Morgan appeared behind Ozzie with a hand on his wrist. “Everything good here, bro?”
The three men eyed one another, and then the blond man kissed his teeth and walked away.
“Can’t even go somewhere and just have a good time,” Morgan said.
“The Germans ain’t even studying us. They could care less. It’s always them white boys from below the Mason-Dixon Line.”
“What happened?”
“Fool tried to get Jelka to dance and got pissed when she said no.”
“I gotcha back,” Morgan said.
“We’re heading out anyway,” Ozzie said, shaking Morgan’s hand.
“Be safe, brother.”
The two men pounded fists.
Thirty minutes later, Ozzie had paid for a room by the hour, and Jelka wasted no time stripping down to her lace panties and matching bra.
CHAPTER 29Mannheim, Germany, December 1950
OZZIE
Burger night! My favorite,” said Morgan, picking up a tray as they moved through the chow line the next evening.
“Man, did you hear about the NBA?” Satchel said, his harmonica peeking from his shirt pocket.
They sat in their usual corner, at the end of a long dining table toward the back of the room, each with a plate heaped with food.
“They finally signed three Negroes to the league.” Morgan pulled the newspaper from his back pocket and opened it to the sports section.
Ozzie read out loud: “?‘Chuck Cooper, Nathaniel Clifton, and Earl Lloyd Break the NBA Color Barrier.’ Well, I’ll be damned. They gonna wait till I’m over here to let us in?”
Satchel laughed. “What difference does that make? Your ass wasn’t getting into the NBA.”
“Whatcha talking about? They call me Sure Shot on the streets of South Philly. Ask anybody ’round there. They’ll tell you.”
“Man, whatever.”
Mayo rested in the corner of Morgan’s mouth. “First thing I’mgoing to do when I get back home is get tickets. I want to see them play against each other.”
“Which teams?” Satchel asked.
“Says here Boston Celtics, Washington Capitols, and New York Knicks.” Ozzie held up the paper.
“Never been to New York before.” Morgan grinned.
“Let’s make a pact, then. When we all return to the States, we gonna meet up in New York for a game.”
“Deal.”
They all raised their mugs of Coca-Cola, and as they toasted, the hairs on the back of Ozzie’s neck bristled. He turned to see First Sergeant Petty and two other soldiers walking toward him. They stopped at Ozzie’s table.
“Evening, soldiers,” Petty greeted them, and then said, “Philips, come with us.”
Ozzie looked from Morgan to Satchel as he stood and slipped on his coat. As he followed Petty out of the mess hall, he wondered if the shove in the bar had traveled. The three men walked two paces in front of him and said nothing more as they led Ozzie past the sports arena and into the three-story brick building that housed the offices.
