Twenty-One

The Commander turned to Chris, who is still holding Curtis up by the neck.

"Listen carefully, Mr. Bawa," he says harshly. "In five seconds if you're still holding Curtis, I'm going to lock you up for assault on an officer of the law, and believe me I'm going to make sure you go to prison for that!"

Chris flings Curtis away from him as if the man is some sort of dirty rag. Curtis crashes to the floor, grabs his neck and begins to cough miserably as precious air rushes back through his trachea.

McBaiden rushes to him to help him.

The Commander looks around him at the stony faces of the other policemen who clearly feel affronted that a civilian has manhandled one of them so savagely and is getting away with it.

"Go back to work, all of you! Curtis, McBaiden, report to my office immediately! Come with me, Mr. Bawa," the Commander says, and there is acute anger in his voice now.

Chris follows the big man past some sullen-looking cops and through some doors and corridors until the man opens a door that leads to a well-demarcated car lot.

Chris sees Ira immediately. She is leaning anxiously against her sleek Nissan Rogue. She sees them and hurries towards Chris with frantic steps.

She is wearing an ash skirt suit with a darker inner blouse, and for one terrible moment Chris' heart aches because she reminds him so much of Effe. She then takes the Commander's hand and pumps it with gratitude.

"Thank you very much, sir. Really grateful for your help."

"Take him out of here, Ma'am. He just made some more enemies in my station. Be careful, Mr. Bawa, and watch your back. I wish you the best of luck, and sorry for all the inconveniences we've made you go through these last couple of days," the policeman says calmly.

He turns without another word and hurries back inside.

Ira and Chris look at each other.

Her lips tremble, and her eyes moisten. She looks at him intensely then, her eyes searching his face passionately, and then she looks down.

She raises her face again, and without a word she moves into his arms, embracing him hard, her arms fierce bands around his waist that seem they will never let go.

Startled, he puts his arms around her to steady himself. Behind him the back door opens again, and the Commander comes out again.

Effe and Junior are with him this time.

The Commander points in the direction of Chris, and then he looks at Effe, who is holding Junior's hand and has a shocked expression on her face.

Junior sees his father, and he drops his mother's hand and screams.

"Daddyyyyyy!"

Chris turns, surprised. Ira's arms drop, and she steps back quickly. She watches as Chris moves hurriedly towards his son, drops to his knees, and catches Junior in a fierce embrace.

Across the hugging bodies of father and son, the two sisters look at each other. Effe has deep surprise on her face as she sees the traces of tears on the cheeks of her sister. Ira's face only holds sad resignation.

Chris stands up and grins down at his son. Junior grins back, and as the two sisters look at them, they marvel at just how much they resemble each other. Junior is holding his blue piggy bank, and he extends it to his father proudly.

"I saved some money for you, Daddy. It's all in here. You can have it."

Chris is very touched, and for a moment he is unable to speak. He puts his arm around his son's shoulders.

"Champ," Chris says tenderly. "I'll need that money, but right now I have to look for a job to do. Tell you what, as soon as I pin something down, I'll let you know, and then you can loan me your money. Deal?"

Junior looks shattered. His whole face collapses, and for a moment it seems he is going to cry.

"But you gave all your money as offering, Daddy. I really, really, really want you to have this money, Daddy."

They stare at each other. Chris took the piggy bank slowly, and he sighs deeply at the depth of the strong emotions buffeting him.

"Thanks, Champ. I love you," he says, his voice filled with emotion.

Junior smiles happily.

"I love you very much, Daddy," he says, and embraces his father tightly. Effe sighs tremulously and walks past them to stand beside Ira.

"So, you came to bail him, just like you said you would," Effe says quietly.

"I didn't have to bail him, Ef," Ira replies, and Effe raises her eyebrows.

"And what exactly do you mean by that?" Effe asks, and Ira looks at her sister with almost cold eyes.

"You mean you haven't heard what happened? The girl retracted her story. She now says she lied. She admitted she had a little fight with Chris, and then she lost her footing and fell into the glass. She now says Chris saved her life."

Effe stares at Chris, then at Ira, and her eyes narrow.

"But it doesn't up. Chris was also hurt. Has she changed her story simply because she's scared of…"

Effe stops because Chris turns and fixes her with his very cold eyes.

"Scared of what, Effe?" he asks coldly.

His voice is bitter and filled with such pain that for a moment Effe freezes. She looks dejectedly at her former husband and her son, and feels the sting of their accusing eyes.

"I've never hidden my feelings from you, Chris," she says, striving to be calm in the blast of his coldness. "And I'm not about to start now. Maybe Barbara just doesn't want to drag the issue."

"So, you still believe I tried to do her harm, don't you?" he asks quietly.

"You're something else, Ef!" Ira chips in, and her voice is also filled with silent accusation. "Actually, Barbara told me this morning at the hospital, before I came to get Chris, that I should tell Chris to come and visit her, because she has missed him so much. She is also sorry for telling lies about him. Do you think a girl who has been subjected to the trauma of near-rape, would say such things to her attacker? There's something wrong with Barbara, I've been watching her at church...she's definitely a weird one."

"Don't waste your breath, Rammy," Chris says quietly. "Your sister will never believe in me, and I won't let that bother me anymore."