Fall Black In Love 1: When Henry Met Millie (4 page)

Chapter 4

  The next day, Henry was back at the plant working across from Bill who had been unusually quiet. Henry focused on his work, enjoying the silence.

  “Patterson!”

  Turning at the sound of his name, Henry watched his foreman, Scott Schmidt coming over to where he stood. He stepped away from where he assembled his parts and met the man half way.

  “What can I do for you?” Henry asked.

The angry Scott yelled at him. “You’re putting out bad parts!”

Henry paused. “No sir. That’s not true.”

  “We got defective parts on the end of the line and they came from you!” Scott challenged.

  “Let me see them,” Henry told him boldly. “We can clear this up very quickly.”

Henry took pride in his work and knew that every part he assembled was above standards.

Scott walked closer. “Are you challenging me?”

  “You should step back,” Henry told him watching his light blue eyes flash.

  “And if I don’t?” Scott yelled moving closer until they were nearly touching.

  Henry looked around as an audience began to form then looked down at Scott. “Like I said, there’s nothing wrong with my parts. You should check somewhere else.”

  “I’m the damn foreman! You don’t tell me where to check. You hear me boy!”

Henry’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not your boy.”

  “Get your ass out!” Scott yelled and grabbed Henry’s arm.

Henry snatched away from his hold. “Don’t put your hands on me!” he snapped angrily.

  By this time, another foreman arrived and saw the two men in confrontation. Before he could intervene, Scott had begun pushing Henry in the chest with both hands yelling for him to leave the premises. Henry responded quickly, grabbing Scott around the neck.

  It took Bill, the second foreman and three other workers to pull Henry away from Scott. When he was finally released, Scott’s face was a dark red and he was struggling to breathe while clutching his neck. The plant security arrived and Scott yelled for them to take Henry to the police.

  “Take his black ass to jail. I’m pressing charges!” Scott choked out.

  Henry was led out of the building until a police cruiser with two white officers arrived a few minutes later. He was handcuffed and placed in the back of the car. During the ride, Henry put his head down.

How in the hell was he going to get out of this?

  At the station, Henry was booked and charged with assault. Inside his cell, he dropped his face into his hands. He knew that assaulting a white man was a serious crime even here in the north. In addition, racial tensions were still very high in Detroit so briefly after the riots. Scott Schmidt had always had it in for Henry since he’d first started at the factory. Henry was liked by everyone and did his job exceptionally well. However, he stayed to himself and wasn’t overly talkative or friendly. Scott liked to have his power and position applauded and Henry wasn’t one to provide that. While some other workers would cheerfully yell, ‘Hey Boss!’ when Scott came around, Henry on the other hand would acknowledge him with a simple ‘Good Morning or Good Afternoon’. This didn’t sit well with Scott and he’d always looked at Henry with disdain.

  Even with all that being said, Henry was in deep. His bail had been set but he didn’t have anyone who could bail him out. The family that he had stayed with upon his arrival had gone back to Mississippi shortly after the riots. Since there was no one else he could rely upon at this time, he prepared himself to deal with whatever the outcome was to be.

******

  A few days later, Millie was on her way to class when she heard someone call her name. Turning she saw one of the Black Student Leaders.

  “Hey Thomas,” she greeted.

He smiled at her. “Hey Honey. We need your help with something.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “The Black Student Union is organizing a protest and we need your support.”

Millie nodded. “What are we protesting?”

  “A black Ford worker was arrested for assaulting a white foreman, but all the witnesses say he’s getting a bum rap,” he explained. “They’re holding him at the County.”

Millie felt a chill go down her spine. “What’s the worker’s name?” she asked warily.

  “Henry Patterson. From all accounts, he’s been working there a few months with an excellent work history. We think he was targeted for some reason.”

When Millie heard Henry’s name, her heart stopped.

  “How long has he been there?” she asked.

  “Three days,” Thomas answered. “We’re worried about his safety. Assaulting a white man can get a black man mysteriously killed in custody.”

Thomas looked up in surprise as Millie took off running down the hall towards the doors leading outside.

  “Honey?” Thomas called after her. “Can we count you in?”

  “YESSS!” she screamed as she continued out the door.

  Millie took two city buses to get downtown to the County Jail. She entered and walked up the desk staffed by an officer.

He looked up. “How can I help you?”

  “I’m here to see someone you have in custody,” she told him.

  “Name?”

She cleared her throat. “Henry Patterson.”

The officer checked a log next to him then looked up at her. “Who are you?”

Millie thought fast. “I’m his wife.”

  The officer looked at her skeptically before glancing at her empty hand. He gave her a look as she touched her empty ring finger.

  “His wife?” He lifted a brow.

She stood firm. “Yes.”

He handed her a pen along with a clipboard. “Sign your name on the Visitor Log.”

Millie took both then signed, Mrs. Henry Patterson on the form. She then handed both back to the officer. He looked at the signature then smiled as he stood.

  “Okay Mrs. Patterson, come this way.” He led her to a small room and motioned for her to have a seat.

  “I know that you’re not Henry’s wife, but I like him. I’m glad someone has come to check on him. He’s a good guy.”

Millie smiled. “Thank you.”

  “He’ll be in shortly,” the officer said before leaving her alone in the room.

  Millie wondered how Henry would feel about her coming here. Her only thought had been to check and see if he was alright. He’d told her that he had come to Detroit alone, so she assumed that he had no family in the city. The officer had said that no one had come to check on him, so maybe he’d be happy that she’d come.

The door opened and Henry entered. He looked from the officer to Millie then back.

  “You have ten minutes with your wife Henry.” He smiled then walked out, closing the door behind him.

Millie watched as Henry slowly took the seat across from her. “Miss Millie, what are you doing here?”

  “I came as soon as I heard Henry. What happened?”

Henry looked away. “I’ve jeopardized my job, my freedom and my entire life.”

  “The Student Leader told me that you were possibly targeted. Tell me what happened,” she pleaded.

  He looked at her. “My foreman came accusing me of making bad parts. I know that not’s true so I told him,” Henry paused. “He grabbed me, I told him not to touch me then he started pushing me so…I retaliated.”

Millie frowned. “He had no right to put his hands on you!”

  “He wanted an excuse to get rid of me,” Henry told her.

  “First, we need to get you out of here, then you can get a lawyer or something,” Millie said watching him. “How much is your bail?”

  “Two hundred dollars,” Henry told her and her eyes widened.

  “I don’t have that kind of money Henry, but I can try to raise the funds at school,” Millie offered.

Henry took her hand. “I have the money Millie. I just need you to go and get it for me.”

She looked confused. “Where?”

  “At my apartment.”

  “Uh…okay,” Millie said slowly.

  Henry locked gazes with her. “Go to my apartment, tell my landlord what happened and that you need to get inside. Tell her I sent you and she’ll let you in.”

Millie listened intently.

  “In my bedroom closet underneath a pile of blankets is a shoe box. Inside the box is my savings,” he told her.

  “You trust me to go into your savings?” Millie asked shocked.

Henry’s grip tightened on her hand. “You came to help me right?”

She nodded slowly looking into his troubled brown eyes. “You’re all I have right now Miss Millie.”

  Millie squeezed his hand in return. “Okay, I won’t let you down Henry. I’ll go as quickly as I can and come back.”

  “Thank you.”

Millie touched his handsome face. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”

  “I just want to go home,” he told her.

She removed her hand. “I’ll be back to get you out.”

  Henry gave Millie his address before the door opened and the officer returned. He looked between the pair.

  “Are you going to get your husband out of here Mrs. Patterson?” he asked.

  Millie stood. “Yes, I’ll be back for him shortly.” She glanced at Henry once more before leaving out the door.

Henry watched her go before getting to his feet. The officer led him back to his cell and locked the door.

  “When you get out of here, you marry that girl Henry Patterson,” the officer told him.

******

  Another bus ride and Millie was at Henry’s apartment. His landlord was upset to hear what had happened to him. She’d wondered where he’d been for the last few days. Millie took the key and went to Henry’s apartment. Stepping inside, she closed and locked the door behind her.

  Looking around, she admired his spot. It was nicely furnished with a sofa and television. Everything was nice and clean. She hurried to his bedroom and spotted his made up bed then smiled to herself. Henry Patterson seemed to be a very tidy young man.

  Walking to his closet, she opened the door to find neatly hanging clothes and uniforms. Looking down she spotted the blankets and quickly moved them to the side, finding the shoebox that was taped on the ends. Opening the box, her mouth dropped at the amount of money inside.

  Millie counted out two hundred dollars then placed the rest back in the box, taping the ends in place and putting everything back the way she’d found it. She closed the closet door and headed out the front, securing the locks before heading back to the jail.

  Half the day was done by the time Millie arrived back at the County Jail to post bail for Henry. It had taken four buses and five hours to get to him, but now he could have his freedom again. Millie paid the fee then waited patiently in the lobby for Henry to be released.

  When he appeared, she rushed over, throwing her arms around him. Henry embraced her, placing a soft kiss on the top of her head.

  “Thank you Miss Millie,” he whispered holding her close.

  “I’m so glad that you’re out,” she breathed relieved.

  Henry stepped back and looked down at her. “Let me take you home. I need to get my car first from the parking lot at the factory.”

  Millie followed as Henry led her outside the facility where he flagged down a taxicab and helped her inside. He slid to the opposite side of the seat and she looked at him in question.

  “I’ve been in jail for three days. I’m not fresh or clean right now,” he explained.

She smiled at him and moved closer. “I don’t care about that Henry.”

  “Your father was right, you are sweeter than honey,” he commented, staring into her face.

  At the parking lot, Henry retrieved his car thankful that it was still parked in the same spot. He assisted Millie inside before rushing around to the driver’s seat then turning to her waiting gaze.

  “Since my apartment is closer, do you mind if we stop there so I can shower and change?” he asked. “I just need to feel clean.”

Millie agreed. “Yes, I understand.”

  Henry started the car and began to drive towards his place. He glanced over at Millie’s bag on her lap. “You missed school today,” he surmised.

  “I’ll make it up. Irma will fill me in later.”

  “I can’t believe you’ve done all this for me,” Henry said quietly.

  “I’m sorry this happened Henry. Hopefully we can do something to get your job back and these charges dropped.”

He nodded. “I’m going to Legal Aid tomorrow to see what my options are.”

  “Anything that I can do to help, please tell me,” Millie said sincerely.

Henry looked at her. “You’ve done more than I could ever ask Miss Millie.”

  They drove the short distance and Millie returned the key to his landlord before Henry led her upstairs. The landlord had instructed her to return the key after Henry was released just in case Millie needed to come back and collect other things for him.

Henry opened the door then stepped back to allow her inside. Millie walked into the familiar space and stood by the door while he closed and locked it.