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In a car parked outside a house, two beautiful women were talking: a white brunette in her thirties, and a black woman some years older: the latter was edgy and anxious. “What will you tell him?” She asked the other.
“Relax, Joss, I already told you; I will chat with him for a little while, to break the ice and earn his trust, then I am telling him you are alive, then you can go in too, just after I get out. Better do it now, he is alone at present.”
Joss Carter sighed “Will he still consider me as his mother? He has had another one for more than one year, after all!”
“Joss, you are his mother! And yes, he is on good terms with the woman Paul met; but you always had a special connection to him, you told me that; I am sure he hasn’t forgotten you!”
“God, I am so nervous … and I had always been the calmer one … “
“Listen, Joss, no point in dragging our feet, I go!”
“Wait, Sam … oh dear … “ But the brunette woman was already outside the car.
---
Taylor Carter was nervous; he was the best in his class at math, but this task wasn’t easy at all; and he didn’t want to disappoint his teacher.
The doorbell rang, and he went to open; a pretty white woman with a friendly smile was there, and she was showing him a badge “Augusta King, FBI.”
“Oh … what happened?”
“Please, Taylor, don’t worry, I’m not here on official business.”
“Oh, okay then. You can come in, I guess … why are you here?”
“Well, it’s about your mother … “
“My mom … you mean Joss Carter?”
“Yes.”
“Of course, I remember she went to FBI with that piece of garbage, Quinn; you met her in that occasion, I guess.”
“No, I met her later; may I sit down?”
“Oh, God, how rude of me! Of course, Agent King, can I offer you a drink?”
“A glass of water will do, thank you.”
While Taylor was in the kitchen, the woman whose real name was Samantha Groves, a.k.a. Root, took a look at Taylor’s sheets. “The Monty Hall problem, I see … do you need help to solve it?”
“Oh, no, I already solved it at school … indeed, I was the only one in my class that could find the solution.” He said those words quite humbly, he didn’t want to look like the boasting type.
Root smiled “Joss had told me you were good at school … why are these sheets here, then?”
Taylor sighed “After I solved it, Mr. Perry explained it to the rest of the class, but three of us didn’t grasp it; it’s hard to get it fully, because it’s one of the most counterintuitive riddles ever.”
“I know, it’s hard to believe that the better option is switching doors.”
“Yes! So, Mr. Perry asked me to find a way to make the problem simpler, so our classmates can understand it … but it’s not easy.”
“Well, I could help you, but only a bit; it wouldn’t be honest, otherwise; are you willing to listen to my hint?”
Taylor nodded, awed that a FBI agent could know math like that.
“Okay, Taylor, try to imagine there are more than three doors … “
The boy thought it over for a while, then he grinned “Yeah, it works! Let’s say we have ten doors; the one picked by the contestant has only one chance out of ten of winning, all the rest is nine out of ten; and eight unsuccessful doors will be opened by the game host, so … “
“So, switching doors gives you a chance nine times higher than keeping the first one!”
“Great! It doesn’t change the gist of the problem, but it makes it more intelligible. Thank you so much, Agent King! But I shouldn’t waste your time with these insignificancies. Excuse me, you have more pressing matters, I am sure.”
“Yeah, about that … listen, Taylor. When Joss gave us Alonzo Quinn, my … boss … thought that she had to be protected.”
“Well, it didn’t work, then, because she was killed.”
“As a matter of fact, Taylor, the best way to protect someone is faking his, or her, death.”
Taylor was flabbergasted “Wha … What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that she’s alive, Taylor.”
“God … how do you know?”
“For two years I have been her only connection to the rest of the world. I have been keeping an eye on you and the other people she cares for, updating her about everything that happened … and we became friends.”
His mouth was dry “Where is she?”
“In a car, waiting for a gesture from me. Do you want to see her?”
Taylor stayed silent for a while, evidently overwhelmed, and Root went on “Are you mad at her because she didn’t show for two years? Believe me, Taylor, she wanted to, but it wasn’t safe.”
Finally, the boy nodded, and Root went to the door, opened it and waved to a nearby sedan. Joss came out of the car and went towards the house. She was shaken, so when she got to Root’s side, the taller woman smiled at her to give her courage.
When she saw her son she gasped; of course he had grown in two years, she knew that, but she was seeing a young man now, and tears of joy began to well in her eyes.
Taylor let out a strangled cry “Mom!” And then he ran to embrace her.
- Two days after -
John Reese and Joss Carter were lying in bed after making love, cuddling.
“God, John, I feel like I have been reborn … after two years of despair, boredom and loneliness. And now I have you, Taylor, many friends.”
“Speaking of which, how did it go with Taylor?”
“Better than expected. He accepted the explanation that Root gave him, that FBI kept me hidden for my own good.”
“Did you see your ex-husband too?”
“Yes, he came there after an hour, and was happy to see me alive; we are not in love anymore, but we are still friends, definitely. He was a good father for Taylor, that’s sure.”
“And his partner?”
“Alisha is okay; when she saw me, she was afraid I could take her man away, but I reassured her that there was someone else in my life.” And saying so, she smiled and kissed John.
The woman continued “And the deal is that I can go to visit Taylor when I want. We settled for, let’s say, once or twice a week. And Taylor insisted that you come too, sometimes: he hasn’t forgotten that time you saved him from Elias.”
“I am glad to go with you, Joss, anytime you want.”
“So … are we a couple now?”
“If you are okay with that, Joss, yes, we are a couple.”
“Oh, I am more than okay with that, John … but what about Iris?”
“God, who told you that? No, let me guess … Root, of course.”
“Easy shot, John, she was the only one who regularly contacted me.”
“Good Lord, she is such a meddler; she was smirking while saying that to you, wasn’t she? And calling me helper monkey or Lurch?”
“Actually, no, she was doubtful about that relationship, which was quite hollow as she saw it, and said you deserved more than an insignificant shrink … who cannot compare to me. Excuse me, I am only reporting her words, and it’s embarrassing, to say the least.“
“Oh … well, I guess she was right on that.”
“If you say so … but you haven’t told me if you slept with her, yet.”
John sighed “God, Joss, it happened a couple of times, but I thought you were dead, so … “
“Right, right, you don’t have to apologize, I was only asking. Besides, if someone must be blamed, that would be me.”
“You … slept with someone?”
“Yeah, only once, but … I knew you were alive. And I did it regardless.”
“Joss, I don’t blame you either, we weren’t committed in any way, and you surely felt lonely … but out of curiosity, who could it be, since your only connection back then was … wait … ROOT?!?” The last word was uttered in absolute disbelief.
Joss smiled, defiantly “Yes: Root; any problem?”
“No … not really, only it’s hard to believe that you … “
“That I slept with a woman? It happened after the Stock Exchange, John, and she was desperate … I couldn’t stand to see her that way.”
“Jesus, okay, okay, I understand … you did it for her.”
“Not only for her, I was feeling lonely too … “
“Okay, maybe we could change subject?”
“Yeah, but I can see we should agree to disagree on her, probably. I think she is better than you think she is. Same as I think Finch is worse than you think he is.”
John grumbled “Yes, I trust her more now, and about Harold … maybe he should have let us know about him, and inquire about the rest of the team, before leaving. But he is a good man.”
“He was worried about his conscience, about the guilt he had to bear for creating an A.I.; everything else, including his friends’ lives, was a minor issue for him. If I were Root, I’d call him saying ‘Hey, Finch, I am alive, you tried to get me killed with your stubborn rules, you self-righteous asshole, but surprise! It didn’t work.’ But of course she is too in awe of that moron, and she won’t do that.”
John sighed “Okay, this is not ruining our relationship, is it?”
Joss smiled “As you said before, let’s change subject. Do you still have a bit of energy left?” He nodded, and soon after she kissed him hungrily.