ping pong back and forth between watching John and then her each time one of them spoke. It's like they were watching a tennis match and the ball was still in his court.
"I brought your dress so that…"
With that comment the ball was firmly lobbed back to Joss, all eyes were back on her. If the situation didn't have her so off sides she would have laughed at how fast the heads whipped back to John on his next comment.
"Joss, what's going on with your hair?"
The shop erupts with laughter and talking at the same time. Joss sighs and closes her eyes trying to get her wits about her. She was listening with half an ear to the comments coming from the shop's occupants.
"Look a here, look a here. Um. Um. Um, um, um."
"That's a tall drink a milk, honey."
"I thought she had a son, a nice young black man. How's he supposed to…"
"Good googgleymooggley! Girls, that there's whatcha' mommas and your gandmommas talking about when they tell ya if you can't be good…." Most of the shop chimes in with, "be careful." The noise of the shop begins to quiet and fades into laughs and whispers.
Joss hears Jenelle's voice in her ear and opens her eyes and is meet with the smirk and leer that has returned to Jenelle's face.
"Girl! No wonder you haven't shown anyone his pics. I'd want to keep that all to myself too."
Joss' voice is laced with an 'I'm not in the mood' warning when she spits out her name. "Jenelle".
Jenelle gets the message and holds her hands up, waves them in surrender and backs off a few steps. She gives a quick sympathy glance to John and watch's Joss stalk across the floor towards the poor man, freshly painted finger and toenails forgotten in her laser tight focus on John. Joss rolls up on John not quite nose to nose because Joss is so much shorter than. He has never been so grateful as right now that she no longer has a service weapon and, he remembers, that her Nano is home locked in the gun safe.
The oldest patron in the shop, Mrs. Perlamay Frieberg, sitting in the chairs off to the side gives John a good once over and then looks at Joss with a twinkle in her eye and clears her throat. Before she speaks John is expecting to her the soft voice of an older woman but her strong, brooks no BS voice cuts through the noise and all conversation ceases.
"Jocelyn. You go on and get your swirl on. But you really gotta' edgumacate your man about your hair baby girl."
The shop devolves once again into fits of laughter combined with more once overs of John, compliments about him and a couple not so nice remarks too.
"Jocelyn?"
Joss is still locked in a death stare with John and Mrs. Frieberg's voice just barely reaches her. The second time she calls Joss her voice has some steel in and it gets through to Joss.
"Jocelyn. Why don't you step over here for a minute?" Mrs. Frieberg pats the seat to the right of her. "Come have a seat baby. I wanna' get a better look at this young man of yours."
"Momma Pearl I need…."
Mrs. Frieberg interrupts Joss and sternly tells her. "What you need girl, is to come on over here and have a seat."
Joss takes a deep breath and slowly releases it through her nose. "Yes ma'am." She finally breaks eye contact with John, turns and walks over to take the offered seat. Mrs. Frieberg watches John watch Joss and that he doesn't take his eyes off Joss even when she addresses him.
"John is it?"
"Yes M…Ma'am." John had almost addressed the elderly woman by her name. Of course he knew who everyone was. The people currently in the shop where the regular, end of the day, Thursday night customers. He had after all done a background check on every last one of them No he had no boundaries where Joss' safety and well being were concerned.
"Come over here and stand in the light so I can get a good look at you boy."
John does as ordered and moves closer to Mrs. Frieberg. Joss seems to have cooled down some but he can see she's still very upset with him.
"Look at me son."
And John finally tears his eyes away from Joss' face to look at the old lady. Though he knew how old she was she didn't look a day over 80. The cat eye glasses with the rhinestone rims she wore attached to the chain around her neck did nothing to lessen the intense focus of her light golden eyes. Though her dark brown skin showed signs of her age the short curly cut of her silver grey hair complemented her oval face. She had been leaning on her cane when John entered the shop but had sat up when he turned to address her. Like her voice her posture said she was in charge if she chose to be. And right now she chose to be.
Mrs. Friedberg gives him another once over but this time John feels the exam, he feels the weight of her gaze and that old fear rises up in his mind. He doesn't deserve Joss and Mrs. Frieberg knows it. Her examination of him continues for longer than John expects. The intensity of it begins to make John uncomfortable and the bowtie seems to be getting tighter and tighter around his neck. Even though he doesn't show it he's beginning to squirm under her piercing stare. He's been in serious life and death situations yet the scrutiny by this elderly woman has him nervous. A small corner of his mind wonders how a little 92 year old women can throw him off his game just by looking at him.
Mrs. Frieberg's eye's final light on John's face.
"So young man, John, are you taking good care of Joss? You treatin' her right."
A light blush rises to his cheeks as his eyes naturally find Joss again. "Yes Ma'am, when she lets me."
As he takes in her appearance a smirk springs to his lips and he can see that Joss would like nothing better right now then to knock it off his face. His left eyebrow raises when he pointedly looks at her hair and Joss knows exactly what is going through John's mind. She lets out a loud and long sigh and looks him in the eye.
"Yes John, this is why I won't let you get my hair wet. This is my natural hair just like God gave it to me. It takes almost two hours to get it back the way you like it. Silky, soft and straight so you can tangle your fingers in it while we…."
The smirk on John's face gets wider and Joss stops short as she realizes that it's gotten a lot quieter in the shop and they are still the main attraction. Everyone is watching and listening. Her abrupt stop sends Mrs. Freidberg into silent but strong laughter as she looks from John to Joss and back again.
Quieting down her laughter Mrs. Freidberg tells John, "Have a seat young man", as she pats the chair on her left side as Joss is in the chair on her right. Now that he's even closer to her, Mrs. Freidberg gets up close to John, looks in his eyes and stage whispers to him.
"She's a handful I know, what with her being as stubborn and independent as she is. You know, wanting to do everything by herself."
John briefly looks over and glimpses the wide eyed and somewhat shocked look that Mama Pearl's statement has left on Joss' face. He looks down coyly as his usual smirk appears on his lips. John looks back at Mrs. Freidberg and then straight at Joss. His smirk has turned into a soft smile.
"Yes ma'am she can be Mrs. Freidberg."
It's Joss' turn to look away from John as Mama Pearl's statement throws her back to the night on the subway train while they were trying to get Quinn to the Feds. John had said almost the exact same words to her wondering why she always had to do everything by herself.
As Joss intensely watches John Mrs. Freidberg tells him, "I've known Joss for a good bit now and there are two things I've come to learn about her, besides the stubborn and independent thing, that is." Her comments make Joss break eye contact with John and look sheepishly at her feet.
Mama Pearl had John's full attention. It wasn't that John didn't know a lot about Joss by now. In fact he knew some things about her that he was sure she didn't want him ever knowing. But he liked to hear what other people knew or perceived about Joss. What was she to them, in their own words.
"First she's one hell of a Detective. That's how she caught you isn't it?"
John's brows draw down and he seriously wonders if Mama Pearl knows he's the man in the suit. He might just ask Finch to look deeper into this woman. But she was right. Joss had caught him. She had caught him unawares and locked up his heart. She had done it so subtlety that other people had realized he was in love with her even before he had. Joss' keen observation and unparalleled intuition had found out who he was and brought the truth to light, just as a good detective always does.
Mama Pearl pointedly looks at the woman who made the remark about Joss not being a good mother because she was dating a white man, catches her eye and raises her voice so she's positive the woman can hear her next remarks.
"The second is that Joss is a damn fine mother, and an awesome lawyer to boot. Look at how well her boy is doing. It takes a strong, resilient and an intelligent woman to raise such a fine young black man by herself. And she would never bring any man home to Taylor if he wasn't a very special man that loved her and Taylor more than anything. Joss would find her a really good man, unlike some people we know."
With shade well thrown at any all objectors in the shop she turns her focus back to John and quietly asks, "So John, are you a good man?"
John looked around the shop but was not seeing anything in front of him, her question had caught him off guard. Looking at his hands resting in his lap and then the garment bag hanging over his arm he answers very quietly.
"I'm trying to be. I want to be the man I see in Joss' eyes when she looks at me, the good man she says I am."
Joss' anger has dissolved and she looks at John with tear limned eyes. The urge is so strong to reach out and touch him that she starts to stand to go to him but Mama Pearl gently rests a hand on Joss' thigh to keep her in place and speaks to them quietly so only they can hear her.
"Being married can be hard children. I know. Did it for 55 mostly wonderful years." As they both open their mouths to reply Mama Pearl pats both their tights, chuckles quietly and answers their unasked question.
"I saw your wedding band boy before you switched the garment bag to your left hand to hide it. And Joss I've felt the slight indentation on your ring finger too. What I'm trying to figure out is why you feel you gotta' hide this obviously joyous union from your friends," and with a glance at the same woman that now had a scowl on her face and had made the rude remarks about John continues, "and those obviously who aren't? How long you been hitched? Them sparks I see flyin' between you two tell me it's about a year, maybe a little less."
John scoffs at her remark. He's thinking the sparks are flying because Joss is going to light him up tonight and then probably shoot him with her cherished Nano when they get home. Once again he's ignored her request and has crossed a boundary by coming here to the shop even if it was for a good reason.
"Oh, oh Momma Pearl," Joss starts as she's trying to think how to divert the elderly Sherlock from following her current line of thinking. "You see tonight we're working and you know sometimes we have to go under cover and our cover tonight is…."
The raucous peel of laughter that explodes from Mama Pearl stops the next words from leaving Joss' mouth and makes her swallow the rest of the cover story she was trying to give the elderly woman. Everyone remaining in the shop looks their way to see what's so funny. When nothing new seems to happen everyone goes back to what they were doing, momentarily forgetting about the white man sitting in their beauty shop.
Momma Pearl is trying to regain her composure and her breath and Joss is trying to figure how to handle this. John has been quietly observing the exchange and releases a low chuckle himself as he reaches over and starts gently rubbing the elderly women's back hoping to help her catch her breath. At the sound of John's laughter Joss gives him a WTH look across the bent over back of Mama Pearl who is still trying to get her breathing and laughter under control.
And then it shows up on John's mouth. That smirk that half the time Joss doesn't know if she wants to smack it off or kiss it off his face. Right now she's feeling like it's the former. There's a twinkle in John's eye and he gives Joss a one shoulder shrug while a small smile replaces the smirk. The gentle crinkles appearing at the corner of John's eyes tell her he's genuinely amused and relaxed about the situation. He's not worried about Mrs. Freidman knowing or thinking she knows that they are married.
"The jig is up Joss. Well for right here and for right now anyway." John says quietly as he looks at Mrs. Friedman with respect and affection. "It's been 9 months, 12 days and," John consults his watch, "16 hours ma'am since I was blessed to take Joss as my wife and Taylor as my son."
On the back end of her last cough, Mama Pearl straightens up, sits back and rests her back against the chair as she faces Joss.
"Child I don't know how you think people don't know your married, what with all that love pouring outta' this man's face every time he looks at you, and you at him."
She looks at Joss first and then John and let's slip another small scoff. "Well time's a wasting and judging from that penguin suit your husband's wearing, and wearing it well I might add, your date is going to be very special tonight; real high end. Ain't that right John?"
John coyly looks at Joss and answers the posed question with a hesitant smile.
"Yes ma'am, very. She deserves no less and a whole lot more." Joss feels her cheeks warm from the emotion in John's voice and the look in his eyes as he watches her.
"Janelle!" Mama Perl calls out and then orders with a smile, "Come take this nice young man to the back and give him a glass of wine while he waits on Jocelyn to be ready for their date tonight. John you go on in the back and relax while Janelle works her wonders on Jocelyn. I'll send Jocelyn back to you after we're done here."
As he turns to go to the back lounge section of the shop the bell over the door gently tinkles that someone has entered the shop. John automatically stops and looks around to see who's entered and assess the newcomers. Once again the shop goes silent as everyone is now focused on the front door and the three men wearing dark gunmetal gray clothing who are now filling it.
