Batting One Thousand

Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Dellums, sat in a tony little sandwich shoppe , not far from the courthouse as we awaited our verdicts....

The four of us had corned beef specials and cokes..

for our lunch...He paid for everything...

"I so miss this about living in Philly....Can't get good Corn Beef Specials like these in Beantown.." said Todd, who sat next to Ms. Yvette, who was also with us..

"You have to come back more..." she said..

"I'm going through a divorce....My second....I'm thinking of moving back to Philly...once it's been finalized." he said..

"You've been married twice Todd?" asked Bee Bee...who already knew, .

thanks to Ms. Jade.

."Yeah unfortunately....I haven't been too lucky in that department...Maybe you and I would have fared better.." he said.

Bee Bee smiled..

"We'll never know now.....And maybe we wouldn't ..We argued a lot you know.."said Bee Bee..

He sighed..

"That's true...Perhaps I need a clean slate...That's why I may move here or New York...I don't know...It's up in the air..." he said..

"My pops used to come here when he was in law school...He brought me here once...A long time ago." I said..

"Oh Wow...Your Pops is an attorney too? So is mine!" he said..

"Keith's father is a judge..."said Bee Bee...

"Oh My...Impressive.."said Todd....

''We aren't close...but uh things between us are starting to get better.."I said..

We all chowed down on our Sandwiches...

"Thank you again for inviting me to be a part of this Todd..."said Ms. Yvette...

"Oh No problem...I would have invited Sofia and Khalil, but they're in court..." he said..

 Standing outside of the sandwich shop was ADA Rockland Cambridge...

He slyly walked in...I saw him out of the corner of my eye and laughed....

Was this guy for real?

"What's so funny bae?" asked Bee Bee...

"Look",I said..

Rockland was ordering a sandwich...

"Oh for crying out loud...He's got to stop.."said Yvette..

"Who is he?"asked Todd..

"That is Assistant District Attorney ,Rockland Cambridge..."said Bee Bee....

"And My Ex....Lately he's been quite concerned , a little TOO CONCERNED about who I'm dating or whether I'm dating.." said Yvette..

''So are you uh dating anyone?"he asked ,More out of self interest than anything...

"I am...The guy works for him...And we don't want him to know about it...At least not yet....He and his girlfriend must be having trouble ,since he has such an interest in me all of a sudden.."said Ms. Yvette...

"Ms. Yvette....Fancy meeting you here....I always come here to get sandwiches for my staff and while waiting for a court verdict...Love this shop....It's a classic.." said Rockland Cambridge...

"Oh Really?  This is my first time here..."said Yvette...

He looked at me and Bee Bee..

"I understand You two are facing off against U.S. Attorney Dellums in that insider trading case..."he said..

"We are waiting for the jury's verdict now.."I said..

"That was good strategy getting the suppression of the rest of those people from his company who have been accused or convicted of it...Stops him from being judged by the company he keeps..Heh,Heh, Heh...But Mr. Dellums...I saw your sumnation yesterday,I thought it was brilliant...You remind me of myself..a few weeks ago...Heh ,heh ,heh...When I notched my 200th consecutive victory in court...I trust you've been showing their supervisor Ms.Yvette a great time around the city..?" said Rockland..

"I just met him yesterday...He's actually a childhood friend of Bee Bee here.."said Yvette...

I smiled and I turned my head...

 Bee Bee smiled and kicked me under the table..She was trying not to laugh herself...

"Ohhhh..I uh thought you two knew each other..."said Rockland..

"No...I wish I had met Ms. Jones before yesterday afternoon.....I've been here trying this case...Actually as a favor to a friend...I'll be returning to Boston, where I live after this trial...I'm going through a divorce....And uh after I get that settled...I may be thinking about moving here or New York, My mind is not made up yet..."said Todd..

 Khalil, Sofia and Jade walked in just then.....

 "Hey Guys....said Khalil..

 "Heyyyyyyyyyyyy"said a smiling Sofia...

"I love this place....The make a classic corn beef special." said Jade..

"The Verdict come  in?" asked Yvette..

''SURE DID!!!" said Sofia..

"NOT GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS!" said Khalil...

 "My MAN!"I said and high fived Khalil...

who smiled..

"You Go Girl!!!" said Bee Bee, who hugged Sofia..

"Thank you dahhhhhhling!"said Sofia...

"Ummmm Then Lieutenant Gary Lockwood took me here the last time I was in Philly, when I was on loan from the Tokyo Police Department.."said Jade...

"He works for me now...He's my principal Investigator...How long have you two been uh seeing each other?" asked Rockland..

"I'm not dating him....I just know him...He's a friend.."said Jade..

"You're battin one thousand today !" said Bee Bee...

At this point, I couldn't control my laughter...

,  Sofia and Khalil were laughing too....

Ms. Yvette's phone rang.....It was Gary....

"The Jury has come back..."said Gary...

"Thanks" said Yvette...

"Okay guys....It's showtime....The Jury is back!"said Yvette...

Todd pulled out his credit card and paid for our sandwiches...

Then the four of us...Myself, Ms. Yvette, Bee Bee and Todd all got up and headed down the street towards the courthouse...

"Good Luck Guys" said Sofia as they left....

Khalil looked at Rockland's plate...

"Hey Man, you want that pickle?" he asked..

"Take it."said Rockland...

He had no idea who Ms. Yvette was seeing.

II-

We all stood in court....Mark Dowell looked nervous..He was thinking about the 10 years he could get in Federal Prison if convicted...

He said to me..

"You did good man...but dude is from Harvard!"

"Annnnnnd that means what?" I said...

"No offense, but Harvard and Law are synonomous.." he said..

Bee Bee just shook her head and laughed...

The Bailiff gave the verdict to the Judge who read it...

"Everybody Stand...Mark L. Dowell... Count One...Conspiracy...We find the defendant...NOT GUILTY!

Count Two...Obstruction of an Agency Proceeding...NOT GUILTY!!!

Count Three..Making False Statements to a Federal Agent, GUILTY....Your sentence, Five Months in Federal Prison.....Jail time suspended...

Mark Dowell slumped down in his chair...

"Ohhhh My God!" he said..

"Hey man....You're free and clear...Smile knucklehead..." I said...

He smiled...

He kissed Bee Bee on the cheek..

"THANK YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

"You're welcome....You should thank Keith...He was the lead attorney..."said Bee Bee..

He went to kiss me...

"That's okayyyyyyyy...I'm good...You're welcome..."I said...

He was the only one from his agency , who was not going to jail....

"PENN LAW BABY!" he yelled out!

Ms. Yvette hugged both of us...

"I love yall...I love yall to death...All my babies did good today!" she said....

Todd shook my hand...

"Good Job man...Our case was weak anyway against him....We got the others.....The main players.." he said..

Rockland and Gary walked up...

"Well...that's two for two for your young bucks today....Congratulations Yvette." he said and kissed her softly...

Yvette was stunned...

Gary stared daggers at his boss..

"Relax man...She can handle this.." I said quietly to him...

"Don't ever do that again Rockland!!....We are wayyyy past that.."said Yvette to Rockland, sternly....

He smiled slyly...Her lips were still as soft as he remembered..

"HEYYYY  IS THAT PLACE, JOSIE's still open?  Drinks on me.....Our cases are over!" said  Todd...

"I'm there.." I said..

"Come on Gary....Let's head back to the office.." said Rockland..

Yvette looked at Gary and whispered..

"I'll call you.."

After they were gone...

Todd smiled..

"I figured dude might just happen to show up in Josie's.....I'm taking us somewhere else...I said that out loud on purpose so he could hear it..."said Todd...

Ms. Yvette smiled..

"You are alright with me.."she said..

III-

We all wound up at the Brewery , another local watering hole, but far enough from Josies to throw Rockland off...

Todd was as good as his word...

There was plenty of domestic brews for Khalil, and me..

and enough martinis for the girls..

 Ms. Yvette, Bee Bee, Sofia and Ms. Jade...

 "These Drinks are delicious.." said Yvette.

 ''And Cheap...I came here with Olivia,Josie and Donnie Ray after we worked that case together...The one I worked while Beverly and Nelson were on their honeymoon.."said Bee Bee.

 "Yeah you told me about that.."said Sofia...

"Hey ladies...Try these Citris Martini's"said Jade..

As a row of them came...

"Come on Boys...Let's do some tall boys.."said Todd..

As three tall boys of beer arrived..

"Todd, you're alright.." said Khalil...

"Yeah man..."I said as I quaffed down a beer..

As we frolicked...Gary appeared in the doorway...

He saw us and smiled....He walked over to Ms. Yvette..

"Heyy, thanks for texting me.." he said.

"I told Todd about my predicament with Rockland and he said Josies purposely where he could hear it...He never planned to go there.."said Yvette..

"Smart Ploy and your cars are in the indoor garage...Nice..."

"It's been a good day.."said Yvette...

''I heard...All of your youngins won in court today...Another feather in your cap..eh?" said Gary..

"Theirs too...I may have gotten them offices...Small offices...but better than being in those cubicles.." she said...

"You're such a good mommy.."said Gary,laughing....He pulled her toward him and kissed her..

We all looked at them both and smiled..

 EPILOUGE-

Meanwhile at Josie's

It being Friday, the place was packed..

Rockland sauntered in...He looked around...He was there until closing...He was furious that neither Yvette nor any of us ever showed up....

He drove by our apartment complex at 3:00 in the morning, just in time to see Me and Bee Bee

 Drunk,kissing,laughing and stumbling inside and

 "Girl,I'm gon tear you up when we get inside.."I said as I fumbled for my key..

 "You better come to my apartment, you're too drunk to make it to your floor.."she said,laughing..

 We stood there and kissed each other passionately..

"Love you gurlll." I said..

"Love you more boyyyyyyyyyyy.." she slurrred...

 "Yall gone have to move....I want to kiss Sofia.."said a drunk Khalil..

''What's stopping you papi?" said Sofia.

who grabbed him and kissed him...

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh mami..." he moaned...

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu papiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" she cooed..

Ms.Jade and Todd stumbling inside of her apartment complex across the street

 "You're sleeping on the couch.....Don't try to slip into my bedroom....Just remember...I sleep with a gun!"said Jade..

 "I've got a gun in my pants.."he said drunkenly....

"That's what you all say.."laughed Jade...

He was too drunk to allow him to drive home..She was letting him sleep it off on her couch...She would take him to his car in the morning..

Rockland drove to Yvette's apartment complex..It was now 4:00 am in the morning..

Again she was not at home...Her car gone...Her lights out....Where was she?   He stomped his foot and kicked a near by trash can...

She was blocks away at Gary Lockwood's house...

and they were unlike us...Awake..Not talking at all,

Just Kissing passionately.....