That year we went to the big party at the country club again. So we rang in 1963 alongside Joanie's parents and Judy. Judy even had a date. I wasn't sure I liked him all that much. She was barely sixteen and all that boy did was stare at her chest and try to let his hand slip to her butt when they danced. Aaron was there and he asked Joanie to dance so that was my chance to get in a dance with Judy.

"Hey short stuff," I said, "Care to dance?"

The boy was in the bathroom or something so she smiled at me and nodded.

"I didn't know if you'd ask me with Rich being here and all," she said.

"That's his name?" I asked not really caring about the answer. "I'd ask you to dance no matter who's here. Who you dance with is supposed to be your choice, you know?"

"I do know," she said.

I turned her chin up to get her to look at me.

"How serious are you with this kid?"

"You're not my father, Jimmy," she said.

"Nope, I'm far worse," I explained, "I'm a big brother and I don't like how he looks at you. I've looked at girls like that and what I was thinking about at those times isn't anything you need to be around."

"I shouldn't like a boy who finds me attractive?"

"Judy," I said, "You're a beautiful young lady and lots of boys are going to be attracted to you but he doesn't really want you, just your body. Really, he just wants a couple of parts of your body. I haven't just seen it, I've been it. I know what a creep looks like because I was one."

"I know you're right and I saw Joanie do this with Stan and I thought she was an idiot and I'm doing the same thing," she said almost like all of that was just one word.

"You're young and his attention is flattering," I tried to calm her, "You need to get away before it goes too far. You deserve so much better than him."

"You don't happen to have a brother, do you?" she smiled at me.

"Not any that are single and not too old for you," I said.

"Dang it," she laughed and she suddenly looked like she was having fun for the first time the whole night. "I've never broken up with anyone before. I don't know how."

"Let me talk to him," I said, "He'll dump you before the countdown to midnight."

The song ended and I went to find Rich. I spotted him trying to order cocktails for the two of them and I didn't even have to wonder what he thought he'd accomplish giving her booze. I knew exactly what he was after. I wanted to punch him but there was no way I was going to do that there. He hadn't done anything as far as I knew.

"Rich," I said walking up behind him and putting an arm around his shoulder like we was old pals or something. "Just the man I was looking for."

"James, right?" he asked, "You're going to marry Judy's sister."

"That I am," I said, "Can you blame me? I mean, look at her."

"Yeah," he said nearly drooling over my fiancée. "I see what you mean. I see why you'd want to grab a hold of that. What a rack."

"That's a trait that seems to run in the family, doesn't it?"

"It sure does," he agreed, "Judy's aren't quite as big as her sister but they're pretty nice."

I had led him over to a secluded area near the coat room and we were alone as everyone else was out dancing and drinking and generally making merry.

"First of all," I said dropping any hint of a jovial attitude I might have had, "I don't care who you are, or what the situation is, you never, and I will repeat that, never admit you are checking out another man's fiancée. I should beat the crap out of you for that alone. And second of all, Mr. and Mrs. Cohen are nice people and they don't see the little creep you are but I'm not from some nice little suburb like Bloomfield Hills. I'm from Detroit. I've known creepy little jerks like you my whole life. I've been a creepy little jerk. Even if I wanted to forgive you for checking out Joanie's assets, and I don't, you definitely never tell a man you've got any awareness of his little sister's breasts. That's what she is to me and you are now the seedy little punk trying to get under her skirt. I don't care what excuse you make but if you ever lay one slimy little hand on Judy ever again I will show you how we deal with people like you in Detroit. I've been in jail for stabbing someone and my kid sister's honor wasn't at stake then."

I paused and looked at his wide eyes and wondered if he was about to wet himself.

"Do we have an understanding?"

The little rat nodded and slunk away. I know I stretched a couple of things there but I sure the hell wasn't going to let him think there was any leeway in the matter. A little while later I saw Rich find Judy and they talked a little bit and he walked away. I left Joanie by the punchbowl.

"You okay, short stuff?"

"I guess," she said looking a little sad.

"You didn't let him, well," I didn't even know how to ask such a thing.

"Second base, over the sweater only," she said holding her head up.

"Good girl," I told her.

"This was the right thing, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, I think so," I said remembering the conversation I'd had with the little punk. Poor Judy looked like she might cry but she was trying far too hard to stay strong. She was a lot stronger that her sister in a lot of ways but it still hurts to get dumped even when it was a relationship that wasn't going to work. I was sitting in a chair next to her and I pulled the kid onto my lap like you would a small child, I guess and hugged her tight.

"You're going to be fine and Rich whatever the hell his name was won't even be a footnote in your life," I told her.

"The worst thing," she said, "Is that I really liked him. He was funny sometimes and kind of good looking."

"You can do better," I told her, "Besides; I don't think he's Jewish. What would Bubbe Goldman say?"

Judy laughed and mimicked her grandmother's accent, "A goy? My granddaughter is nothing but a nafka!"

She shifted back to her own chair and she was feeling better but I remembered that word.

"She called Joanie that once," I said, "Nafka, what does it mean?"

"I'm sure she called her that more than once," Joanie said and then looked like she didn't want to tell me more.

"You need to tell me what it means," I said, "I mean I could find out from someone else but I think I'd rather hear it from you. From the looks of you, it's not very nice."

"Whore," she said softly, "Nafka means 'whore'."

I wasn't even aware I was clenching my fist until Judy put a hand over mine and I realized I had my hands balled so tight that it hurt to release them.

"Jimmy," Judy said softly, "She's an old lady. She doesn't even know how much time the two of you spend together and if she did it would be worse. She's very old world. You don't date people outside your group; you don't have two year engagements. You're a virgin on your wedding day. It's just the way things are in her head."

I was still seeing red when Joanie came over to see what was wrong. I couldn't even talk to her. I was so angry and hurt and I just couldn't believe what I had heard. I didn't have to answer.

"Rich and I just broke up," Judy said, "Jimmy was consoling me."

"I've seen him when he consoles someone and I've seen him angry, Jude," Joanie said matter of factly like they was discussing someone who wasn't sitting right there next to them. "This is angry."

"Rich was a real jerk," Judy explained and I know it wasn't the first time she played off her own pain to save her sister hurt. For a pest, Judy was about the best sister anyone could ask for. "He was going to try to get me drunk and convince me to go all the way. It made Jimmy mad."

"Are you alright now?" Joanie asked her sister, "You look like you were crying a little."

I took out my handkerchief and dabbed under Judy's eyes where her mascara had run a little and leaned over to her and spoke real soft.

"Thank you. I owe you one."

"I'm fine now, Joanie," she smiled and I think she was fine by then. "You go dance with your fiancé. I think I'm going to see what Aaron and Dan are up to. Maybe Uncle Eli wore out Aunt Naomi and he's ready to move on to a younger, spryer dance partner."

Joanie kissed the top of Judy's head and I patted her cheek as we headed for the dance floor.

"I can't believe he was about to try something like that," Joanie said.

"He was another Stan waiting to happen," I said, "He spent the whole night shifting his eyes between her chest and yours."

Joanie looked about to light out after the guy but I held her tighter.

"Judy's pretty tough," I said, "He didn't get far at all and he'll never lay a hand on her again."

There wasn't much left of the party after that. We rang in 1963 and then said our goodbyes and Joanie and I went home and curled up together to sleep. It was dark in our room and Joanie was still. I thought she had fallen asleep. I was far from it trying to figure how Bubbe Goldman could say such a wicked thing to her own granddaughter. Joanie wasn't sleeping either, it turned out.

"Thank you," she said softly as she rolled over to face me.

"I'm not sure what I did."

"Judy's my little sister but she looks after me as much and maybe more than I look out for her," she told me, "Thank you for looking out for her tonight."

"What can I say? The runt kind of grew on me."

"I just don't ever want her to have the hurt I did," she said.

Well the second semester coasted by alright after that and I realized that switching schools hadn't really changed all that much for me. I had gotten all the basic requirements already so all I had to do was my major and minor and that was all stuff I really liked. It was hard work too but when you're learning things you care about and that can help you do things you want to do then it makes it easier I think. I majored in Psychology and minored in Sociology. I could've done it the other way around but it was more interesting to me this way so it's how I did it.

Judy and I were a little closer after New Year's. She actually had me screen potential boyfriends. They'd pick her up at home and go through Mr. and Mrs. Cohen but then they had to meet me. I scared away more than a couple who saw her as nothing more than a pair of boobs. I think she was a little more outgoing than Joanie because I know Joanie never dated as much as Judy. I couldn't believe she'd been worried about getting rid of Rich. And talking like no other guy was going to think she was pretty. There was a couple she dated that were real nice guys. They noticed her body too but they also took note of her face and that she was a terrific girl. By summer she was dating some guy named Dave and he was even Bubbe approved. He was also a real nice guy and a good balance for Judy. She was fiery sometimes and Dave was a little calmer. I'll give you what they call these days a spoiler and tell you they don't stick and get married or anything. Judy was only sixteen and she hadn't even really begun her life. If she had been a more typical girl then maybe they would've gotten married and lived happily ever after but I don't know for sure. I just know they didn't.

The summer was good. We went to the cabin a few times. I always did like it up there. Annie found out she was expecting again. I think they were a little scared. When you live everyday with the reminder of how bad things can happen to a child, it makes it scarier to have more and then Timmy took a lot of work and time to teach him things and I think Annie especially was worried that she'd have to neglect someone. Either the new baby wouldn't get what it needed because she'd be seeing to Timmy or Timmy wouldn't get the time she needed to give him because of the baby. But I know they were excited too. They had wanted a good sized family and had never intended for Timmy to be an only child. We got to August and Joanie came in one day to the garage just beaming and I noticed she was driving Mr. Cohen's car, the Caddy.

"Well, hello beautiful," I said as I kissed her and I think I could hear Al's eyes roll behind me. He could put on whatever act he wanted. If he'd been young and in love he'd have done the same thing and I knew he was happy I had someone. "What brings you here?"

"Daddy wanted me to get the car tuned up," she said, "Do you have time?"

I looked around and the shop was pretty dead right then so I nodded.

The car was practically brand new. A new Cadillac every couple years was a luxury Jacob Cohen afforded himself.

"Why did it need to be tuned up right now?" I asked.

"Because I'm taking it to Washington next week."

"He's letting you try a case for the Supreme Court already," I teased her, "Pretty chancy for a girl not even in law school yet."

She pursed her lips at me and I thought she might get angry but then she laughed.

"Not exactly, Noah and I are heading to a civil rights march," she said softly like I might be angry or something and really if I was someone who thought more about appearances, I might have been. But I knew she had no romantic designs on Noah and he had become a good enough friend that I knew he'd never lay a hand on her. "You wouldn't maybe be able to come too, would you?"

I knew I could get the time off so I smiled, "Well, I guess I'd better or every cop between here and D.C. is going to think he kidnapped you."

Now that was the truth and actually in some places it still is. It's sad that anyone jumps to conclusions like that but they do.

We left on Tuesday for the rally on Wednesday. It just made far more sense to drive straight through. Trying to find a motel we'd all be welcome at was just unrealistic so we took turns driving and sleeping and got in early Wednesday. I'm going to toss out a date here and I know I'll never forget it. There's some dates you remember because of the bad things that happened and we'll get to plenty of those but then there's some that you remember because you wish you could freeze time. August 28, 1963, that was one of the good ones. If you don't know what the date means, it's the day that the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous "I have a dream" speech. Seventeen minutes of thinking about, and even being shown a world that could be if we just kept trying for it. Everyone crowded there listening and none of us cared a bit if we was wedged up against someone with light or dark skin. I nearly cried and I know Noah did cry. Dr. King had a way of speaking that always sort of sounded like a prayer being raised to the heavens.

"I have a dream that one day my four little children will live in a world where they will be judge not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

Amen.

Wednesday, August 28, 1963 was in fact the date of the march in Washington where MLK gave that wonderful speech. "Let freedom ring! Let freedom ring!" I think Noah for all his toughness would have cried listening to those words and seeing all those people from all over and all different colors joining for one vision. I would have. Those who know your history know the jubilation is to be short lived...November brings one of our nation's saddest days.-J