Chapter 30

“This is the police!” Another voice shouted, “Stay right where you are!” The crowd did anything but that. People ran in every direction splitting off down the multiple paths into and out of central park.

They overwhelmed the police, who only numbered ten to fifteen, running past them like a football player maneuvering himself past the enemy defenses, but the police were not so helpless that they were incapable of action. They struck out with their night sticks, felling one woman in a yellow shirt, and pinned her to the ground, ready to arrest her. Just as the policeman was about to put handcuffs on the terrified, prone woman, the bearded man from the dance circle charged the police officer, barreling right into him, and knocking him off the woman. It gave both of them the time to escape into the mob Andrea was being pushed around by the mob, unable to find a place to exit. Her eyes searched frantically, but every way out was either blocked by a mass of humanity or a pair of blue and black uniforms.

This is it! They’re going to find out who I am.

She began panicking. Unable to decide what to do, Andrea froze up.

“Come on, Andrea!” Jesus said, running from seemingly nowhere, turning her head, and pulling her in the direction of one of the exits, straight towards two burly police officers with night sticks drawn.

Jesus veered off to the right and took off with Andrea down a different path.

They sprinted down the path, away from the officers. Across a path of terraced garden, they could see John being pushed up against the same bench he and Jesus had been talking on and arrested.

“John!” Jesus yelled. It wasn’t any use, but John looked up when he heard his name, locking eyes with Jesus. He started to say something, but was abruptly cut off when another officer tossed him to the ground.

“Let’s get out of here!” Said Andrea, pulling Jesus along, away from John and out of the park.

They had made it out to the street, and now could mix in with the normal New York crowds. They were home free.

“Shit! I’m glad to see you guys. Have you seen Lily?” Stars said, jogging up from behind them.

Jesus looked at Andrea.

“No, I lost her in the crowd,” Andrea said. As she said it, a wave of nausea came over her.

Between the acid, the running, and all the excitement, her body had begun to overheat.

“I think I need to sit down,” She said.

“Come on, let’s get her to a bench,” Stars said. They guided her to a bench where the three of them could sit and regain their bearing. Jesus’s vision swam in front of him, sparking iridescent colors twisting and convulsing. The whole world had a pulse. Despite what happened at the park, he still felt good.

“I saw John getting arrested,” Jesus said.

“Yeah, I saw that too,” Stars said, “Here, hold out your hand,” Jesus did, and Stars wrote a telephone number on his palm.

“This is my phone number. Call me in a couple days. Hopefully, I will have heard from John by then,” Stars got up, “I’m going to go find Lily. You guys should go home before a cop recognizes one of you.”

“Wait, can you give us directions back to Brooklyn?”

“Sure. Just take the S bus to porter and get on the one that goes east from there. I think it’s the 28.

It might be the 36. It’s 30-something. Anyway, good luck. Call me, and if I don’t pick up, call again.”

Jesus and Andrea followed Star’s instructions, at some difficulty. They felt like aliens, tripping around all these indifferent, normal people. Jesus was sure he could feel sets of eyes on him and Andrea on the busses. It was strange, seeing life from a completely different perspective than everyone else.

If only these people could see what I see.

Finally, they climbed the five flights of stairs to the sixth floor, where they could finally drop their guard. The two lovers looked at each other and began laughing. They were cracking up at what seemed like the funniest joke in the world, never mind that nobody actually made a joke. It all seemed perfectly hilarious to them; the whole course of events that had led them to that point. Eventually, the couple calmed down and enjoyed the rest of their psychedelic experience by virtue of a Beatles record Andrea had acquired from Cara, the other girl that worked as a cashier at Lucardo’s. It had belonged to her brother, who had been drafted and couldn’t keep it. The trip lasted for another six hours, in which Jesus and Andrea danced, made love, and sat talking to one another and laughing at seemingly nothing until they went to a Cuban restaurant down the block for dinner. The food was delicious, and afterwards they fell asleep right away.

The next day at work, Scott and Joe made no mention of The Rooster or going out Friday.

Perhaps they were embarrassed to have associated themselves with another liberal anti-war protestor.

Still, they worked together without incident. Tuesday, Jesus placed a call to Stars in the early afternoon.

He picked up on the third ring.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Jesus.”

There was a moment of silence on the line before Stars must have realized who he was, “Jesus! What’s up man! How was your trip?”

“It was fantastic. Thanks a lot,” Jesus said, “Did you find Lily?”

“Yeah, or more accurately, she found me. She’s a smart one. Didn’t show up until Monday night. Had me worried to death.”

“That’s good. I think you have a great woman. You need to stay with her.”

“You said it, man. Hey, I talked to John yesterday. He has court on Friday. You can come if you want, it’s at the courthouse at nine in the morning.”

Jesus mentally checked his schedule. He worked the evening shift on Friday. He could make it.

“I’ll be there.”

“Great, that’s awesome. Here are the details … ” Stars gave him the location of the courthouse and specific court room, as well as instructions to get there.

“It’s almost like you’ve done this before.” Jesus said.

“Maybe once or twice. Don’t forget to wear your best clothes when you go. The bailiff already doesn’t like me very much.”

“I can’t imagine. Why.”

“Crazy, right? Say hi to Lily,” Lily’s voice came on the phone, “Hi Jesus.”

“Hi, Lily.”

“Is your girl there? I’m in love with her,” Andrea was in the bathroom.

“No, she’s busy. Sorry. But I’ll tell her you said hi,” He said.

“Do that. We’re having a party on Friday after John’s court date. You should bring her.”

“I don’t think so; we have work that night.”

“That’s okay, you can come before if you’d like.”

“I’ll think about it,” Jesus said.

“Alright, love,” Andy came back on the phone and said, “I’ll talk to you later, bud. Hope to see you at court. And listen, if you need anything in the way of — you know, good stuff, give me a shout.

Adios, amigo.”

On Thursday, Jesus visited Alverez’s Gold and Pawn again, this time without Andrea. He had gotten some good use out of the record player Alverez had sold him, but more than that, Alverez had left a good impression on Jesus. The man was as warm and genuinely friendly as he remembered him. When Jesus walked in the store a second time, a much needed reprieve from the cold, callous populace of the city’s average inhabitants.

“My friend! How is that record player I sold you?”

“It’s great. Works perfectly.”

“That’s fantastic. Tell you what, I know what a man like you needs,” Alverez said, beginning his pitch, “This is a .357 magnum,” He pulled a big, black revolver with a wide barrel onto the counter.

“Perfect for a guy like you. This is your home protection policy. This is how you know you and your girl are going to be safe on the street from some bozo walking around. The city is a dangerous place for someone that doesn’t know it inside and out. I can give you this and some bullets for seventy-five dollars. It’s a steal.”

Jesus eyed the gun with intrigue, but decided against it.

“I was actually came to see if you have any more records.”

“Yeah, come over here,” Alverez said. He led, and Jesus followed.

“I’ve got a record by this band The Doors. They’re on the cutting edge. You’ll love it.”

Jesus bought the record and retired home happily. Later, he smoked a joint and listened to Jim Morrison talk about transcendence.

“You should have bought the gun,” A voice said. Jesus sat up.

“Who said that?” He said to the empty room. No answer. He settled back and relaxed until Andrea came home.

The next morning, Andrea and Jesus took the bus to the courthouse in the morning. John’s arrest weighted heavy on their minds, especially after seeing the way that he had been treated by the arresting officer. They eventually found their way to courtroom 4B, where a few dozen people were scattered around the pews. Jesus recognized Stars and went to sit with him and Lily.

“Good to see you,” Stars said in a hushed tone, “Keep it down in here.”

“Where’s John?” Jesus said quietly.

“He’s back there, somewhere. They’ll bring him out when it’s time.”

“All rise for the honorable judge Haliff.” The bailiff, an older, stout white man.

The room stood as a grey haired man in a black robe entered the room and sat at his pedestal.

Like some strange cultish ritual.

“You may sit,” The court called out a dozen people before they got to John. Public intoxication, traffic violations, petty theft, domestic violence, and one case of probation violation.

“John Letters,” The clerk finally called. A sheriff led him out of a door in handcuffs and a white jumpsuit. He looked about five years older and fifteen pounds skinnier, and he was without his glasses.

“John,” The judge read, “You are being charged with the crime of disrupting the peace. On Sunday, July 29th, you were present and participating in a protest in Central Park which disrupted the ongoings of many individuals and necessitated the intervention of local authorities. How do you plead?”

“Guilty,” John said.

“And you understand by entering this plea, you forfeit your right to a jury by trial.”

“Yes.”

“Then by the power vested in me by the great state of New York, I sentence you to twelve months probation. I do not want to see you in this court room again, Mr. Letters.”

“What does that mean?” Whispered Jesus.

“It means you’re getting out,” Replied Stars. It wasn’t until three in the afternoon that John was finally released from the county jail. Jesus, Andrea, Stars, and Lily waited for him the entire time in the release area, breaking only to have lunch. Jesus was worried that there wouldn’t be enough time for him or Andrea to be at work at Lucardo’s by five. They weren’t the only ones waiting. When John finally did come out, dressed in the same green sleeveless shirt and clothes he had been arrested in, minus the glasses, he was greeted not only by them, but by a tall, grey haired man in a dark brown suit.

“Jesus, I’d like to introduce you to Paul Halman,” He said after everyone had finished exchanging niceties and condolences, “This is Winston’s kid.”

“Oh, are you?” Paul said, feigning surprise, “And how is your old man?”

“I wouldn’t know; I haven’t spoken to him in a while. Last time I talked to him, he was five.”

“Is he still in town? I haven’t seen him for some weeks now.”

“No, he’s staying in Chicago,” Jesus said.

“Chicago! Of course. Well, best wishes to him. Thank you all so much for coming out. Now, I’m afraid that we all have some business to attend to,” Paul said courteously.

“Before we go,” John Said, “Give me your phone number. I might need to call you,” John handed Jesus a pen and paper, and Jesus wrote down his home phone number.

“Great, thanks, Jesus. We’ll be in touch,” The four of them watched Paul leave quickly with John.

“That was pretty strange,” Said Jesus.

“Not really. Paul is the owner of The Rooster. He treats John like his kid, probably because he never married.”

“I see. Andrea and I had better leave pretty soon for work. Why don’t we hang out some other time? Can you come over to our apartment in Brooklyn?”

“That sounds lovely,” Lily said, “It’s too bad we couldn’t spend more time together today.”

“Yeah, it is too bad, bitch,” Said a snide voice in Jesus’ head. He ignored it.

“Do you guys have any weed you could sell us?” Andrea said.

Stars laughed, “I’m your guy, baby. Weed, acid, mushrooms, you name it, I’ve got it. You just call me and I’ll make sure you get the hookup.”

“You’re a life saver, man,” Jesus said.

“No problem,” Stars replied with a smile, “My stuff is so good, it will make you go crazy.”