The Last Husband (Forever Love #2)(26)
Author: J.S. Cooper

“Vaguely.” Zane grimaced. “Sorry. I was never really a history person.”

“That’s okay, son,” Sidney chuckled. “Neither was I.”

“You’re too kind, Sidney.” Zane smiled at him. “And thank you for allowing me to take over this project from Noah.”

“That boy was like a son to me.” Sidney laughed. “I never met a white boy so concerned and incensed about race. He would get angry for me. I used to tell Betty that this was a boy we needed when we were growing up.”

“Noah always wanted to see the right thing getting done.” Zane smiled. “Even as a boy, he wanted to make sure that people were treated fair and kind.”

“Oh yeah?” I smiled at Zane, encouraging him to continue.

“I don’t want to interrupt the conversation.” Zane laughed and I sighed inwardly. I really wanted Zane to feel comfortable discussing Noah. I wanted him to get to a point where it wouldn’t hurt so much.

“That’s okay, boy, I’m sure Lucky here don’t mind if we get to hear a story about Noah. He’s a fine boy.” Sidney ushered us into some seats. “And then we can look through these papers and talk some more.

“If you’re sure.” Zane smiled warmly. “I remember one time, when we were in high school, I think I was a senior and he was a sophomore. There was this huge controversy because someone had taken a CD player from one of the teachers’ classrooms. Well, supposedly the teacher made this huge stink and basically wanted to get the student responsible suspended or expelled. Well everyone was wondering who would have stolen this cheap little CD player. It couldn’t have cost more than a hundred dollars.”

“That’s a lot of money for a high school student,” I interrupted.

“Well, not in L.A.” Zane laughed and I rolled my eyes as he continued. “So, then of course, all eyes turned to two students in the school. An Asian guy and a black guy. They were both on scholarship and lived on the south side, so automatically people assumed it had to be one of them. The principal called them both to his office and said that if one of them didn’t speak up and admit he had stolen it, then they would both be expelled from the school. So a few days pass, and both guys maintained they hadn’t done it. The teacher bans them from his class and they get called to the principal’s office again, and he tells them he is going to suspend them. So that day, Jerome Richards and Harry Wang were escorted out of the school and sent home. The next day, Noah gets some of his friends from the tennis team to join him in a protest outside the school. I didn’t even know he was planning it. They had signs and a megaphone, and they accused the principal of being racist. Well, the principal got mad and he suspended all of them for disorderly conduct on school premises.”

“Wow.” I looked at him with wide eyes.

“Well, it gets better.” Zane’s eyes sparkled. “The next day, the teacher who had caused the fuss about his CD player in the first place had to go sheepishly to the principal’s office and tell him that there had been a mistake. No one had stolen his CD player; he had taken it home over the weekend so he could listen to some music while he washed his car.”

“No way.”

“Yeah.” Zane laughed. “The principal reinstated my brother and the rest of the tennis team and had to issue a public apology to Jerome and Harry, who got a settlement from the county.”

“That’s crazy and kind of sad.”

“Yeah.” Zane shook his head. “It was horrible, but it doesn’t have a horrible ending. Harry and Jerome are both in med school right now at Stanford University.”

“Good for them.” Sidney smiled. “I like to hear those endings. Too many of those stories end up with the kids winding up on the streets or in jail.”

“Yeah.” I nodded my head. “The statistics are horrible for low income and minority families. Well, for the most part. The system is failing so many people.”

“Don’t tell me you believe in handouts?” Zane said, and I frowned.

“It’s not about handouts.” I shook my head. “It’s about fixing a broken system, it’s about righting wrongs. It’s about being able to go to school and not being judged based on your race or gender, or even your social class. It’s about poor people being able to go to college and not be in debt for the rest of their lives.”

“I was just joking, Lucky.” Zane looked at me in concern and I smiled at him.

“Sorry, I just get a little incensed at times.” I smiled. “That’s a side of me you didn’t know.”

“It’s a side of you that I like.” Zane stared at me. “The more I get to know the multi-facets of you, the more I love you.”

“Oh, Zane.” My heart melted at his words and I wanted to reach over and kiss him. “I love you, too.”

“And on that note, kids, I think we should take a break,” Sidney said. “Zane, will you go and help Betty in the kitchen while Lucky and I have a brief chat?”

“Sure.” Zane jumped up, walked over to me, and kissed me quickly on the head before walking out of the room.

“You’re good for him.” Sidney’s face was serious as he stared at me. “Noah would be happy.”

“Oh?” I looked at him curiously.

“Noah was worried about his brother. He was worried that Zane would never know what it was like to feel love.”

“He told you that?” I was surprised at just how close they seemed to have gotten.

“I told you he was like my son.” He smiled. “He talked to me about everything. It was me who told him about the website, you know.”

“The website?” I frowned, not understanding what he was saying.

“To find his mom.”

“Oh?” My heart started pounding. “He found their mom?”

“I’m not sure.” Sidney paused. “Other things came up.”

“Oh.” I was disappointed. “It would have been nice if he would have found her.”

“Maybe.” Sidney frowned. “Sometimes people are best left in the past.”

“What do you mean?” I sat forward.

“Sometimes things are as they are meant to be,” Sidney sighed. “But I see Zane still carries the pain.”

“I think he’s still really hurt, you know?” My voice broke. “His mom leaving and then Noah dying, it’s too much heartbreak for one person to deal with.”