Chapter 5

John squares himself in front of the first man and looks him over ostensibly to locate where his first strike should go if they present any danger. He feels Joss who has come to stand at his right elbow readying herself to jump in if needed. John sees a name on the name tag on the first man's chest. With a tilt of his head John reads the name tag and addresses the first man with a deadly quite voice.

"Hello, Nick."

Joss knows what that quiet in John's voice means and slightly rises on the balls of her feet readying herself for the fight.

All three are dressed in full livery and the lead man has a flight helmet under his right arm. The other two have removed their hats, placed them under their right arms and all have come to parade rest with the man holding the flight helmet in front and the other two slightly to the rear and to the right and left sides of the first man.

"Good evening Mr. Warren, Ms. Carter." He answers with a clipped New Zealand accent and a head nod to each as he addresses them. "Mr. Burdett said that the permits you needed tonight for the helicopter have cleared and you have a go to use it to take you and Ms. Carter to your destination this evening. He also said that it was a good idea that you did reserve it. With the pile up on the Triborough bridge you would need an alternative mode of transportation in order to arrive on time to the Princes' gala."

On hearing about the traffic accident Vicky, one of Jenelle's operators, turns the TV from the program some of the customers were watching to NY1 News channel where everyone sees that the coverage of the traffic pileup is still on going. Three or four of the customers groan as they see their way home will be blocked for hours now.

Before John could ask Nick another question the earwig which John had forgotten he still had on buzzes. John reaches up and taps it in his ear and Harold confirms what Nick was telling he and Joss.

Finch sounded like he was smiling. "John. Nick and his crew will take care of getting you and Joss to the event on time. As soon as Joss is ready, Nick will get you there within 15 mins."

"Thank you Harold."

"No thanks needed John. You and Joss have a wonderful evening and first date."

As John disconnects Harold's call Nick speaks up. "Frank and William will take yours and Ms. Carter's car keys, retrieve your vehicles and return them to your homes."

Frank and William step forward and collect John and Joss' car keys, execute a crisp 180, in unison and exit the beauty shop.

Nick steps forward and hands John a silver, black and gold embossed envelope with his and Joss' names written in very stylized calligraphy on the front. John gives Nick a questioning look and Nick supplies the answer.

"This is a note from the Prince to you Mr. Warren and you, Ms. Carter. When he learned that you both would be attending the gala and sitting at his personal table Mr. Burdett said the Prince was overjoyed and could not wait to meet you Mr. Warren and to discuss the importance of an honest police force with New York's finest, you Ms. Carter."

The small quiet gasp and then the following sniffles that John hears from Joss almost makes him miss the rest of what Nick is telling him. He reaches back and takes her hand in his and feels Joss slightly trembling as his thumb gently strokes circles on her soft skin.

"Mr. Warren we are on the helipad on the roof of the building across the street. The Bell 505 is ready for lift off when you are. Mr. Burdett said a limo will be waiting for you after the Princes' gala and is at your disposal for the remainder of the evening and all day tomorrow if needed."

Nick looks from John to Joss who is now brushing a few tears from her cheeks as she realizes what John has done for her. This is to be their first real date! If the adrenaline wasn't flowing from just a second ago when Nick and crew first came in she'd be a puddle on the floor right now.

"If that's all Sir?" Nick asks by way of taking leave to return to the helicopter and his preflight rundown. John nods yes and thanks him. With a click of his heels Nick performs the same crisp 180 as Frank and William executed and then exits to the tinkling of the bell signaling his departure.

The shop has once again gone quiet enough to hear a pin drop. Chins have hit chests, eyes are bugging out and a few tongues now reside on the floor. Joss is looking at John with tears standing in her eyes. The love she feels for him clearly shining through them is reflected in his own eyes as John gently caresses her face and wipes away a tear that has escaped her beautiful eyes.

A watery and broken "John." escapes from Joss' lips as she looks into his wonderful blue eyes. "It's too much." Her response almost brings John to tears. "No Joss. It's not enough. Anything I will ever do for you will never be enough to let you know the depths of what you mean to me."

"KISS HER!" Vicky yells out and most of the patrons and operators chime in with the same sentiments and cheers and applause. All of the cheering and clapping bring Joss and John out of their own world and they remember that they are not the only people in the room.

"High end indeed." Mama Pearl laughs and it cuts through all the cat calls and cheering. "So where were we before them chauffeurs came in?" Mama Pearl sees the reluctance to leave in John's eyes but she gives him a look that urges him to go.

"Go on John, we just need to have a little talk is all. Stop that worryin' boy she'll be fine. Jenelle! Come get this boy and get him a beer. Jocelyn come sit back over here with me for a bit."

Joss sighs with uncertainty not sure she wants to hear what Mama Pearl is going to say to her and sits back beside Mama Pearl. To head off the possibly uncomfortable conversation Joss plunges in first. "Mama Pearl, it's not…"

"Hush girl. Just let me say my peace ok?" Joss slowly shakes her head yes and knits her fingers together in her lap. With her head down and her eyes fastened to the floor Joss waits on Mama Pearl.

"Jocelyn, look at me sweetie." Mama Pearl's voice is soft, gentle and intimate. "I won't bother asking you if you love this man cause that's written all over your face and your body. Just like I don't need to ask him if he loves you cause it's the same for him." She straightens up in her chair and continues. "Don't hide him from people in your life or from your life. He's happy to take you out tonight, to be with you and let people know you're his. Aren't you?"

Joss sighs and her eyes search the shop for the explanation she wants to give about the secret of their relationship. Not finding it she tells her, "Its complicated Mama Pearl."

"Complicated, umm. Well honey I'mma call BS on that play." Joss' head whips around and she stares at Mama Pearl.

"Young lady relationships are always complicated, especially those of the heart. If you put your love and respect for each other in front of everything else and face it all together, you will make it. You might even make it as long as me and my Alan did. 55 years of the best time of my life and sometimes the worst." She throws a look of indignation at the woman that was giving the side eye to Joss and raises her voice so the woman can hear her. "People can be stupid honey and stupid people don't deserve any of your and John's time." Her voice returns to a more intimate volumn. "Because of the times and stupid people I lost so much with Alan. Moments I'll never get back because those khnyok kelev had the right, by law, to mess with our lives." She finishes with a wistful sigh and misty eyes. "Oh how I miss my baby every day."

Josh looks at her not sure where the conversation is heading and with a curious raise of her eyebrows beckons Mama Pearl to continue.

"Jocelyn you don't know how blessed you and that young man of yours are." With a faraway look in her eyes she continues. "When Alan and I first meet he had just come to this country from Germany in 1947. I meet him at one of the dance halls in Harlem. He wasn't supposed to be there that day but a buddy convinced him to come to the "colored" part of town. Alan told me later, after we were seeing each other for a little bit that if he could make it out of that Dachau concentration camp then he could manage whatever anyone threw at him for falling in love with a colored woman."

Joss stares at Mama Pearl with a new found admiration and smiles at her little chuckles.

"Yes Joss, my man was Jewish." Now Joss is really staring at her. She sees Joss' look of incredulity and laughs at her.

"Where do you think Frieberg came from honey. My Alan and your man sorta look like they were cut from the same cloth. Military?" She questions and Joss responds with a small head bob. "Yeah I thought so. I could see it when he approached those men. Some people never lose the body language no matter how long they been out of it." She chuckles and then sighs. "They even have the same sparkling blue eyes and broad shoulders. Is he a man of his word?", she asks Joss who quickly shakes her head yes.

"So was mine and when he said never again would he hide us from the world he meant that. And because he was a man of his word I was scared for him, all the time. Heck, I was scared for us. So until, what uh 1958, we hid our relationship from almost everyone even though it wasn't against the law here in New York. Really even after that we still hid it off and on, mostly on. Until one day in 59' though. He had just reached the end of his rope. Really he was just tired of Philly Don who lived in my apartment building down the hall, always trying to get with me. That didn't end well mostly, for Philly. Alan told me that he was tired of people not knowing that he was mine and I was his and we were going to get married today. So that night we threw caution to the wind and got married at my brother's house here in New York. But it wasn't easy sweetie. Up until the mid 70's I was still scared for him, for me, for the both of us."

Mama Pearl turns and looks Joss in the eyes, reaches out with a hand that only shakes slightly and grabs both of Joss' hands in hers.

"Baby you are blessed today. You and John can walk down the street and for the most part not have to worry about someone dragging you or him off because you're black and with a white man. You don't have to be afraid that when you're out in public he'll be arrested because he's holding your hand or has his arms around you. You can kiss that handsome man anywhere and anytime you want and let everyone see that you're in love without fear for his life or yours. If there was one thing I would wish for me and my Alan it would be to have the time back to tell him every day of our lives that I loved him more than my own life and not be afraid to shout it to the world. People like Bonnie Bradley will always try to take and tear down what you have with him. They will always be around your life, just don't let them into it."

"Now go let Jenelle work her magic and you get ready to enjoy your exciting date with your wonderful husband. It's gonna be real high end I heard." And she gives Joss a wink and a gentle kiss to her cheek. With a hand to Joss' lower back Mama Pearl pushes her to stand and sends Joss on her way to finish her appointment.

Joss gives her an understanding look and thanks her for the wonderful advice. As she walks over to Jenelle's chair she knows she's ready to start in on her about keeping john a secret from her. With one finger up Joss forestalls the coming quips and questions from Jenelle.

"Jenelle don't eeven try to form your mouth to ask any questions about John and me or what Mama Pearl had to say about us. Just,… get my hair back together so we can at least get to some of the gala."

Jenelle could see that Joss was really stressed so she acquiesced. "Ok sweetie, but you know this convo is far from over."

"I know, I know." Joss was drifting back to what Mama Pearl had said. She appreciated the encouragement she gave her about dating John. Boy was that interesting info about her and her husband. Of course Joss had thought about the implications of interracial dating. Would she loose friends and family, suffer discrimination at work or just out in the general public when they were together? Dating…they were way past that stage. But those fears and hurdles paled in comparison to when she thought about what her life would be without John in it. She wasn't too sure she liked the 'swirl' moniker that was all the rage now. She knew she hated those interracial dating question all together. 'What's it like dating outside your race?' 'How can you be with someone from another race?' One day she would just tell those bigoted idiots that since her man is a human being just like her she had no idea what it's like to date outside her race. But if she ever goes out with someone from their obviously inhuman race she'd let them know.

They had had that talk when they first got married but John seemed to be oblivious to the whole thing. He could care less what people thought of him or the love of his life. As long as they did nothing to harm her or Taylor they really didn't even register on his radar. Oh how she wished the only thing she and John had to worry about were bigots trying to interrupt their lives. She knows that she and John could handle that sort of hatred. If only Mama Pearl knew what really made Joss sometimes doubt the new road she and John now traveled. It wasn't shame that he was white nor what people would think of her because he was. What they would have a hard time navigating around is the fact that multiple government agencies will always be trying to "retire" John if they found out he was still alive. They could care less about the collateral damage they would do to the people around John when they went after him. Her, Taylor and everyone else in John's life would be acceptable collateral damage in their bid to kill him.

A/N: Thanks guys for hanging in there. There is only one chapter and an epilogue left in the story.

Mama Pearl had to have picked up some Yiddish from her husband after being married for so long. Here's the result…

Kelev: An insult meaning "vicious dog."

Khnyok: A racist or a bigot.