by Oakes, Tara
I point to the door.
“Fuck,” is all he’s able to muster. “Should I go warn Vince?”
I shake my head. “No time.”
My mother carefully steps over the scattered supplies until she’s fully entered the building.
“Mom!” I call out as cheerfully as I can. Dana just stands stunned. “Wha-what are you doing here?”
She politely takes her sunglasses off and tucks them properly into her specialized case.
“I could ask you the same thing, Charlize.”
I swallow hard.
“Dana, dear, whatever is going on here?” She turns to her youngest, like a predator picking off the weakest one first. “What has Charlie gotten you into?”
“Uh, how did you find this place, Mom?” Dana replies, still stunned.
Mom tucks her bag under her arm, lifting her chin, acting as sophisticated as she can, sending subliminal messages to everyone around her that she is better than them.
“I received a call from a realtor, looking to verify your employment. You had apparently applied for a lease,” she scans her eyes over the construction space.
“Shit,” I whisper under my breath to Clink.
He leans forward and kisses me on the cheek. “It was bound to happen sooner or later, Sugar. Face it like a big girl.”
He then smacks me on the ass and yells out to everyone in the room. “Break time! Everyone get the fuck out and get some lunch!”
Mom jumps a little bit at the loud announcement.
“Regina,” Clink nods his head to her in passing. “Good to see you again.”
Mom does a double take. “Brian?”
He smiles. I see mom turning to watch him walk away, the full tattoo of the Kingsman patch sprawled out on his back, moving with him.
“Mom?” Dana brings mom’s attention back from following my man as he walks away. “We should talk.”
Mom looks like she’s seen better days. “I should say so.”
Dana helps her, grabbing her arm for support as the expensive heels step between the landmines of tools.
“Did someone say lunch?” Vince wipes his forehead, no idea what the hell he’s just walked into.
I freeze. I literally freeze, that is until I decide it’s a good idea to whip my head back and forth between the two of them, waiting for someone to speak. Someone other than myself, of course.
“Regina.” He acknowledges her. I can hear the restraint in his voice.
Mom tries to look as stoic as she can but I see the little cracks in the façade. “Would you please excuse us? I need to speak with my daughter.”
“Our daughter, “ he corrects her, not nearly as experienced as she is when it comes to hiding his emotions.
She stares at me. “Charlie?”
I turn to Vince and take a deep breathe. “It’s Okay. We should probably have a few minutes.”
“You sure?” he asks.
I nod, “Yes, of course.”
He turns and heads back the way he came, avoiding having to cross paths with my mother. Probably a good idea.
“Have a seat,” I offer her one of the customer booths.
“I’ll stand, thank you.” She’s firm.
I roll my eyes. “Jesus Christ, mother! Can you just stop acting like a royal bitch for one moment?”
Her eyes open wide. She’s speechless. So is Dana.
“How do you want me to act, Charlie? Hmm? Like- like one of them?” Something’s switched, very quickly. She’s now on the verge of tears.
I feel sorry for her, realizing just what it must have done to her pride to come back here, to face all this again. To see me as part of it.
“Mom…” I try.
She waves me off. “No. No. I’m all right. You’ve made your choice. I see that now.”
I’m exhasperated. “I’m not choosing. I don’t have to choose! No one does. I’m trying to do what’s right for me, Mom. Just because this isn’t the life you chose doesn’t mean it’s worth any less.”
“You promised me! You promised me you would never come here, you would never try to find him. I never should have told you.” She begins to reason with herself.
“Why?” I challenge her. “So I wouldn’t find out the truth? So I wouldn’t find out what really happened?”
She throws her bag down. “You have no idea what really happened!”
Dana steps back, shocked at the very uncharacteristic display of fury from our mother.
“I do know! I know how you were young, and stupid, and carefree for probably the only time in your life. I know how you fell in love, hopelessly in love. I know how it hurt you when he didn’t return that love, when he chose someone else. I know how you thought you’d hurt him, how you thought you’d erase him from your life for doing that to you. And I know, how everything turned out the way it was supposed to be.”
She’s silent, doesn’t refute any of my claims, and for the first time I actually believe Vince and what he’s sworn to me. That he didn’t know about me, that he never would have abandoned me if he had.
I see the tears and the hurt in her eyes and I can’t be angry at her for it. I astonish myself by finding forgiveness for the scared young girl who did the only thing she could think of.
“Don’t you see, Mom? If you hadn’t done those things, then you wouldn’t have found daddy. You wouldn’t have given me the most amazing father a girl could ever ask for. And then there wouldn’t have been Dana.”
I reach for my sister’s hand and squeeze it. “I know things worked out the way they were supposed to, but that doesn’t mean that I have to write off this part of my life like you did. This is where I belong. And that doesn’t mean that you don’t belong in my life, too. There’s room for everyone.”
She swallows hard. “And you?” she asks Dana. “Is this the life for you, too?”
Dana looks unsure of how to answer the question.
“I don’t know, Mom. I don’t know what life has in store for me. But I do know that it’s my journey to make. My decisions, my mistakes.” She looks around the messy room. “This is good for me. This is where I belong right now. But Charlie’s right. There’s room for you, and I want you to know that. We have our grand opening soon. It would really mean a lot to me if you came.”
I know Dana’s asking a lot, probably too much. This is going to take time.
“And do you have a biker, too? An Ol’ man?” Mom asks her.
Dana shakes her head. “No. There’s someone I really like. I might even love him one day. But today… today I have a boyfriend. And I have a great relationship with my sister, and that’s enough for me. I hope it can be enough for you, too.”
“I see.” Mom picks up her bag from where she’s thrown it, dusting off the white coating. “I have a dinner meeting. I should get going.”
She turns and steps over the nail gun blocking her path. She stops short and admires the stenciled wall.
“Have a Lil’ Cupcake?” She chuckles. “I like it.”
Dana and I both turn to each other behind Mom’s back and stare in amazement at the compliment.
“Make sure to have a thermometer in the cold case, otherwise your frostings will wilt.”
And… there’s the mom we all know and love.
“Wait!” Vince calls out. I hold my breath as he passes me. “I have something to say to you!”
Oh, fuck!
Mom turns around, fear in her eyes. Fear that she’ll be held accountable for what she’s done. Fear that she’ll have to accept the true reasons behind what she did… hurt, rejection, heartbreak.
Vince stops short about a foot away from my mother. “You can’t leave here without me saying this.”
I’ve never seen them next to each other before. I try to imagine the love-struck young girl who once looked at him with adoration. I try to picture him younger, too, maybe with a kind face and some sweet words.
He holds out his hand.
Mom stares at it as if it could be a loa
ded weapon.
“I want to thank you. For raising her to be the remarkable woman she is. I want to thank you for that. You and your husband were really good parents.”
Dana wraps her arm around me to hold me upright as I nearly faint.
Mom looks past him to me, and we lock eyes. For the first time ever, I see her. I really see her. And she sees me.
“Thank you,” she shakes his hand delicately. They remain silent, letting go of the past that’s haunted them both. She reaches into her bag for her eyecase and shields her eyes with glasses before any more emotion is displayed.
Once she’s nearly to her car, the loudest cat-call is whistled. Blue admires the woman, my mother, from afar. Mom jumps a bit and moves to shield her ass as if she knows the pervert is staring at it before entering the safety of her car.
“I should probably find T.J.,” Dana is quick to abandon the father-daughter awkwardness that’s justsetting in.
“That was really nice of you. To do that. To say that to her.” I speak quietly.
He nods, shifting his eyes from mine so I don’t see the small tear in the corner. “Meant every word. I’m- I’m not sure I could have done as good a job. I don’t ever want to take the place of your pop.”
I swallow the lump at the base of my throat, nearly choking on suppressed tears. “I know. But… maybe there’s something else that you can be.”
His eyes widen, showing me the glimpse of hope they hold.
“How ‘bout a friend? Let’s start there.”
He purses his lips in thought. “Can friends buy friends lunch?”
I laugh.
“Yeah. They can. Maybe a beer, too, if you’re lucky.”
~*~
CLINK
“You take care of that little project?” Jay tosses his tool belt into the cab of the truck.
I step closer, knowing the information we’re about to share isn’t for everyone’s ears, leaning up against the fender of the cherry red Ford.
“Dawson wasn’t interested, he says he’s already taken care of it.”
“Stupid motherfucker! He’s gonna bring a fuckin’ drug cartel right to his goddamned doorstep!” Jay kicks the tire, causing the truck to rock violently.
We’ve set things up real nice to cover up all the shit that went down between the doc, the cartel runner, and all the collateral damage. We should have known it was too good to be true, that the Slayers, that Dawson, wouldn’t just stick to the plan.
“It’s out of our hands, brother. He wants to dance with the devil? He better be prepared to tango, ‘cause those fuckers won’t be interested in playin’ around.” I keep my voice low as Jean and Sunny walk past.
I nod to them and they wave. Everyone’s packing up for the day, getting ready to call it quits till tomorrow.
“His funeral,” Jay wipes the sweat from his brow. “He’s on his own. As long as he keeps his mess in his own backyard I’m washing my hands of it.”
I shrug my shoulders, not really giving a damn. Dawson’s got a hot head, reacts quick and doesn’t think about the shit it could bring down on him, or his club.
He was helpful enough, setting everything up the night of the shootout. We took the half-conscious Mexican and set him up as the shooter, carrying out what’s been chalked up as retaliation for a drug deal gone bad against the good doctor.
We kept him pretty loopy and stumbling in the street outside Charlie’s house with an empty assault rifle. The cops showed up just in time to spot the bloodied man carrying a weapon in front of a shot up house and just as we hoped, opened fire on the threat.
Once they entered the crime scene and found the body of Dr. Walker, the murder case was considered shut. Charlie had an impenetrable cover story with plenty of witnesses, who just all happened to be Kingsmen.
Neat. Tidy. The local PD couldn’t have asked for a better case if it plopped in its lap, which… it kind of did.
All of our loose ends were tied, all of our asses covered. It was the perfect ending to a perfectly fucked-up situation.
That was… until Dawson decided he wasn’t content with things the way they sat. He wanted to send a message to the Conquistadors that tried to move in on his turf. He sent that message… a bloodied picture of the Mexican man hanging from a chain before we let him down to plant in the crime scene.
The photo message came with very explicit warnings of what Slayers do to other dealers who move in on their turf. It’s only a matter of time before it comes back to bite him in the ass… but I have a funny feeling that’s just what the fucker wanted.
“I gotta get outta here, pick some shit up at the store on my way home. You ready for tonight?” Jay breaks out his keys.
“Ready as I’m gonna be. Any last words of advice?”
He laughs. “Ask me tomorrow after you do it and I’ll give you a whole fuckin’ list of ‘em. If I tell them to you now, though… it’ll just scare you off.”
I tap the fender twice as the truck drives off, Jay laughing loud enough to be heard through the window.
The sun sets, blinding me as I watch the truck drive off into the horizon. It’s getting late. I check my watch. I gotta get going myself and get everything set up before Sugar gets home.
~*~
CHARLIE
The lights are on as I pull in the driveway. I can’t help but feel the butterflies swirling around in my stomach as I set eyes on the house, knowing he’s waiting inside for me.
It’s our last night together before Brendan comes home, and he’s warned me that he’s planned something special. I’ve given him plenty of time to get whatever it is setup.
Tuesday night is the night that I take Sable to the meeting down at the church for recovering drug addicts. She’s had a rough go of it, but she’s doing it. I know Blue’s been supportive of her cleaning up her act, but she says she doesn’t want him taking her to the meetings. Not yet, anyway.
So… for the last two weeks, I’ve taken her.
It’s been a good experience for her. And for me. I may not have grown addicted like she was, like all the people in that room are every week, but I know I came dangerously close to sliding down that slope.
I was escaping shit, running away from things. It took me a while to realize you can’t run away from your demons. The faster you run, the faster they catch up.
I’m thankful for the life lesson, though. Without it, I wouldn’t have realized everything that I could lose… everything that’s worth fighting for in my life.
One of those reasons is standing there, somewhere in that house, waiting for me. And I’m not going to keep him waiting a moment longer.
“That sounds really great, kiddo.” Clink’s eyes dart up as I open the front door. “Hey, she just got home. You want to say hi?”
Clink hands me the phone as I set my bag down. He gives me a kiss on the forehead before walking passed.
“Hey, sweet boy! I miss you!” I haven’t spoken to Brendan since his last call a couple of days ago. “You having fun with Granny?”
“Hey, Chawlie! We’re gonna drive the truck home tomorrow!” He’s so excited.
I laugh. “I know. We can’t wait for you to come back home. Make sure Granny has plenty of Turtles movies for you to watch in the car.”
“Chawlie…. I don’t like the Tuwtles anymore. They’re for babies. I like the Avengers.”
I laugh again, louder. “Okay. We’ll have to go get some Avengers for you. Make sure you brush your teeth. And say hi to Granny for me, Okay?”
“OK, Chawlie. I see you tomawow.”
I take a deep breath, “I’ll see you tomorrow, kiddo. Love you.”
I don’t expect him to say it back, but it breaks my heart in the best way, every time he does.
“I Love you, too. Night!”
I stare at the phone long enough to hear the dial tone before I finally disconnect.
“We have to go shopping tomorrow morning,” I inform Clink as I place the phone back on the receiver.
&
nbsp; He raises his eyebrow. “Yeah? For what?”
“Avengers stuff, because apparently he’s not a baby anymore.”
Clink laughs. “Thatta boy. Pretty soon he’ll be wanting toy motorcycles and Harley t-shirts.”
I roll my eyes. “God help me.”
“Speaking of which. I told you I have a surprise for you.” His eyes dart to the kitchen table where a white box sits.
I smile. “Baby! You didn’t have to get me anything.”
I walk over to him and slide my hands up into his hair, drawing him in to let my lips thank him properly. The late-day stubble on his chin is the perfect length to give the right amount of rawness to the act.
“Mmm,” he moans as I have my way with him.
“You eat? You want me to make you something?” I ask.
He smiles wickedly. “Don’t you worry about me. I’m gonna eat real soon. I’m gonna have a fuckin’ feast.”
I roll my eyes at him and the crude words that immediately turn me on like a faucet.
“Open it,” he reminds me of the box.
I carefully take off the lid and push aside the tissue paper. I take a very sharp breath and look to him. He smirks and I turn back to the gift, holding it up to see. It’s my rag, my leather vest. Not a new one, but the same exact one.
I turn it over to see the back, where I’d cut it in half in anger. My fingers trace the perfect stitches that have brought the two halves back together.
“It’s… it’s-”
He steps closer, wrapping his arms around my waist, eyeing the garment from over my shoulder. “It’s us.”
I turn in his arms. “Huh?”
He smiles. “It’s us. Broken in half, each part incomplete without the other. But now, you see, it’s stronger than before. The stitches reinforce it, adding strength to the place it was weak. Now, it’s not so easily broken for the next time.”
“The next time?” I wonder aloud.
He nods. “Yup. My momma once told me that the good things never come easy. But, you gotta ride through it to get to the best part.”
“Your momma sounds like a really smart lady. And she raised a pretty special guy. I can’t wait to meet her.”
