Chapter 26

On a cold day in late November their case was finally heard by the Supreme Court of the United States. As was normal in these cases, each side had submitted a legal brief—a written legal argument outlining each party’s points of law. The Justices had read these briefs prior to the oral argument and were thoroughly familiar with the case, its facts, and the legal positions that each party was advocating.

During the oral argument an attorney for each side of a case would have an opportunity to make a presentation to the Court and answer questions posed by the Justices. Usually that would take 30 minutes per attorney and then the decision was with the justices. They would meet, go over the case files and arguments presented and would come to a decision before it would be announced to the public.

Oral arguments were open to the public and recordings of each oral argument could later be downloaded from the Supreme Court's website. Anything happening at the Supreme Court was available to the public.

It wasn't all that unusual that only lawyers would be present at a Supreme Court oral argument and the petitioners themselves wouldn't be, but since this could possibly turn out out to be the biggest and most important day of their lives, both Justin and Brian had insisted on being present.

Melanie and her colleagues had made that possible and a day before the oral argument Brian and Justin had arrived in Washington and had been hidden away in a posh hotel. The media attention for their case was huge due to its possible ramifications on the whole country and slavery laws in particular and neither had felt like facing the media more than was necessary.

They had barely slept during the night and especially Brian had been tossing and turning. Justin had had to nearly force him to have some breakfast before they were picked up by a driver and taken to the Supreme Court building where their case would be heard in less than an hour.

During their drive over they had received a call from Gus and it had done both of them good to hear the cheery voice of their son, who had promised his daddy that he was crossing his fingers all day long for his mama and Justin to make his daddy a free man. Brian had been moved to tears by the sincerity in Gus' voice and he had needed a moment to calm himself before he was able to reply to his son and thank him for his support.

Once they arrived at the building, they were ushered inside and met with Melanie and their legal team. They had been advised before that Stephen from the Washington branch would be their main lawyer for the day and would be presenting the oral argument for them. An attorney wishing to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States needed to apply to do so, had to be admitted to the bar of the highest court of a state for three years, had to be sponsored by two attorneys already admitted to the Supreme Court bar, had to pay a fee and had to take either a spoken or written oath. Apparently Stephen had done all that and was a member of the Supreme Court bar and would present their side of the case.

Neither Brian nor Justin were able to judge if the argument had gone well or not. The justices had asked questions of both lawyers representing each side and even though they had gotten a certain feeling that some justices might have been more on their side than others, they really weren't able to say if they would have the majority of justices on their side or not.

After the hearing was over, their lawyers gave some quick press statements, but Brian and Justin had long left the building at that point. They knew that those statements were part of the deal and media coverage, but thankfully neither Brian nor Justin were required to be present.

Once they made their way back to the hotel and packed up their things, they got ready to return to Pittsburgh. They had decided to rent a car and drive back to Pittsburgh as the four to five hour drive would give them some time on their own and would give them time to come to terms with the events of earlier that day.

Once they were on the Interstate and out of Washington, Justin rested his right hand on Brian's thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze. “You okay?”

Brian just nodded as he looked out of the window, but didn't verbally respond.

“Are you sure? You're awfully quiet.”

“Just can't believe that it's all over now. That this is it, you know?”

Justin could only nod because he felt exactly the same. He couldn't believe that no matter what, this would have been their last day in court. Now Brian's fate and the fate of so many other slaves in the country was in the hands of nine judges that were hopefully decent enough to acknowledge how wrong slavery was.

“I know...But we're going to be okay. Either way.”

Brian turned to Justin and smiled at him gently. “I know.” He rested his hand on top of Justin's and gently caressed it, making Justin smile in return.

“We've come this far, we'll survive whatever they decide,” Justin said with conviction and he was relieved when he saw Brian nod in agreement. Now he only hoped that Brian really believed what he had been saying, but that was something only time would tell.

Before the oral arguments, they had been prepared by their legal team that it could now take anything from a couple of weeks to more than half a year for the justices to reach a decision. Usually cases where the justices all agreed could be decided by the end of the year or beginning of the new year, but the more divided the justices were in their opinions, the longer it might take for an announcement of a decision, sometimes even taking until the last day of session at the end of June.

While everyone was hoping it wouldn't take that long, they knew it was a very likely possibility with the Supreme Court.

Over the following weeks life returned to what most people would consider normal for Brian and Justin. They had a quiet Christmas with their family and friends and spent New Year's locked away in the loft, just ringing in the new year with the two of them.

Once the new year had started, the media attention finally calmed down, them getting less and less requests for interviews or less and less mail the further away their court date moved. Neither was sad about the dying down of the media storm and they both relished having their old lives back. Everyone was only too acutely aware that that would be over as soon as a decision was announced by the judges.

Decisions, or opinions as they were called, were typically released on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings and on the third Monday of each sitting, when the Court took the Bench but no arguments were heard. Each week on these days Justin and Brian would be waiting on pins and needles to see if their decision would be announced. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court didn’t announce in advance which cases would be decided on a particular day. So normally, they didn't know which opinions would be released on a particular day. And each day that passed without receiving their decision made them more and more nervous.

Melanie tried to explain to them that it taking a longer time wasn't necessarily a bad thing. At least it meant the judges were undecided, so at least it meant they wouldn't get a clear no as they had received before on a state level. She tried to see the positive in each week that passed without a decision, but she and everyone else in their family knew that the waiting was grating on Justin's and especially Brian's nerves. It was as if their lives were in limbo and they just couldn't plan ahead. They didn't know if their lives would continue as they had for more than five years now or if everything would change and Brian would finally be a free man.

And then, one Wednesday morning in mid-June the day had finally come. Brian and Justin had been up for hours, nervously waiting for a call from their legal team, half expecting not to receive that call that particular day, but then it had come.

Justin could see Melanie's number on his cell phone display and he didn't quite know what to do.

Brian just eyed him and their gazes met. “This is it...,” Brian whispered and Justin could only nod, before he took the call and put Melanie on speakerphone.

“Do you know?” He just asked her right away, but then they didn't hear anything but tears for the longest time. Melanie was crying, but since neither could see her, they didn't know if they were good tears or not.

“Fuck,” Brian muttered in obvious frustration, instantly assuming that Melanie was crying because they had lost and now Brian's chance at freedom was gone for good. He turned around and made his way towards the large windows overlooking Pittsburgh when he heard Justin's calm voice.

“Mel? What happened? What did it say? You need to tell us...,” Justin urged, not willing to give in to this feeling of despair he felt creeping up his spine. It couldn't have all been for nothing, right? The last three years, everything they had been through, the media attention and all the days spent in court. It had to pay off, right?

“Open your door,” Melanie just whispered through her tears, none of the two men being any wiser by that.

Justin did as he was told and waited for the elevator to stop outside his loft. When he saw Melanie, he sank down to his knees in disbelief. Because her face was sporting the widest smile he had ever seen on her and she was holding a big bottle of champagne in her hand. This couldn't be true, could it?

“No...no...way...,” he gasped, not able to believe what his brain was telling him was true.

She just nodded as the tears continued to run down her face and then she walked over to him and sank down next to him, engulfing him in a crushing hug. “I...I got the call on the way to the office and... I couldn't stop crying since. You did it!” She exclaimed and they both just sat there for what felt like hours, but was probably not even a minute, both trying to get over their disbelief and surprise.

“Where is Brian?” Melanie asked, looking around the loft, not able to see him anywhere.

“Oh shit... fuck,” Justin cursed as he immediately jumped up and ran into the loft. Brian was still standing by the windows, looking out over Pittsburgh, obviously deep in thought. It was clear that he hadn't paid any attention to them and hadn't realised the good news yet. He was hugging himself tightly and Justin could see his shoulders shaking as tears made their way down his face.

“Brian?” Justin whispered as he lay a gentle hand on Brian's shoulder. Shit, Brian thought they had lost. How could Justin not have noticed? Not knowing what else to do, Justin slipped into the space between Brian and the window and put both hands on his face, giving his partner his best sunshine smile. “We did it! We won!”

Justin could see how Brian was fighting against listening to Justin, too lost in his own thoughts, but he could also see how Brian's gaze slowly wandered to his own face and then settled on it. He could see Brian take in his big smile, the tears and everything and he noticed the exact moment Brian's brain understood what Justin was saying.

When he saw Brian's eyes widen in disbelief, Justin's smile only grew wider and he leaned in, leaving kisses all over Brian's face. “We did it! We fucking did it!”

Brian's voice was so incredibly small when he spoke next that Justin just wanted to hug him closer and never let him go. This amazing man who had been through so much in his life and still had had the strength for this fight. “Don't joke about something like that... don't try to lie to me to soften the blow.”

At that point Melanie walked over and joined their conversation. “He's not lying, Brian. The decision was just read out. It was a tight 5-4 verdict, but we did it! You won! You are a free man once Justin signs this.”

She held out a couple of forms to them which she had just gotten out of her briefcase. Justin eagerly took them and read through them quickly, before he handed them to Brian with a huge grin. These forms would officially end Brian's existence as a slave as they were forms in which Justin granted Brian his freedom.

“How... you said you were on your way to the office... How did you know?” Justin stuttered, not able to form a clear sentence. How had Melanie known to have the forms with her today of all days?

She blushed, then lowered her gaze before she replied. “Call me an optimist or... really desperate, but... I've had them in my briefcase since November. I... I just wanted to be prepared.”

Brian had read through the forms and looked from Melanie to Justin and back. “This is it?”

Melanie nodded, more tears running down her face as she saw the disbelief in Brian's eyes. She handed Justin a pen and Justin nearly tore the papers out of Brian's hand, that eager to get these papers signed as soon as possible.

When he was done, he looked up at Brian with the brightest smile the older man had ever seen. “You are a free man,” Justin whispered, before he felt Brian collapse in his arms, being a crying mess.

Justin just held him and muttered encouraging statements to him as Brian tried to get his emotions under control.

They were interrupted by their phone ringing and when Justin left a gentle kiss on Brian's lips, before he pulled away, he was stopped by Melanie. “Don't answer it. It's most likely the media looking for a statement from you. You might want to lay low for a couple of days.”

Both men nodded at her, seeing the sense in her words and then just smiled at each other. Justin had never seen Brian smile like that and it was a sight he never wanted to miss ever again. He hoped that now finally happier times would be ahead for his boyfriend. Times where he could enjoy his life as a free man and just be himself.

Melanie came over to them and hugged them both, before handing Brian the bottle of champagne. “You might want to celebrate this.” She then headed towards the door of the loft, ready to leave the two men on their own. “I better head to the office and get these filed right away,” she waved the papers that Justin had signed earlier in their direction. “Once we've read through the majority opinion, I'll get in touch with you with the details. And... just be prepared for an invasion of family members once this hits the news,” she winked at them, before she left them on their own.

Brian and Justin stood in front of the windows for the longest time, not quite able to believe what had just happened.

It was the brunet who spoke first, his voice barely above a whisper. “Pinch me.”

“What?”

“Pinch me...I... I need to know this isn't just a dream that's gonna be over soon,” the older man said, his emotions easy to hear in his voice.

Justin leaned in closer and wrapped his arms around Brian's body, pulling him close. “It's not a dream. We really did it.”

They stood like that for the longest time, before Brian decided that it would be a pity to let a perfectly good bottle of champagne go to waste.

Both men spent the rest of the day in bed, celebrating the good news in their own way, before Melanie's warning had come true and their loft had been invaded by family members in the evening.

“We have given you all day to celebrate, now we want to celebrate with you,” Debbie declared as she marched past a naked Justin that was only wrapped in his blanket, not wearing anything underneath. It was clear that she didn't seem to care about his state of undress and seemed to care even less about Brian's naked form being sprawled on the bed when she just entered the bedroom, sitting down at the edge of the bed and engulfing him in a big hug.

“I am so happy for you,” she whispered through her tears, barely listening to Brian's complaints that she should let him get a shower and some clothes first before she hugged the hell out of him.

“I've waited long enough for this. Don't you dare delay me any longer,” she just wagged her finger in his face, though the gentle expression on her face showed how emotional she really was.

She gave him another hug, clearly not caring about his sweaty body, before she pointed to the bathroom. “You guys better get ready. Everyone else will be here in half an hour to celebrate with you.”

“Whatever happened to the privacy of our home?” Justin mused as he walked past her into his bathroom and he smiled when he heard her reply.

“Not tonight. Tonight is for all of us.”

He could live with that. He knew that the family had been through a lot to support him and Brian through their legal battle and he knew that they deserved to celebrate this huge victory with them. He and Brian would just have to continue their private celebration later. They had the rest of their lives for that.

In the end the evening had turned out to be quite the party where every single one of their friends and family had come over to congratulate Justin and Brian on winning this fight and congratulating Brian on his new freedom.

Melanie had taken them aside during a lull in the celebrations and had explained the Supreme Court decision to them. The justices had agreed that it was unconstitutional for Justin as the owner not to have the right to grant Brian his freedom and had agreed that an owner should have the right to do with his slave as he pleased which included giving them their freedom. Even though they had only taken the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to court, this would now have to become law all over the United States and it had widely been celebrated as one of the biggest wins the anti-slavery movement had ever achieved in the years they had fought against the institution of slavery.

It would now be in the responsibility of each state to change their laws to reflect the Supreme Court decision and once that had happened, slaves all over the United States could be freed by their owners if the owners wished to do so.

Melanie had informed them that the State of Pennsylvania would probably pass new legislation before the year was out and once that new legislation had passed, Brian would officially be free. Yes, Justin had already signed the paperwork, but at the moment they were kind of in a limbo until State Law had been changed to represent the court ruling. She had hated to give Brian and Justin the bad news that Brian wouldn't immediately be free, but surprisingly both men had just smiled at her and hadn't cared at all.

“We won. That's all that matters. We've waited so long... we'll survive a few weeks or months more,” Brian had said happily and Justin could only agree with his boyfriend.

Everyone had celebrated their win into the early hours of the next day, not caring that most of them would have a job to get to. How often could you say that your friends and family members had changed the laws of your country? Surely that would be a good enough reason to miss work for a day.