by Cee Bowerman
“I love you too, Mama. Here’s brother.” The phone fumbled for a few seconds and another voice, this one even smaller, came on the line.
“Hi, my sweet boy.”
“Hi Mama!” Crow started telling me all about his trip so far, and I could only make out a few words as he talked a mile a minute. Pool. Water. Puppies. Watermelon. The pool and the puppies seemed to be a hit with both boys. The watermelon thing had been his fascination for a few weeks now, since I taught him and his brothers how to have a seed spitting contest off our back porch.
I realized that since both boys were mentioning the puppies, this might not be something I could wiggle out of. I shuddered at the thought of potty training a toddler and a puppy at the same time.
“Really?” I asked with enthusiasm. This was the perfect reaction apparently, because he continued for another minute or two.
“I love you, my son” He gave me his love back and blew kisses into the phone before he handed it to my baby, Phoenix, who then promptly hung up on me.
I laughed and set the phone on the cabinet, knowing my Mom would call back when she had a chance. She would have to catch Phoenix and wrestle the phone away from him first. Hopefully he wouldn’t make an overseas call before she did.
“Your whole body lights up when you talk to them.” Bird said quietly from behind me. I spun around and shrieked.
“You scared me! Why do you do that?” I put my hand to my chest and waited on him to finish laughing at my reaction. “Of course I light up. They are my everything.”
“You didn’t talk to the third one?”
“He hasn’t grasped the telephone conversation thing quite yet. He likes the buttons and to flip the phone closed.”
“Brighten tries to eat the phone every time she gets her hands on one.”
“You want to wake your brothers up for breakfast? I’ve decided on French toast and fresh fruit. The French toast is best fresh off the stove.”
“I’ll go see.” Bird walked closer to me and kissed me on the end of my nose. “Not to freak you out or anything, but I like seeing you here in my kitchen. Comfortable enough to boss me around, smiling at something your babies said. Will you do me a favor?”
I took a deep breath and felt my shoulders tense at his words. He liked having me around? I liked being around him. Maybe this could last more than the weekend?
“Maybe. What is it?”
“Give some thought to extending this from a weekend thing to maybe just a thing.”
“A thing.”
“A you and me thing. You’ll consider it?”
I nodded my head and smiled at him. I was gripping the edge of the counter to keep myself from doing a happy dance right there in his kitchen.
Bird turned around and walked to the stairs. I watched him walk up, and once he was out of sight, I gave in to my urge and jumped up and down as I spun in a circle. I kept my hand over my mouth so my squeals of excitement didn’t come out, but I couldn’t contain my happiness. I felt like a teenager who just got a call from the hottest boy in her English class. The one who was the football captain with perfect hair and a varsity letterman jacket.
“Fuck, you’re adorable.” I heard Bird call out from the stairs as he walked back down toward me.
I spun around; my eyes wide. His smile was bigger than any I had seen on him. His dimples were showing, his eyes were crinkled at his temples.
I mentally shrugged. No reason to hide my happy. I blew him a kiss and smiled right back.
“Clem’s allergic to strawberries, so can you keep those on the side and away from his plate?” Bird asked as he got closer to me. He came around the island and took the knife out of my hands and laid it down on the cutting board beside the apples.
He pulled me into his arms and melted me with a long, hot kiss.
“So, yeah, you’re into me?” He asked when he pulled away. “I’m into you, Sunshine.”
“I’m kind of into you too. I have some questions though, before we go any further than a weekend.”
“I’ll answer what I can.”
“After breakfast?”
“Yes, Ma’am. The guys are on their way down. They were all awake.”
“Okay. Let me get back to work. I’ll get everything else cut up and do the strawberries last. Are you allergic to anything?”
“Just bullshit.”
I snorted out a laugh and nodded my head. “Noted.”
He laughed at me and grabbed a chunk of apple off the cutting board. “Are you?”
“Assholes.”
“Damn.” He flinched. “I have my moments at that, but I’ll try to rein them in.”
“Occasionally I can handle it, I give as good as I get. It’s the hardheaded ones. The ones that don’t take a hint or listen to what I say. Those are the ones I am allergic to.”
“Hold on. You work with Drea, right?”
“Yeah. I have for almost a year. Why?”
“Your boss is a douche that hits on you.”
“Uh. Yeah. How did you know that?”
“Drea mentioned that her good friend was having problems with a handsy boss. She said if it didn’t get better, she wanted my brothers and I to have a chat with him.”
“A chat.”
“Yep. A chat.”
“With words?”
“Some words.”
“Would there be blood involved?”
“Maybe.”
“Can I watch?”
Bird threw his head back and laughed before he put his hand on my neck and pulled me to him for a hard kiss. “Yes, baby. You can watch.”
I looked up when I heard a man clear his throat. It was someone I didn’t recognize. He was a little older than me, his hair going gray at the temples. He was a tall, barrel chested, man. His arm was in a sling and he was walking with a limp. I rushed around the island to pull a chair out for him to sit in.
“Here you go. Can I get you some coffee?” I asked him as I moved out of his way.
“That would be great, darlin’. I’d appreciate it.” The man sat down and gingerly adjusted his body until he was comfortable. One of his legs was bent up, resting on the rail at the bottom of the stool, the other leg was hanging at an angle.
I grabbed another mug and the coffee carafe and turned to fill the mug. I slid it over to him and asked if he would like anything added to it. He shook his head no and picked up the mug for a sip.
“Grunt, this is Summer. Summer, my brother, Grunt.” Bird looked up and tilted his chin and I turned to see one of the men from the bar yesterday, and another I didn’t recognize, coming down the stairs. “You remember Clem. The other one is our brother, Fain.”
“Nice to meet you, Ma’am. I’m Fain.” The handsome man stuck his hand out and shook mine as he walked past me to grab two more mugs from the cabinet. I filled them up when he sat them on the island, and he slid one over to Clem.
“Nice to see you again, Summer.” Clem nodded at me and picked up his coffee. “Bird said you are making breakfast. Thanks for that.”
“No problem. I’ll get it started now that you are all here.”
I turned to the stove and pulled a handful of bread slices out of the bag. I clicked the burners on under the large griddle I found in the cabinet. As it heated, I mixed my egg and milk concoction, making sure to add a splash of vanilla to the mixture.
I felt Bird come up behind me and he set his chin on my shoulder. He spoke quietly in my ear.
“We’re going to talk about club stuff, babe. I just want to make sure you know that you can’t repeat what you hear in my house when I talk to my brothers, okay?”
I nodded.
“Promise?” He whispered.
“I promise.”
“We’ll talk about it later when we have our chat.”
I nodded again. He kissed my ear and started to make another pot of coffee as I worked. He then took plates and silverware to the island and pulled a bottle of syrup out of the pantry while the men talked.
/> I listened to their conversation; my curiosity peaked as to who I might want to repeat details to. When I realized that the man, Grunt, had been shot twice last night and then treated by ‘Doc’ right here in the kitchen while I was sleeping upstairs, I knew that Bird meant the police.
They discussed an alibi for the three men, and I heard them talk about drug dealers who had shot at them and had been shot in return. Clem seemed angry, mentioning that they shouldn’t be doing the job of the police anyway. He mentioned more than once that the police weren’t getting the drug dealers off the streets, so he and his brothers wouldn’t have to patrol and take care of things themselves.
My mind was racing. They were patrolling the streets in the middle of the night and encountering drug dealers? I thought bikers partied and smoked pot, I didn’t realize that they were a vigilante neighborhood watch group.
I kept myself busy making so much French toast that it would take an army to eat it all, but I didn’t want to turn around and have the men stop talking. I was curious and nosy. Especially when their talk started to veer toward their personal lives, or at least Grunt’s.
“I did a lot of thinking last night after that fucker shot me. While I laid there in the bed, I couldn’t fucking sleep. I’m not getting any younger, Bird. My wife and kids have been gone for fifteen years now. I’m going to fuck around and die alone.” I heard Grunt growl as Clem started to say something. “Don’t make fun of me, asshole. I’m not going soft. I just want something soft to come home to. I’m getting on in years and don’t want a passel of babies anymore, but I want a woman at home. Maybe a dog. I’m not leaving the club, but I’m going to find a house. Have the Old Ladies set me up with some of their friends. Find me a woman with no kids. Maybe she’ll a dog.”
“Okay, man. I understand.” Bird told Grunt. His voice was quiet and serious. “It’s time. They’ve been gone a long time. Mama has been worried about you for years.”
“Yeah. None of us like to watch you waste away and be alone.” I could tell that this was Clem speaking, his voice sounded a lot like Bird’s. “Why don’t you take some time, find a place to recuperate and think things through.”
“I’ll do that. Not sure where to go. I don’t want to leave town. It would look like I was running from something. I don’t want to stay here at your house, Bird. I want some alone time.”
Without thinking, I turned around and interrupted their conversation. “You can go to my Mom’s house. She is out of town with the kids, maybe until next Sunday. She wouldn’t mind at all, I know it.”
“I’ve never met your Mama, darlin’. I’d hate to impose like that.”
“It’s no imposition. No parties, no cigarettes in the house, and don’t smoke up all her good weed unless you’re willing to replace it. Those are the only rules she has ever enforced. She wouldn’t mind you staying there at all. I’ll tell her about it when I call her this afternoon.”
Bird was smiling softly at me. “That’s nice of you, Sunshine. Thanks.”
“I’ll get the key for you, Grunt. If Bird doesn’t mind, we can take you over there after breakfast.”
Grunt nodded. “I think I’ll take you up on that, sweetheart. Thanks.”
I smiled brightly. “No problem. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but I heard the conversation. I’d be glad to help you.”
I spun back around and took the last few pieces of toast off the stove. I grabbed the platter and put it on the island next to the tub of butter that Bird had set out.
“Do you guys need a warmer?” I grabbed the carafe and added coffee to mine and Bird’s cups. At their nods, I put more in each man’s mug too.
I sat down beside Bird and listened to more of their conversation. They were discussing a filming crew and an anniversary party for Bird’s parents. Apparently, they were expected to dress in costume and perform in a singing competition. That was a little confusing.
“All of you are going to sing?” I asked the group of men.
“Not singing. Lip sync. Brenda, one of our friends who is also married to a King, arranged the party and gave out assignments. We’re going to lip sync to songs from the movie Grease. It was the movie they went to on their first date. They’re having their twenty-fifth anniversary on Halloween. It’s going to be a huge carnival thing with friends from out of town coming, families from here in town, open to the public for most of it. After dark we’ll close things off, send the kiddos away and have a party.”
“That sounds like a lot of fun!”
“I’m not thrilled about performing in front of a live audience, but I’ll do it for Mama and Smokey.” The other three men nodded in agreement and Clem continued. “At least it’s not shit music. It’s some of the songs from Grease, and a few others they really like.”
“Mama and Smokey don’t know this, but Sonny is going to play guitar and Kale and Daughtry are each going to sing. Brenda is planning that surprise for them to dance to, right before we cut the cake or some shit like that. You know they didn’t have the big wedding shindig, so Brenda is making this kind of like if they had.” Bird reached out and got thirds from the platter of French toast. Maybe I hadn’t made too much after all. “It’s good that they get this party for them. They have always done for everyone else. It’s their turn.”
“Yeah.” Clem continued as Bird took a bite. “Mama has been wanting to retire, Dad leaves the businesses up to us now. As a gift, we went in together and got them a big ass RV. It’s customized for the two of them. It will be delivered the day after the party when everyone gets back from the poker run.”
“Yeah, we’re joining up with the Knights to do a poker run the day after Halloween.” Bird paused and took another bite.
“What’s a poker run?” I leaned back from my plate to sip my coffee as Clem answered me.
“People pay to enter. They drive to different set locations and pick a card at each one. At the end, we see who has the best hand. The winner gets a prize. We’ll have dinner when everyone gets back, do a silent auction, sell tickets for prizes. Makes money for stuff here in town. We usually buy equipment for the schools or whatever. The Old Ladies council makes those decisions most of the time. They know what’s needed.”
“I’ve heard Drea talk about stuff like that.”
“She helps a lot. She’s really good at getting people to donate stuff, figuring out how to get the word out. Things like that. She’s a lot of help to the club.” Bird, finally finished, pushed his plate back and picked up his mug. “You guys got the kitchen?”
“Yep.” Clem stood up and took the plate from the table in front of me, and it was all I could do not to fall over in shock. “You two go enjoy your coffee. We’ll clean up and get out of your hair. Fain has a spot he can go to; I’m going to drop him off and then take Brenda her car back. I’ll probably crash there for a day or two. Might come back here some to get out of their hair.”
“I was planning on staying here until I have to go to work on Tuesday. You two want to hang out at my house?”
“Shit, woman. You’re something.” Clem reached over and squeezed my shoulder. “Thanks. I’d like that if you wouldn’t mind.”
“Same. I was going to go to a friend’s house, but it might be safer if I stayed with you, Clem.” Fain spoke up and I noticed that Bird was glaring at him for some reason. Fain saw it too and got off his stool to help Clem in the kitchen, avoiding Bird’s eyes.
“Sunshine, let’s go up and get dressed while we finish our coffee. The guys can putter around and then we’ll all head out. We can take them to your Mom’s place and get Grunt settled in, then we’ll go to your house and drop the other guys and grab you some more clothes.” I took my coffee mug and stood beside Bird. He grabbed my hand in one of his, his mug in the other, and we walked together to the stairs. He called back over his shoulder, “Give us an hour or so, guys. We’ll be down then.”
All three men spoke or grunted in agreement, as I followed Bird up the stairs to his room. It felt right to be hold
ing his hand. I liked it.
Maybe too much. I’d know more after the little talk I was sure we were on our way to have.
6.
“I always knew motherhood was hard, but I didn’t realize that it was mostly just being a little person’s personal chef and snack bitch.”
Summer explaining motherhood to Bird
SUMMER
Bird let go of my hand and took my coffee mug. He set both of our cups down on the nightstand, next to the two condoms that were left from the box he had opened less than two days ago.
