Secrets

SECRETS by BILLA1

Disclaimer: The Characters Batman, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Superman & Flash and their respective secret identities are all owned by DC Comics. This story is intended for my own pleasure and is not for profit. It has been posted to this site for others to read. (PG-13)

Secrets

Synopsis: Green Lantern and a friend have a frank, blunt conversation about human relations after Starcrossed but before Initiation.

You can never go home again, but the truth is you can never leave home, so it's all right. ~ Maya Angelou

The neighborhood hadn't changed much since the last time John Stewart, the Green Lantern of Earth walked through it. Young children still played stick ball in the street and the older kids played basketball on the courtyard. Most of the stores in the old neighborhood were boarded up, having gone out of business during the last so-called economic "upturn." Those that remained were forced to raise their prices well above the local chain supermarket and discount store prices in hopes that the residents would trade convenience for economy. The poverty spiral was well established in this neighborhood. But the residents of this neighborhood were proud people who looked out for each other and took care of their own. John Stewart was one of their own. For him, this was real. This was peace. This was home.

The store front barbershop had been in the neighborhood ever since Stewart could remember. The paint on the glass window was scratched and chipped away in some places, but it proudly proclaimed in red, white and blue colors, that it was the best one chair barbershop in the known world and that its owner Anthony Smith had been cutting hair since 1965.

Every neighborhood has a yardstick - the one person that everyone knows and is generally thought to be the conscience of the neighborhood. If the yardstick said something was right, then it was right and if the yardstick said something was wrong, then you'd better find a way to fix it. Anthony Smith was the yardstick of this neighborhood.

Smith had a mild stroke five years ago. The stroke left him with a limp in his left leg and some thought removed his brain's better judgment center. Anthony Smith spoke his mind whenever he wanted without fear of consequences. When Anthony Smith cut your hair, you got a hair cut and advice whether or not you needed or wanted the advice. He was pointed, opinionated and beloved; and many dreaded the fact that someday Anthony Smith would pass away and with him the best part of the neighborhood would die.

John Stewart loved his neighborhood and looked forward to his visits with Anthony. As was his custom, he never wore his Green Lantern uniform when he visited. But those who knew him knew who he was. He opened the door slowly to the barbershop. A little bell on the door announced that Anthony had another customer as Stewart walked in. There were three other patrons ahead of him including the one in Anthony's chair. Anthony acknowledged Stewart's presence with a nod and continued cutting the hair of the little boy in the chair.

The television set in the shop was on, but the picture was full of static and almost unviewable because there was no cable TV in this neighborhood and the rabbit ear antennas just were not strong enough to pick up a good signal.

He took a seat and picked up a copy of one of the old magazines that Anthony had in his shop. He flipped through a couple a pages of the two year old GQ magazine and decided that Anthony was providing better entertainment, talking about the local sports team's incompetent management, than he would realize in the magazine. He put the magazine down, closed his eyes and awaited his turn.

Twenty-four hours ago, Stewart had his sharpest exchange ever with J'onn.

"Take a rest and take it now." J'onn had said bluntly.

"I don't need a rest. There is much to be done - much I need to do."

"Since Shayera left, you have been driving yourself too hard like you're trying to prove something. There is nothing for you to prove."

"I'm not trying to prove anything. If you don't want my help, say so."

"I say so. Since she left, you have no patience and the others are beginning to lose patience with you. Rest - find your center. Return when you're ready to work for the right reason. And Lantern, the right reason is not because she left."

Stewart knew J'onn was right. Her leaving had unnerved him more than he wanted to admit and he was compensating by doing everything he could to forget her. He smiled to himself - the winged alien was impossible to forget.

"I'm going to charge you, son, if you go to sleep in that chair."

It was Anthony's voice that caused Stewart to open eyes. The shop was empty except for Stewart. He smiled tightly as he sat in the barber chair. Anthony walked over to his shop door and locked it and turned the cardboard sign on the door over from "Open" to "Closed".

Anthony put a cloth around Stewart's neck and clipped it in place.

"So how do you want it cut, John? Same as last time?"

"Yeah, same as last time," Stewart replied. He then sighed.

As Anthony combed Stewart's hair, he asked, "How have you been doing?"

Stewart tried to focus on the audio from the television since he couldn't make out the TV picture. "About the same," he replied. "How's business?"

Anthony picked up his clippers and said, "Business is good, but you didn't come here to talk about my business, did you?"

Stewart replied with a hint of anger in his voice. "I didn't come here to talk at all. I only wanted a haircut."

"Okay, John." Anthony said. He was momentarily silent, then he added, "So how's the bird face lady?"

"What?" Stewart exploded.

"Don't get upset, John. I remember her when those big people came for you. What were they called? Oh, yeah - the Manhunters. That was some show your friends put on to save you and I particularly remember her. It seemed like she was a lioness fighting to protect her cub. Those Manhunters were twice her size and she didn't back down."

Anthony stopped cutting Stewart's hair and stood next to him. "Man, she was well-built. Got that J-Lo butt. I like them like that. Anyway, so did y'all ever get it on?"

"That's none of your business. Man, I do not know why I come here."

Anthony resumed his cutting. "You always come and see me when you got a problem. You talk and you listen cause you know what gets said here - stays here. So how is the bird lady?"

Stewart sighed deeply.

"I don't know," he said slowly. "I haven't seen her in almost six months."

"Ah...so did she leave you before or after you got it on?"

Stewart rolled his eyes. "After. Are you happy now?"

Anthony stopped cutting again and stood next Stewart. He put his hand on Stewart's shoulder.

"Oh, man," Anthony said. "Sorry to hear that. I mean like if the sex is good, some of them will hang around even when the relationship is going in the toilet, but man if the sex is bad, none of them will stay around for long."

Stewart bristled. "It was not about the sex. The sex was good."

Anthony slapped Stewart gently on the shoulder. "John - to a man all sex is good."

Anthony put his clippers down and stood in front of Stewart. "Work with me here, son," he said. "So were you the first one, the last one or an in-betweener."

Stewart snapped back, "Anthony, what the hell are you talking about? You want to know too much about my business. I don't want to talk about it."

Anthony smiled and picked up his clippers again. "So, were you her first or were you her last or was there someone after you?"

"God, I give up," Stewart exclaimed. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "I think I was her first Earthman and her last. Now let's talk about something else. How about them Yankees?"

"Now wait a minute. You may have been her last Earthman, but were you her last?"

Stewart pounded his fist on the chair armrest. "How in the hell would I know that? It's not always about the sex."

"Bull! It's always about the sex. As soon as you see someone, what goes through your mind? Don't lie - I'll tell you. First thing you ask is what species are they? Are they male or female? Are they a threat and are they legal for mating?"

Anthony paused and said softly, "See, they looking for love and you're looking for sex. They'll do anything for love and you'll do anything for sex."

Stewart's tone was defensive. "Nah, Anthony, it's not like that at all. Man, how can you put people in a box like that? I mean I didn't throw away the sex, but I was looking for love too.

"Bull! If you were looking for love, you were looking for it after you found the sex."

Stewart decided that Anthony was on a roll in his own mind and sat silently as Anthony continued cutting. Anthony broke the silence quickly.

"What did she tell you when she left?" Anthony asked.

Stewart lowered his eyes as he sadly recalled his last conversation with the winged woman. "That she loved me and that she never lied about it," he said.

Anthony smiled again. "I knew it! I bet you were her last. They always remember their first and their last. So she lied about something, huh?"

"Yeah, she wasn't truthful."

"Wait a minute, son. Did she lie or just keep secrets?

"Both," Stewart said quickly. Then he paused and added slowly, "No...on second thought, I guess she just kept secrets."

"Man, they all keep secrets. They're built that way. Man, if they told you all they knew, all they felt - you'd get your little fragile, feelings hurt."

"Anthony, she could have told me. I would have understood."

Anthony laughed loudly and turned his clippers off.

"Yeah. Right. Here's a trick question for you, Romeo. When y'all were having sex and she would be making those sounds - and don't play dumb with me like you don't know what sounds I'm talking about. Was she making them because of you or for you?"

Stewart was silent. Finally he said, "I dunno."

Anthony tapped him on the shoulder. "That's right, you don't know and she ain't ever going to tell you. Secrets, man. That's who they are. So she had a secret and now you're hurt because she didn't tell you everything she knew. Get over it. You got secrets. We all got secrets. Move on with your life."

Anthony picked up a brush and started brushing the cut hair off the back of Stewart's neck and the side of his face. "All done," he announced.

"Anthony, I loved her. I really did." Stewart said sadly, as he slumped in the chair.

Anthony unclipped the cloth around Stewart's neck. He spun Stewart's chair around so that Stewart faced him.

"I know son," Anthony said slowly. "And you believe that crap about if you love something, set it free and if it comes back to you, etcetera, etcetera. That's bull. Your bird lady ain't coming back. Now you can move on or not. Change or don't change. Bust loose. Be different or not, it's up to you."

"Anthony, you are confusing the hell out of me. What are you talking about, now ?"

"John, the bird lady hurt your feelings. So you aren't sure about the old you. And you're probably dumb enough to think that she left because of you. Man, if they leave you, it because they need time and space and she couldn't get that around you. She probably left to change and you ought to do the same. I mean look at you. Change your look. Be a new you. I mean you ain't in the Marine Corps anymore. You don't have to wear a military haircut and be clean shaven."

Stewart sat up. "You know what? You're right. I do have to move on."

Anthony gave Stewart a small hand mirror. "Damn right. I see you with an Avery Brooks look. You know, bald head, small beard. I mean that look says: I AM A BAD MAN. It's a look that says 'don't mess with me.'"

Stewart slapped his hands together. "Do it. I'm ready. I'm ready to get my life back."

Anthony clipped the cloth back around Stewart's neck and grabbed his clippers.

"Son, you do realize I'm now going to have to charge you for two haircuts."

Stewart laughed. "No wonder, business is so good. Okay. Charge me for two haircuts, but I don't want to talk about the bird lady anymore."

Anthony laughed and then winked at Stewart. "Okay, no more about the bird lady. So how's the fast guy in the red suit?"

END