"I can see that, Jimmy," Sam said, "And I guess I shouldn't have given the look I did. God knows Emma won't bat an eye."
Noah made it onto the porch and he gave me a strange look.
"Glad you could make it, Noah," I said to him and quickly introduced him to Al and Sam before bringing him in the house to meet Emma and grab a beer.
"You didn't tell them I'm black, did you?" Noah asked once we was inside.
"It sort of slipped my mind," I told him honestly, "They figured it out though."
"Emma," I said standing in the doorway.
"Jimmy, I told you dinner's not ready yet," she said checking the dinner rolls in the oven. "Honestly you're worse than a little kid sometimes."
"I know I am," I said, "But I'm not asking about dinner. There's someone I want you to meet."
She straightened up and looked at me and then at Noah and the smile spread immediately. Sam was right, she didn't bat an eye. Hell all the talk Joanie and I did about equality she probably wondered how all my friends wasn't black. Emma never would've cared anyway. All she saw was someone's child what needed caring for and it didn't matter if he was black, white or polka dotted.
"Emma," I began, "This is Noah Dixon. Noah, I'd like you to meet the closest thing I ever had to a mom, Emma Cain."
Noah extended a hand to her but Emma wasn't having any of that. She wrapped her arms around him and with that he was an adopted part of our family.
It was a nice day and I think Noah got over any discomfort pretty quick. Before the meal we discovered his one flaw though. I brought him to the porch to listen to the game and he looked at me strange when I said we was listening to the Tigers. He was from the south side in Chicago and that made him a White Sox fan. We decided right then and there to never talk baseball too seriously because we'd probably have ended up in a fist fight. That's just how Detroit and Chicago are when it comes to most sports. There are exceptions or one anyway, if he'd been a Cubs fan we could've been okay but not the Sox. And somehow I knew we couldn't talk football or basketball or hockey either. I don't outright hate many teams but Chicago teams I do. And they don't like ours any better. So there wouldn't be a lot of sports talk with Noah but, hey, nobody's perfect.
After dinner we visited a bit before Noah decided he'd better be going. He was going to be in court the next day with Mr. Cohen and Eli. I know it was the first trial he was going to be in on and he was real excited about it. It's not like he was trying the case or anything but he was there to help them organize their evidence and the motions being made the next day were largely written by him. I walked him out to his car.
"Thank you for this, Jimmy," he said, "It was almost like being home."
"I think as far as Emma's concerned, you are home," I told him.
"I kind of got that," he laughed, "She's a special lady, that's for sure. She reminds me a lot of my auntie."
"I think I'd like your auntie," I said.
"I guarantee you would."
"Well, Emma has a big dinner every Sunday and she's got room at the table most nights if you call first," I told him, "You're part of the family, such as it is, now. If you don't come back at some point, you'll hurt her feelings and I'll have to come after you."
He laughed.
"The way that woman cooks I'd be a fool not to come back," he said.
"Good luck tomorrow," I said, "I'm sure Joanie will keep me posted as much as she can."
"Thanks," he said, "I'll try to keep you up to speed too."
"I appreciate it," I told him and he got into his car and drove away.
I climbed back onto the porch to an amused look from Al.
"What?" I asked.
"I just never have known what to expect from you," he said with a smile and I think he was kind of patting himself of the back for how I turned out. He deserved the atta boy too.
The trial started off pretty good I guess. I didn't understand half of what Joanie and Noah told me about it but it sounded like the judge was taking to their motions mostly and things were sort of going their way.
Pretty soon it was time for the fall semester to start. Joanie was calmer than I'd ever seen her at the start of a school year but I was nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Joanie came over once I got off work for the day on my first day of classes. I took nearly all night classes and she came to make me dinner before I went to class. I couldn't eat though. I was just too nervous. I was clearing my plate to the sink and she stopped me and backed me up against the counter with a kiss.
"You will be just fine," she said smiling at me, "I know you will."
"I just don't know about this," I said, "Nothing seemed real or high stakes before now. I don't think I've ever been this nervy before."
She still had me backed up to the counter and then she started undoing my pants.
"Joanie," I said, "You know normally I would drop everything to carry you off to the bedroom but I really don't have the time for this right now."
"Yes you do," she said in a breathy voice as she tugged on my ear with her teeth. She dropped to her knees pulling my pants down a little as she went and then she did something she'd never done before. At least she'd never done it with me. When I realized what she was about to do I thought about telling her she didn't have to. I knew that act still had some baggage with it but she shut me up before I could say a word and all I could do was hold tight to the counter and enjoy. Once she was done, or maybe more to the point, once I was I just sank to the floor. My legs weren't going to hold me right then.
"Still nervous?" she asked impishly.
"Maybe a tiny bit but there sure ain't no tension in me anymore," I said.
"I suggest you pull your pants back up," she said, "It's not socially acceptable to go to class with them around your knees."
Class went just fine and I needn't have worried but then maybe it was good I worried because I think Joanie sometimes liked knowing she could rescue me like I rescued her.
Things sort of mellowed for a while except for the trial. That thing dragged on forever but I guess sometimes they do. Joanie loved every minute of it and I was starting to see some hope for her. Law school was going to be a delight for her. I could see the pressure of school weighing on Noah but something told me that Joanie would flourish once she got there.
A call came somewhere around the middle of November and I was hoping I knew who it was.
"Hello."
"Jimmy?"
"Kid," I said, "I hoped it was you."
"We have another boy," he told me and I could hear his smile through the phone, I swear I could.
"What's this one named?" I asked, "And give me the full name this time."
"John Aloysius Cassidy," he said.
"I'll be sure to tell Al, it'll make his day," I told him.
"Aren't you just a little threatened by your wife's fascination with the Kennedy boys?" I asked.
"You know I wasn't with Bobby but she wants to call this one Jack as a nickname," he laughed, "You should see her now, she's taken to wearing her hair like Jackie. It looks good on her."
"I'll bet it does," I said, "Lou always was a pretty girl and she kind of has a similar look to the first lady even. Classy like, you know?"
"Hey, hey," he said, "I've punched you out in the past for saying less than that. Go ogle your own woman."
"I do and I ain't ogling your woman, I'm just pointing out a fact and reminding you how lucky you are," I assured him, "Just in case you ever forget."
"How could I forget?" he asked, "I see her everyday and wonder how I ever landed a woman like that."
"Good question," I said knowing that I would have gotten at least a punch in the arm for that comment if we hadn't been talking on the phone. "So how's she feeling?"
"Doctor says she did great," he told me, "They won't let me see her for a little while yet."
I knew he was on a phone from the hospital so we had to wrap it up as much as I wanted to spend the rest of the day talking about the new little one.
"I guess I should let you go and see if you can fuss over your son in the nursery window," I told him.
"Yeah," he said, "I'll talk to you real soon and don't forget we'll be up for Christmas."
"Like I could forget," I said, "I'm making red X's on the calendar. We miss you guys something awful, you know."
"I know. We miss you all too. Send along my love to everyone and if I'm not overstepping give that girl of yours a hug for me."
"Now who's got designs on whose woman?" I asked and then added more serious. "I will. She's going to be over the moon about little Jack."
"I'll see you soon, Jimmy."
"Yeah, Kid," I replied, "Real soon."
I don't know why I felt like crying when I hung up the phone but I guess I felt lonelier than I could ever remember right about then. My best friend, my brother had a life that seemed to be running ahead of me at light speed. And I couldn't shake that growing feeling that something absolutely terrible was about to happen. It just tore me up from the inside out.
Joanie was really happy about little Jack's birth and I thought Al was going to cry or something when I told him the kid's full name.
We sort of all muddled along until Kid and Lou came back home for Christmas. Chanukkah was later that year. Sometimes it's way over and done before anyone's even thinking of fat men sliding down chimneys but that year it didn't start until nearly Christmas and was still going on afterward. Kid and Lou and the kids came over and it must have been the second or third night. They'd never known too much about Chanukkah so it was a new thing for them. Joanie told the story better than I could have and we sang the blessings together but then told Kid and Lou and Theresa what we'd said. We always had a Christmas tree too. I know I converted but we sort of believed that celebrating was something there just wasn't enough of in the world and anything we could find to celebrate was a good thing. Besides there are Jews that are what's known as Messianic Jews or Jews for Jesus and I think Bob Dylan's one and things I'm sure get a little fuzzy in those circles come December.
I think little Jack might have been cuter than Bobby if that was possible and I hadn't been sure it was before then because Bobby was a cute little guy. Joanie outdid herself making sure it was the kind of Chanukkah she remembered from her own childhood. Those kids weren't Jewish and weren't going to grow up lighting those candles but she wanted to make sure they got the full effect anyway. I got a little glimpse of what the holidays would be like for our kids someday and got this real warm feeling all through me. Joanie might be a little flighty sometimes but she brought more joy into my life than I thought anyone could.
A couple days later was Christmas and a more chaotic family gathering was never had. Noah joined us for presents in the morning and dinner in the afternoon and laying around on the couch like beached whales while the kids squealed around our feet in the evening. There's something to be said for having your whole family together on a day like that. Whatever the day might be to some folks, to me it was a time to be with that crazy bunch of people surrounded by love. We all learned a little sign language from little Timmy. He ran up to me first thing when he saw me and wiggled his fingers in front of his face and then made a "C" and sort of rocked it back and forth. I looked up at Ike for a translation because it wasn't a sign I had seen before.
"Merry Christmas," he said.
I mimicked the sign back at Timmy and smiled at him and he threw his little arms around my legs until I lifted him up.
We'd all learn a lot more in time. I won't say I can speak sign to converse with anyone but I can understand a great deal and make certain things understood to people if they speak it. Timmy in time learned to read lips and even speak a little but he relied so much more on sign to make himself understood even though he could understand folks who didn't sign pretty well.
At the end of the night, Joanie and I made our way back to my place and lit the candles. I know they're supposed to be done at sundown but sometimes things get delayed. We thought about bringing the menorah over and lighting there but we knew that would be just too much to deal with what with all the little ones running all over. So we lit the menorah and said the blessings and got some tea before curling on the couch to watch the flames flicker.
I could feel Joanie's shoulders shake next to me and I knew she was crying. I kissed her temple and asked what was upsetting her.
"Oh just about a thousand things all at once," she said, "Today was so wonderful with everyone together and it means so much how everyone has accepted and welcomed Noah. And it just warmed my heart to see how well Timmy is doing and then I miss Kid and Lou and Theresa so much. They have been such good friends to me and I know what Kid means to you. I worry for them and it breaks my heart you don't have him closer."
The tears were just streaming by then and I held her tight. There wasn't anything for me to add, she had covered my feelings on the day pretty well too. That's the thing about the holidays. As much joy as there is, there's a slew of other emotions too and they can tie you up in knots. But right then, even with the worries I had for Kid and Lou, I couldn't think of a better way to spend an evening than sitting with my Joanie in the candlelight. That was pretty perfect right there.
So there's some Christmas/Chanukkah fuzzies for you...Thanks to missilenthorse and her lovely children for the help with Merry Christmas in sign. Sweet little Timmy. Oh yeah and Bobby and Jack? Can they be anymore stereotypically Kennedy era? And can't you see Lou with a Jackie hair-do?
Enjoy the fuzzies...eventually we will all be singing the Invader Zim/Gir Doom song (look it up).
Up next: The British Invasion (google events of Feb 1963 if that was unclear). and an extra note because I was jumping the gun there...sadly there is much more before the fab four hit US shores...trying to rush something there...try events of Feb 1964. *sigh*-J