Love and the White Wolf - Book 1

20. A Day in New York

Sunday morning we were awakened by the sound of Gus whistling as he cleaned the swimming pool.  James got up, showered, and dressed, then went out into the pool area.  He must have startled Gus as I could hear the latter claim he had forgotten we were in the pool house.  James asked if he could help clean the pool.  He was doing that when I came out a little later.  Gus was testing the water and preparing to add the chemicals.  Maria was in the kitchen preparing breakfast and asked me to clean and prepare some strawberries.  Within minutes I felt nauseous and had to throw up.  I brought up bile and when no more came out I had the dry heaves.  Eventually they stopped and I went back to the kitchen where Maria had some saltines ready for me.

"These helped when I was pregnant with the boys," she explained. "Not so much with Linda."

I nibbled on one and found it got rid of the bitter taste in my mouth.  I had a couple more and felt my stomach settle.

"I guess it was the strawberries," I said.  "That's what I had yesterday."

Maria smiled and called the men in for breakfast.  I ate sparingly not wanting to feel nauseous again.  James more than made up for it.  After, James helped clean up then sat down trying to figure out how to buy the tickets to the Empire State Building and then apply the discount.  He got it right the first time and proudly showed off the digital tickets on his phone. 

We took the train from Brooklyn into Lower Manhattan then went on to the Empire State Building.  Surprisingly, James had never been on it so it was a new experience for him.  It was chilly up there and windy but James kept me warm as we went around the perimeter and looked through the viewers.  After that we made our way to Times Square.  James had been there before and couldn't believe how busy it was.  It was all too overwhelming for him so we headed for Central Park, had a late lunch and relaxed.  We sat in the shade of an oak tree and I laid with my head in his lap while he played with my hair.  We were totally focussed on one another when we heard a scream, followed by yelling.  A man was running towards us with a purse, being chased by two other young men.  Without thinking James stood up and tackled the first man.  The man fought back but James held him down with his vibranium arm until the other two made it to him and, out of breath, gasped he had mugged an elderly woman.  While they congratulated him on collaring the guy another man approached escorting an elderly lady, his mom.  She thanked the two young men for chasing the mugger, then turned to James making such a fuss over him.  A group had formed and several people were filming with their cell phone cameras.  By the time the police arrived James had done selfies with at least a dozen people, been hugged numerous times by the old woman, and was asked for his autograph even (which he declined).  After giving his statement to the police he finally realized I was still waiting and excused himself.

"Looks like you did it again," I said jokingly. "At least she's closer in age to you."

"Ha, ha, very funny," he replied. "Come on, let's go.  This hero thing is weird."

I agreed and we headed to the subway to start making the trip back to Brooklyn.  The subway was crowded and James gave up his seat several times for women, which they mostly appreciated.  One woman started lecturing him about the patriarchy and in exasperation he said "if you don't want the seat just say so.  I was just being courteous."  He received applause for that one. 

Just before we crossed back into Brooklyn James got a text from Gus asking where we were.  James texted back and Gus asked us to get off at the next stop as he had a taxi waiting for us.  He wouldn't say why but we did as we were told.  The taxi driver hailed us as we came out of the subway station.  He couldn't say why he was driving us or where he was driving us to but he was on a mission to get us to our destination before the evening news.  He pulled up in front of the neighbourhood watering hole and told us to go on in.  As we walked through the doors people were cheering, applauding, and patting James on the back.  Finally, we spied Gus and he told everyone to be quiet so we could watch the news.  Here is the script as I remember it.

          Announcer 1:  Good evening and welcome to the evening news.  Well, he did it again.  You may remember a few weeks ago we reported on the mugging of a young woman just outside her residence.  A lone individual, who was later identified as Avengers member, Bucky Barnes, clotheslined the attacker, held him until police arrived, while giving aid to the young woman at the scene, and accompanying her to the hospital after.

          Announcer 2:  Well, Bucky has done it again! Cell phone video shows Barnes tackling a purse snatcher in Central Park, then holding him down while the two individuals originally chasing him arrived.  The victim, an elderly grandmother, arrives moments later with her son.  Just look at this footage of Barnes giving her purse back.  Bystanders described Barnes as accommodating but modest.  Now that's a hero in my books.

          Announcer 1:  I agree!  You noticed the red headed woman shown leaving with Barnes.  She was the victim of the original mugging.  Sources say the pair fell in love, were married about 10 days ago, and are still on their honeymoon.  Lucky woman!

           Announcer 2:  Did you see how beautiful she is?  I'd say lucky guy.  Either way, Barnes is the type of man I want coming to the rescue.

Everyone started cheering again.  Gus handed a beer to Bucky, and a water to me.  Then he spoke.

"I propose a toast to Buck for his heroism, to Gail for putting up with his heroism, and to Brooklyn for being the original home of our favourite Avenger Bucky Barnes.  Cheers!"

We were mobbed and Gus finally had to order people to give us air.  He sat us at a table at the back but I had to use the ladies room and couldn't get back after.  Gus's boys all came to shake James's hand.  He tried to apologize for his behaviour at the pool but they wouldn't hear of it, saying he had redeemed himself several times over.  The girls all wanted pictures of them kissing him on the cheek, which he obliged, but I saw him looking for me several times.  When he finally found me he looked relieved and motioned for me to sit on his lap.  With as much love as he could muster in that celebratory environment he gave me a long tender kiss, noticed by many.  He refused to leave me alone after that and I spent the next few hours on his lap, receiving just as many compliments as he did.  Gus and Maria sat with us and I could see she was proud of James.  They both were the parent figures we needed at that time.  I thanked the universe for the day Gus picked us up from the cemetery and entered our lives.

We didn't get home until late.  Fortunately, we didn't have to be at the funeral home until 12:30 so we could sleep in.  Before we went to bed Maria handed me a little bag with saltines and instructed me to eat a couple before I got up.  I took her by surprise when I suddenly hugged her and kissed her cheek.

"You have been so kind to us," I told her.  "You're like my surrogate mom."

"Well then," she declared, "you'd better call me Ma, then.  All the kids do, and I like to think of you as one of the kids."

James witnessed this exchange and looked so teary eyed that she told him he could call her Ma also.  He swept her up in his arms and kissed her cheek. She shrieked when he first lifted her up but it turned to laughter as she kept trying to get out.  He deposited her in Gus's lap.  He looked up with his reading glasses perched on his nose and announced we were to keep calling him Gus.

After as we lay side by side in the pool house James seemed thoughtful.

"What are you thinking of?" I asked.

"How lucky we are to have Gus and Ma," he replied.

"I thought the same thing earlier," I replied.

There was a few minutes silence.

"You are worthy, you know that, don't you?" I said, my voice breaking.

He propped himself up on one elbow to observe me and placed his left hand on my belly. 

"Almost," he replied solemnly.  "Good night my love. "

He kissed me lightly and slipped his right arm under me drawing me close to him.  His scent filled my senses.  His warmth was comforting.  We both slept a dreamless sleep.