A Night At The Gala

Part 3: The Fight That Ends It All

Standing on the corner of 5th and East Avenue, Helen rubs her hands together, cold and exhausted. Lauren was gracious enough to arrive early at the Dam with a pair of jeans and a black blouse for her to wear. Not particularly what she would have went for, but it beats staying in the same clothes for a third day in a row. She watches the crowd of people move around her as if she is a rock in a stream and the people are the water, rushing around her without care nor worry. Suddenly a hand is placed on her shoulder and she turns around quickly- panicked.

"It's alright, Helen. I'm Joe." She looks up at the towering 6'5" black man in front of her and feels dwarfed in comparison. His face is clean shaven and his own dreads come down around his shoulders with a black baseball hat cover the top of his head. He's rather handsome, she'll give him that. If she wasn't completely in love with Max- she would totally be with Joe.

"Nice to meet you, finally." He puts a hand in between her shoulder blades and starts walking slowly, leading her along.

"Have you brought all you needed?"

"Yes. Have you?" Joe nods and smiles down at her.

"Didn't know I was gonna be in the presence of a beautiful sister, like yourself." He has a bit of a southern twang and she wonders about his back story.

"Where are you from originally?" She asks and he smiles, his pearly white teeth catching the February sun.

"Alabama- not the most welcoming of states, but ya learn to get by. How about you? Which part of the U.K?"

"That obvious huh?" She jokes and he laughs deeply.

"Quick fire. I like it."

"I grew up a kilometer up the road from London. Went to Cambridge for Uni and then moved here." She watches him process the information, his mind an obvious machine for calculating and storing every bit of information he's given. "How did you and Max meet?"

"At college, before I went to military school. He needed help fixing his laptop before a class. So I got under the hood and made it happen. I had put up a sign in the courtyard saying that I'd fix any electronic for $5. Phh, needed money to eat man. So, he called me- I fixed his computer and he had lost his wallet. So I figured he scammed me. Later that day, he came strolling up to me and gave me $15 dollars. He said 5 was for the work I did and 10 was for not kickin' he ass cause I was a big dude." Helen and him laugh. She can hear the exact conversation coming from Max's mouth. "He such a good guy. Love that man. He's been there for me, when many haven't. Seen me through a lot of tough times. Between racism and everything else- that dude really is a life saver."

"He is very spectacular. Although, I'm the one who does the frequent saving." Joe looks at her and analyzes her frame and posture. She's small, but he can feel the fierce force inside her.

"Is that because Maxy Pad is weak? Or because you don't allow him to save you?" He has her number and she knows it.

"I decline to comment." She looks away from him and they stop at the street corner.

"Course you do. Cause you have more pride than anyone else I met. You're fierce. Strongwilled. Stubborn. Girl- you sexy as hell, but what are you doin' leaving ya boy in the cold? Dude's white- you'll lose him in a snow drift." Helen bursts out laughing and Joe does as well. They cross the street and he can't stop smiling at her. He sees why Max likes her so much. The way she carries herself and the way she speaks- so polite and refined.

"You are sooo out there aren't you. You just say what you feel- don't you?"

"Ain't no point in hidin'. The truth always comes out eventually. If every single person was honest for just one day- imagine how wonderful the world would be. Would there be people upset? Sure. But imagine all the happiness it would bring people as well." He makes a fair enough point, but Helen isn't one for imagining something that will never happen.