by Cee Bowerman
“Yeah. Do tell.”
“Seriously? Come on!”
“Oh, look at her blushing. Someone’s happy.” Willow teased me and then wiggled her eyebrows. “That good, huh?”
“He has piercings, Willow. In his tongue and on his dick. Like a hoop and three bars on his dick. They do things.” I shivered. “Such good things.”
“Jesus.” My Mom was staring out the glass at Bird. “I’m not gonna be able to look him in the eye now.”
“I’m not going to be looking at his eyes at all, that’s for damn sure.” Willow laughed out loud when Mom slapped her arm. “What?”
“Both of you are terrible.” I leaned back on the couch and pulled Phoenix away from me so I could talk to him. “You want to see the coolest thing ever, Nix? I’ll show you while the boys are outside.”
Phoenix nodded his head and I stood to walk up the stairs. When we were at the top, I turned around and pointed at the slide.
“Bird put this in for you boys so you wouldn’t fall on the stairs. You want to slide?”
“Slide?” Phoenix perked up and tried to jump out of my arms. “I slide!”
I stood him up and let him walk over to the slide. He sat on his butt and scooted along the carpet to the wood. Once he was close, he pushed off and slid down to the first floor, squealing the whole way. When he hit the bottom, he jumped up and started back up the stairs to do it again.
I walked part of the way down the stairs to sit down in the middle, just to make sure he was okay going up by himself. After his fifth trip up the stairs to slide down, I decided to let him be and I went back down to join my Mom and sister.
“Bird had those built this week?” Mom asked me.
“He did. He thought it would be safer to let them slide down rather than walk. I agree. Besides, they’ll have a blast on them. There’s padding at the bottom, but Bear said with the angle they won’t get much speed going.”
“That is so freaking cool.” Willow got up and started up the stairs. I knew that she was going to take her turn sliding down them. “I’d use them all the time. Especially if my hands were full.”
“I slid down it this morning to come down for coffee.” I admitted, and Mom laughed.
“Well, shit. Now I’ve gotta try it.” She handed me Lark and made her way up the stairs next to Phoenix. I watched as she and Willow took turns on the slide with my youngest son. After a few times, the women came back to sit on the couch with me. The three of us turned to the back door when we heard Crow yelling.
I watched as Bird moved a chair closer to the pools edge, and Crow jumped in wearing his underwear. Soon, Hawk was down to his underwear. He handed his clothes to Bird and jumped in to play with his brother.
“I’m glad you’ve had all three of them in swim classes. It’s a good thing they can swim like fish already.” Mom and Willow were both watching the boys play outside. Kale and Terra came into view, I assumed they had walked over from Martha and Smokey’s house to visit, since I hadn’t heard a motorcycle out front.
“Who is that?” Willow whispered. “That is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. And that man needs to be in the movies.”
“That’s Kale, Bird’s brother, and his fiancé, Terra. And, you’re right. They are both damn near too pretty to look at.”
“Is the whole family just gorgeous?” Mom asked.
“Yeah. They really are. There are pictures of all of them over on that wall. That's the downstairs bathroom, by the way.” I pointed toward the bathroom and moved to lay a sleeping Lark down in the portable crib that Bird had set up near the dining room table. “Come on, I’ll show you who the people I know are.”
“Hold on.” Willow said, and I turned to see that she and our Mom were both staring outside. “Hot guy number two is taking off his shirt. Oh, good Lord above, he’s getting in the pool. If this is what you have to look at here, I’m moving in.”
“I don’t think so, kiddo. I'm older. I get first dibs.” My Mom playfully slapped Willow on the arm.
“Both of you shut up.” I hooked my arms through theirs and led them over to the pictures.
“You think those two are hot, you should see all four of them and the rest of their friends together. It’s almost too much.”
“That’s it. I’m moving back to town.”
“Move into my house.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah. I’ll rent it to you.”
“Holy shit.”
“I’m serious, Willow. Come home.”
“Oh, Summer. That would be perfect. Atlas has been looking into jobs here and wants to move back too. I’d love to have all my babies together again.” My Mom sounded so hopeful, I wanted Willow to say yes.
“I’ll take it. And Atlas can live with me until he finds a place.”
“Okay, so it’s settled.”
I realized that my Mom was crying. I let go of Willow’s arm so I could turn and hug my Mom. Willow walked around us and hugged my Mom from the back. We stood there together until Phoenix’s laughter made us all three turn to watch him go down the slide again.
“Sweetheart, I think this is a really good thing.”
“I do too, Mom. I think I love him.”
“I can tell you already do, baby. Don’t fight it.”
“So, does he have any single brothers?” Willow chimed in, breaking the serious mood. “Because, I’m moving to town and I’m freshly single. Gotta hook your sister up, Summer.”
I just shook my head. Clem and Daughtry were going to love her.
~*~
The party was in full swing, with Bird’s friends and family taking up most of the backyard. My family was here too, and with the different age ranges of my siblings, they were separated into groups. Willow had made fast friends with Carlie and Lisa; Atlas and Lout were discussing something intently over in the grass.
Bird’s lawyer, Marcus, and his boyfriend Trent were seated at a table with Smokey and Martha. Each one of them was holding a child in their arms, helping them with their dinner. Marcus had Phoenix in his lap, Trent was sitting next to him with Hawk balanced on one knee, Smokey had Brighten perched on the table in front of him, and Martha was giggling with my little sister Petra.
My Mom was with my younger sister, Jewel, and they were sitting on a blanket in the grass, each feeding one of Sam and Carlie’s twins. Grunt and Bear were sitting on the blanket with them, deep in conversation with my Mom. My little brothers, Spruce and Terran had just walked through the gate with Clem, Daughtry and Fain to inspect the bikes parked out front.
Drea, Terra and Brenda were floating in the pool, their blown-up rafts connected so they could talk. Other friends that I had just met this evening, Kari and Sarah, were floating with them. Kale was in the pool with Crow, tossing him into the air so he could splash back into the water. As I watched all five of the women laughed at something Kari had said. In unison, Kale, Sonny, Jace and Lout’s heads all turned to look at the women in the pool. Each man smiled at the laughter. At the end of the pool, their feet in the water, Sam and Zeke sat next to each other talking to Chandler and Steph, two more people I had just met this evening.
I put Lark up to my shoulder and rubbed her back for a burp as I watched the crowd around me. Most of the skin showing on the adults in this yard had at least one tattoo, if not multiple tattoos decorating their bodies. Most of the men had long hair and beards, the women were almost as tattooed and decorated as the men. I was happy to see that my family, although less colorful, fit right in with Bird’s extended family.
“Are you over here alone pondering the universe, or are you wondering how to escape?” Bird asked from behind me. I felt his hands over my shoulder, and Lark was pulled up and from my arms. “You can’t run. I have plans with your boys. We’re going to work with Bear and the prospects on plans for the perfect fort next week. Then we get to build it. I’m excited.”
“You hit it off with all three of them. Even Nix loves you and he’s the more reserved of
the three.” Bird sat down in the chair next to me, Lark up on his shoulder as he rubbed her back. “I’m pretty sure my Mom and my sister would fight me for a chance with you.”
“Your Mom is stunning. There is no way in hell she has had seven children.” Bird and I watched my Mom throw her head back, laughing loudly at something Grunt had said. “She and Mama already made plans to get together sometime next week for coffee. Shocked the shit out of me that they got along so well. Sometimes my Mom has a hard time with strangers.”
“My Mom has never met a stranger. She makes friends with people pumping gas parked next to her. I’m serious. She and her best friend met at a gas pump years ago.”
“That’s funny. My mom needs some of that energy, I think. She and Sandra are close, and have been friends for twenty-five years, but both are a little prickly. Even toward each other.”
“I’m happy here, Bird.” I reached over to touch his hand. “I like this.”
Bird leaned in and kissed me softly. “I’m happy too, Sunshine.”
16.
“Sleeping with a toddler is like sharing your bed with a drunk octopus looking for its car keys. Now, multiply that times three.”
Summer to Bird
BIRD
I shifted in the bed and caught myself before I fell off the edge. Something sharp was poking into my ribs, making it impossible for me to get closer to the middle of the bed. When I opened my eyes, I was nose to nose with Hawk, who was sharing my pillow with me. I lifted my head a fraction to see that Crow’s elbow was causing the sharp pain in my ribs. As I slowly sat up, I looked over to the other side of the bed and found the problem.
Phoenix was sideways in the bed, his head propped up on Summer’s stomach. He had one foot on Hawk’s back and his other foot on Crow, pushing both closer to me. Summer and Phoenix had two thirds of the bed all to themselves because of Phoenix’s position. I glanced over at the window, and realized it was close to Lark’s morning bottle.
As if she knew I was thinking about her, I heard her coo through the baby monitor. I reached over to turn it off and then looked back to the bed. I pulled the blanket up over Crow and Hawk and tucked it around Crow in the hopes that it would keep him from rolling off the bed.
Summer moved in her sleep. Without even opening her eyes, she adjusted Phoenix’s position so that he was laying in the right direction on the bed. I relaxed when Crow and Hawk both shifted toward their baby brother, now that he wasn’t actively trying to push them off the side.
Once I had Lark changed and dressed, she and I opened the safety gate at the top of the stairs and walked down for a bottle and some coffee. I was surprised to see my Mom and Dad sitting at the island in the kitchen, both drinking coffee, two boxes of donuts in front of them. Mom hopped up and met me in the middle of the living room to take Lark from my arms. Smokey smiled as he watched his wife cooing at the baby.
I greeted Smokey and moved to make a cup of coffee and then a bottle for Lark. Once the bottle was ready, Smokey took it into the living room and handed it to my Mom, who was planted in the lounge chair with Lark in her arms. The two of them watched the baby eat for a minute or two before Smokey reached out and touched Mom on the cheek. She smiled up at him and he leaned down for a kiss before he turned to join me back in the kitchen.
“So, how was your first night with a house full of kids?” Smokey asked as he moved to refill his coffee mug. “Did they ever see the slides?”
“Phoenix played on them when they first got here. The boys passed out in the yard after they all three played so hard in the pool. We carried them up to their beds, so Crow and Hawk never even saw the slides. They all ended up in our bed, so Summer is up there snuggled with them now. They are all still passed out.”
“I remember when you boys would crawl in bed with us. I fell out of the damn bed one time because all four of you were in it, piled on Martha like you were helping hold her attached to the earth.” Smokey chuckled at the memory. “For a few years, she and I woke up with one or more of you in there every morning.”
“I’m glad Summer thought to put the little night lights upstairs around the landing. I imagine the boys were scared waking up in a brand-new house.”
“They’ll adjust pretty quick. Kids can do that so much easier than adults.” Smokey had turned to watch Martha with Lark, but now he spun his chair to look at me. “Are you sure you’re ready for this, son?”
“Yeah, Dad. I’m positive. Everything about it feels right, you know?”
“I knew when I met your Mama that she was the one. I’m glad you found one you feel the same about. She's a sweet girl, your Summer. Your Mama and I like her. It’s good that she gets on well with Terra.”
“Of course. I don’t know that Summer knows how to be ugly to someone. Well, scratch that. I saw the video of her ripping into the salesclerk yesterday when she was ugly to Terra. She knows how, I just haven’t witnessed it in person yet.”
“Woman has to have a backbone to raise strong boys like she has. They remind me of you and your brothers. Phoenix is the Mama’s boy like Kale was. Crow is the wild one just like Clem. Hawk is more serious like you were. Maybe Lark will grow up and be like Daughtry with his calm voice and easygoing personality.”
“Maybe. We’re going to have more kids though, so odds are one of them will end up like him. Less hairy though.”
Dad and I laughed quietly and then our heads snapped up to the stairs when we heard a little boy squeal in excitement.
“There’s a slide in your house, Bird! Did you know that?” Crow was wide awake, buck naked, and coming down the slide. Phoenix, also naked slid down behind him.
Once Phoenix hit the bottom of the slide, he turned around and stuck his butt toward Martha and did a little dance. “Naked bootie, naked bootie!”
We all laughed as he made his way back up the stairs behind his brother.
“Boys! Get in here and put some clothes on!” Summer yelled from the bedroom. Phoenix and Crow looked at each other and then both ran into the bedroom to do what they were told. Within seconds, both boys were in their tighty-whities and back on the slide. This time, Hawk was close behind them.
The boys were sliding down and then quickly moving up the stairs to do it again when Crow realized that there was an identical slide on the other side of the room.
“Two! Bird! You’ve got two slides in your house!” Crow ran across the room and ran up the stairs. He reached up and unlatched the accordion gate so he could get to the top of the stairs. I didn’t know if it was a good thing he could unlatch it so easily, and made a mental note to talk to Summer about it.
All three boys were running from the bottom of one slide to the stairs across from it, then going down the other slide. My parents and I were entertained watching the three boys have fun.
“It was worth the cost and time just to see how much they love those things. Safer than the stairs or not, it was a good call.” I told my Dad as I grabbed his mug to refill it. While I was at the coffee pot, I made a mug for Summer and started a new pot to brew. “I don’t know how we are going to keep them out of the pool.”
Suddenly, Crow was beside me, crawling up onto the barstool and reaching for the box of donuts.
“Mama said if we go outside without permission, she will take all the water out of the pool and fill it with dirt. She's going to bury all our fun toys in the dirt, and we will be in trouble until we are old like you. She’s serious. Really serious.” Hawk nodded as he informed us of Summer’s declaration. He climbed up into the chair next to his brother. I looked up to see that Phoenix was in Martha’s lap watching Lark drink her bottle. His hand was holding onto her foot gently, and I could see that he was saying something to my Mom about her.
“You’re going to be our grandpa, right?” Hawk asked Smokey. Smokey smiled and nodded. “What are we going to call you?”
“What do you want to call me?” Smokey asked the two boys.
“Charles.” Crow proclaimed as he snatched a donu
t out of the box. “We call you Charles.”
Smokey and I both laughed. Crow was a wild one, and it was hard to be serious around him.
“I’m going to call him ‘Mokey, like Mama does. I think that’s a good Papa name.” Hawk nodded his head and took a chocolate donut. “Papa ‘Mokey.”
“I like that one. Papa Smokey sounds good to me.” Dad reached over and pulled Crow onto his lap so that Hawk had more room in the chair.
“It’s not S-Mokey. It’s Papa ‘Mokey.” Crow corrected him. “That’s even better than Charles.”
“What are you going to call my Mom?” I asked him as I pointed over to Martha.
