I Will Love You Forever Pt. 2 Ch. 14

She put the latest copies of the law journals in her bag and pronounced herself ready to go. Her heart hammered with excitement at the thought of going home. Everyone was going to be there including her brother and his new wife who were supposed to be moving north. From what she could gather, the move had been delayed because of unforeseen circumstances as far as the living arrangements. The move wouldn't happen until the spring. In the meantime, her brother and wife were living with her parents. It would be crowded, but she didn't care.

"Isadora are you ready to go?" Lenny called into her room.

"I'm ready!" She called back as she picked up her carry on valise.

Two hours later, she and Noah were at the train station. Lenny was in the process of unloading the car when someone behind them spoke.

"May I help you with your luggage?"

Isadora turned around and came face to face with Saul. She had only seen him once since the first time he came to church and hadn't spoken to him the second time either.

She expected Noah to say no to the offer of help since there were three of them and was surprised when he accepted.

"What's your name boy?" He asked.

"Saul sir." Saul politely replied.

"Are you aware that you're doing what is considered nigger work?" Noah asked his tone matter of fact.

"That's what I keep hearing sir." Saul replied.

"Do you mind?" Noah asked his voice holding an intensity that both Lenny and Isadora recognized.

"No sir, it's a job no matter who's doing it. I'll take that bag..."

An hour later, they were on the train. Isadora found herself curious about the white man who on occasion attended a black church and now was doing work that most people considered menial and for black people. What impressed her was that he meant what he said and that he wasn't embarrassed by his job.

Isadora glanced over at Noah Jackson and wondered what he was thinking. She almost asked, but decided not to. She wasn't in the mood for a game of verbal chicken.

*****

Ernie was surprised by the invitation to the party at Kenji and Patricia's house. He only saw them at school and had never interacted with them on a purely social level. He was so surprised that he didn't immediately respond.

"It is an informal gathering." Kenji said. "The students from the summer program will be there as well as a few friends."

Ernie thought that he had heard wrong. Had Kenji really used the word friend?

"It will start at five pm this Saturday if you would like to attend."

"I would like that." Ernie said, "I would like that a lot. Am I supposed to bring anything?"

"Just a dish to share and yourself." Kenji replied.

"I'll be there." Ernie said smiling. "I'll ask my mom to make her pumpkin roll."

"Whatever you bring will be fine." Kenji said with a smile.

****

The day of the party, Ralph and Marie were taken over to John and Hattie's house to spend the day and night. Since the incident with the rock, Marie had been more subdued. Kenji and Patricia weren't fooled. They knew that it was only a matter of time before she was back to her rambunctious self. Kenji and Patricia gave each child the usual admonishments to behave themselves before they left the house.

While Kenji was gone, Penny and Joel arrived to help set up for the party. Penny helped Patricia in the kitchen while Joel started setting up the table and chairs.

"I'm going to be taking more classes next semester." Patricia said as she stirred the pitcher of lemonade.

"So I heard." Penny replied. "If you need help with anything let us know."

"Thanks and I'll probably take you up on your offer especially where the science is concerned."

"No problem." Penny replied. "Is Isadora coming?"

"No, she's going home for the holidays but Maeve is supposed to be coming." Patricia replied.

"Patricia, what do you think happened to her?" Penny asked. "Isadora I mean. She's so intense."

"I don't know if anything happened to her." Patricia replied. "I think that she's very focused on her goals as we all are and she wants to succeed. But why do you think something happened to her?"

"I don't know." Penny replied. "It's just a feeling, but maybe you're right. Maybe she is just focused. So what's left to do?"

"The only things we're missing are the food that the others are bringing." Patricia replied. "We could help Joel set up."

Kenji was back a few minutes later, shooed Penny and Patricia away and helped Joel with the set up. An hour later, the first guest, Maeve had arrived carrying a platter of fresh vegetables.

****

Ernie nervously dressed for the party. Several times he almost changed his mind about going. It was one thing to go to school and sit with Kenji and Joel, but another thing altogether to see them on a social basis. Every time the thought occurred to him, he felt ashamed. He realized that on some level he was still afraid of being seen with them and that his attitude was racist even if he didn't mean it to be.

Finally he decided to go. He found it odd that he jumped into a friendship with Andrew and stayed with it even after he knew what Andrew was about. Now he was hesitant to accept a friendship with people that he knew were good.

"Why is that?" He asked himself out loud.

It was still a racial thing he realized. On one level he still thought of them as the melting pot. Ernie grappled with the knowledge that deep down he did have some of the same beliefs that Andrew did. It was a very uncomfortable feeling. That if anything was the reason why he decided to go.

"The pumpkin roll is in the fridge." His mother said when he came down the stairs.

"Thanks." Ernie replied.

"We're very proud of you son." His father said looking up from his newspaper.

"Why don't you invite your friends over for dinner sometime?" His mother asked. "We would like to meet them."

There it was again- that word-friends. It was the second time in a week that if had been mentioned in the same sentence as Kenji and Patricia. Not one to put a lot of stock in signs, Ernie took this as meaning that he needed to cultivate that friendship.

"I'll ask them." Ernie replied. "I'd better get going."

Thirty minutes later, he was standing on the front porch. He took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. As he waited for someone to answer, he wondered why he was so nervous. It then dawned on him that by going into their home, the dynamics of their relationship would change. Once he did that, he was making another decision that there was no changing his mind on. He didn't have a chance to think about it any further. The door was opened by a woman that Ernie didn't know.

"Hello, are you here for the party?" Maeve asked.

Ernie was suddenly tongue tied. He didn't say anything, but held out the pumpkin roll to her.

"I guess that's a yes." Maeve said with a pleasant smile. "Come on in. Kenji and Patricia are in the back and I've got door duty."

"How do I get there?" Ernie asked recovering from his brief speechlessness.

"Go through the living room and the kitchen. The door to the back is to the left." Maeve replied handing him the pumpkin roll. "Give this to Patricia or Kenji."

Ernie made his way to the back yard where the final preparations for the party were in progress.

"Ernie!" Patricia called. "I'm glad that you came.

Kenji walked over and gave him a small bow before offering his hand.

"Welcome to our home." He said.

Whatever reservations Ernie had about going to the party disappeared at those words. Later, he and Joel had a chance to talk.

"I didn't think that you'd come." Joel said.

"To be honest with you," Ernie replied, "I almost didn't."

"Why did you change your mind?" Ernie asked.

"The short answer is that I would have regretted it if I hadn't. I realized something about myself that I didn't like." Ernie said. "I realized that to some degree I agreed with Andrew. I was going to let those beliefs destroy what could be a really great friendship."

"So you came so that you could prove to yourself that you aren't a racist." Joel said dryly.

"I would be lying if I said that that had nothing to do with it." Ernie replied. "But the biggest reason why I'm here is because you, Kenji and Patricia are the kind of friends that someone would be lucky to have. I understand that we may never be friends, but-I would like to try."

Joel was surprised by Ernie's honesty, but he wasn't ready to call him a friend just yet.

"We'll see." Joel replied and walked away.

*****

Andrew looked down at his prison uniform with a mixture of disgust and anger. The blue chambray shirt had his register number nine-two-seven stamped on the back of it. The blue and white trousers left nothing to be desired and web waist belt that also had his register number on it was the ugliest thing that he had ever seen.

The reality of what his life was going to be like didn't hit him until he saw the uniform. All of the things that he had taken for granted were gone including how to dress.

"These are your uniforms." The guard handing the uniforms out said. "The shirt is to be buttoned up to the top. The sleeves are to be worn down and buttoned. The belt must be worn in such a way that your register number is in plain view. You may wear a cap and Jacket if you wish..."

Andrew's eyes burned as the guard continued with the list of rules. His life was no longer his own. A tear trickled down his cheek as he undressed and put on the prison uniform. He choked back a sob when the realization that he was no more than just a number sunk in.

This was now his life. He was now wondering if it wouldn't have been better to have died.

********

By the end of 1949 bills were proposed to make lynching a federal crime and to end segregation in interstate transportation. Neither bill is brought to a vote in the Senate.

The Reverend Billy Graham has revival meetings in Los Angeles.

Ted Poston, one of the few Afro-American reporters working for a white newspaper wrote an article about "The negro press" In the Reporter.

The average price of a movie ticket was forty-six cents.

Mao Zedong announces the establishment of the People's Republic of China.

Hideki Yukawa is the first Japanese to win a Nobel Prize.

More than six million Japanese were waiting for repatriation in the ports of Asia and the Soviet Union. Many died due to lack of food, medical care and disease.

Joseph Stalin tries to prevent the Korean War.

********

Thank you all for your patience and to Donalde for beta-reading for me. I hope to have the next chapter done sometime in the next couple of weeks barring anything earth-shattering happening. Thanks again!!