Dog Days of Summer

by Fiala, PJ

  He had swallowed his whole beer before the bathroom door opened. Joci stepped out of the bathroom in yoga pants and a t-shirt. When she rounded the corner from the bathroom, she stopped in her tracks and stared at him. She took a deep breath and continued walking to the dresser, where she set her toiletry bag down.

  Jeremiah watched her. He was trying to gauge her mood.

  “Can we talk?” he whispered.

  Joci shook her head no. She didn’t look at him. She turned and walked over to the bed and climbed in. She pulled the covers up to her chin and closed her eyes. She felt the bed dip and took a deep breath. So he wasn’t going to let it drop.

  “Honey. I don’t want to go to bed mad at each other. Please, let’s talk.”

  Joci opened her eyes and looked at him. He looked sad and worn and drawn. There were lines around his mouth and his eyes. She waited.

  “I’m sorry. You were right about you always having to suck it up and do the right thing. I hadn’t thought about it before, but you’re right. I’ve asked an awful lot of you these past few months. I can see how tired you’ve been lately and I realize how all of this is affecting you. The fact that I own Rolling Thunder Motorcycles makes me responsible for my employees. Even though this isn’t an employee event, I still always feel responsible.” Jeremiah took a breath while raking his hands through his hair. “But, that being said, I could have done things differently. I should have had Frog or someone take my bike with LuAnn and I could have taken his. I was pissed and not thinking clearly. I’m sorry.”

  Joci didn’t say anything. Jeremiah waited for a little while and then lay down next to Joci and wrapped his arms around her. “I’m not leaving you and I’m not letting you leave me. You may as well talk to me.”

  Joci took a deep breath. “I just can’t do it anymore, Jeremiah. I just can’t. I thought I could, knowing why she’s around. But…”

  Jeremiah slid an arm behind Joci’s head and pulled her tightly to his body. He kissed her temple and the top of her head.

  “You won’t have to, baby. I told Chase to leave with LuAnn in the morning. The new rule at the shop is “If you bring her, you take care of her.”

  Joci snorted and tried to pull away. Jeremiah held on to her. His brows furrowed. “Hey, what?”

  “You’re such a fucking man. Big, fucking deal your big ‘If you bring her, you take care of her’ bullshit. She’s still going to be working there, with you, every day. She’ll just be trying to hatch out another plan of attack. She spent the whole fucking afternoon whining about how much she loves you and doesn’t want us to get married. How fucking dense are you?”

  Joci pulled away and slipped out of bed. She walked over to the window and looked outside at nothing in particular. Jeremiah rubbed his forehead and stared at the ceiling. After a few moments, Joci walked over and climbed back in bed. She turned her back to Jeremiah and closed her eyes.

  Jeremiah rubbed his eyes and got up to get undressed. He jumped in the shower to wash this day away. He quietly padded back to bed and slipped in without waking Joci. He wasn’t going to get a lot of sleep tonight. Fucking LuAnn.

  * * * * *

  The next morning, Joci woke up hot and sweaty. She couldn’t breathe. She opened her eyes and looked around. She was in the hotel. She looked over, and Jeremiah was practically lying on top of her. His head was on her chest. His arm wrapped around her, and he was lying on one of her legs. She tried to take a deep breath and was able to get half a breath in. She closed her eyes and attempted to clear her head. She hadn’t wanted to go to bed mad last night. She was just so damn sick of this shit. This morning, her eyes felt all puffy and swollen from crying in the shower and lack of sleep. Great.

  She tried to get out of bed; she had to pee. Jeremiah’s arm wrapped around her tighter. Joci pulled an arm from under the covers and pushed gently on his shoulder.

  “Jeremiah, please get off me. I’ve got to go pee.”

  Jeremiah squeezed her tighter and mumbled. Joci pushed at him again and he opened his eyes.

  “I have to pee,” Joci said.

  “Sorry, babe,” Jeremiah rolled over on to his back.

  He stared at the ceiling while Joci rolled out of bed and went to the bathroom. A short while later, Joci walked out of the bathroom and started pulling clothes out of her bag to wear for the day.

  “We need to talk, Joci.”

  Joci’s shoulders sagged. She knew he was right. She slowly turned to look at him.

  “Okay,” she whispered.

  Jeremiah pushed himself up against the headboard and patted the mattress. “Come sit here with me.”

  Joci walked over and perched herself on the edge of the mattress, her back rigid. Jeremiah leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back against him.

  “I’m sorry. About everything. If I could change it, I would. I can’t. It won’t happen again. What more can I say to you?”

  Joci closed her eyes. She didn’t know what he could say to her. “Okay. Is that it?”

  Jeremiah let out a snort. “Okay, is that it? You don’t have anything else.”

  “I simply don’t know what to say, Jeremiah. I feel like we’ve been down this road, but nothing seems to change. I’ve just had enough of it. LuAnn pulls crap. You apologize and tell me it won’t happen again. It happens again, you apologize and tell me it won’t happen again and on and on. What do you want me to say?”

  Jeremiah took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Dammit, she was right again. He squeezed her and placed his head on hers. Tears formed in his eyes, and he swallowed a few times to get himself under control. He had always been able to pull her out of it.

  They sat quietly. Not knowing what else to say, he took a deep breath and said, “Gunnar called me Dad last night.”

  Joci closed her eyes and let a tear fall. Gunnar. It wasn’t just about her and Jeremiah, Gunnar was involved also. Ryder and JT, too. Shit.

  Joci wiped her eyes and started to pull away. Jeremiah didn’t want to let her go, but he did. She pushed her hands through her hair and held them there.

  “I just can’t do this anymore. I’ve reached my limit. I don’t want a life of constantly having to deal with a woman who thinks she’s in love with my husband. Especially when my husband won’t do anything to change the situation. It’s really that simple.”

  “Joci. Please give me another chance. I mean it. LuAnn will be made to learn that she can never bother us again.”

  “Jeremiah. Why? Why do you keep putting me through this?”

  Joci got up and started getting dressed. She put on a little make-up and threw a bandana on her head to protect her forehead.

  Jeremiah lifted himself out of bed and started getting dressed as well. As soon as they were ready to go down for breakfast, Jeremiah walked up to Joci and hugged her.

  “I love you, Joci. I love you crazy. This hurts so badly right now. This distance. I hate it.”

  “I don’t know what else to do, Jeremiah. I keep getting hurt. I don’t want to hurt anymore.”

  Jeremiah tightened his arms around her and stood with her in his arms, swaying back and forth. He swallowed the lump in his throat and took a deep breath.

  “I won’t hurt you anymore. I’m so fucking sorry I ever did. You’re the last person I want to hurt, ever.”

  Joci stepped back and looked at Jeremiah for a moment and with a heavy sigh she said, “I know you don’t mean to. But you do.”

  She turned and walked out the door. Jeremiah followed her down the hall to the elevator. They rode in silence to the lobby and walked to the room where the continental breakfast was served without saying a word to one another. The others were all sitting around tables pushed together, talking while waiting for Jeremiah and Joci. The only people missing were Chase and LuAnn.

  The boys all looked at Jeremiah. He shook his head slightly, to let them know things were still not quite right.

  Joci walked over to the table. “Have you eaten yet?”
/>   “No, we were waiting for you two,” Sandi said.

  “Okay, well, let’s eat, shall we?” Joci walked over to the buffet table and started filling her plate. She wasn’t hungry at all, but she was going to do her best not to ruin anyone else’s weekend.

  While they ate, conversation went on around them. Joci nodded once in a while and pushed her food around her plate. They talked about where they wanted to go today and plans were made to head downtown to party on the streets.

  Once downtown, they found spots to park along the street and found a nice little bar where a local band was playing. They decided to pull up some tables to listen to the music for a while. Joci found a seat and plopped down. Jackie and Sandi sat on either side of her, and they sat quietly for a long time, listening to the music.

  “Joci. Honey, are you okay? You look so sad and lost. You’re breaking my heart,” Sandi said, rubbing Joci’s shoulder.

  “I don’t know, Sandi. I just can’t snap out of this funk. I feel broken or something. It’s like it was the last straw for me. I’m so sick of dealing with LuAnn and her bullshit. It drives me crazy that Jeremiah hangs on to her for some ridiculous, perceived obligation. He would never tolerate the same situation in the reverse.”

  Jackie put her arm around Joci and sat there for a while. Staci, Erin, and Angie came over and joined their table. The girls hung out and talked most of the afternoon. The conversation was neutral and lively.

  Jeremiah watched Joci all day. He was so damn worried. What if she was done? How would he get her back? Jackie went to the bathroom at one point, and Jeremiah followed her into the bar. “How’s Joci doing?”

  With a heavy sigh, Jackie said, “Joci said she just couldn’t tolerate LuAnn’s bullshit anymore. Period. She said she feels broken.” Jeremiah hissed out a breath.

  “You’d better get that bitch under control or you’re going to lose the best thing that ever happened in your life, Jeremiah,” Jackie said in a serious voice.

  He nodded at her and swallowed the lump in his throat.

  After they ate dinner, they decided to head back to the hotel and sit by the pool. The boys entertained them most of the evening by playing a mean game of water volleyball and then acting silly when a group of hot babes started paying attention to them.

  The Rolling Thunder group headed home late Monday morning. The weekend had been a turning point in their relationship. Which way the turns went, Joci wasn’t sure.

  “I love you, Jeremiah, but we have to do something about this. I know some of my frustration with this situation is from my past. That said, I also know it isn’t healthy for you to feel this ‘responsibility’ to LuAnn, when all she wants is what’s best for her, not you.”

  Jeremiah pulled Joci in for a hug and kneaded his fingers into her tense shoulders. He felt her moan vibrate through his chest and continued massaging her shoulders, neck, and back. As it always happened, when Jeremiah touched Joci, a different part of his body became tense. Joci smiled to herself as she felt his length grow hard against her belly.

  For the first time in two days, Joci let Jeremiah kiss her. God, she missed his touch, his lips, his warmth. She couldn’t help the tears that leaked out of her eyes. She hoped this was the last time she had to spend time away from this man, emotionally and physically.

  Chapter 30

  The Video

  “My bike isn’t running right, Jeremiah. It was sputtering a lot yesterday. Do you think Gunnar can take a look at it? Probably the plugs, but I’m not sure. Since we won’t be riding this weekend because of the staff party, this will be a good week to have it at the shop. Do you mind?” Joci said.

  “Of course, I don’t mind. One of the perks of owning a bike shop is you can have your bike worked on anytime you want.”

  Joci chucked, “I don’t own a bike shop; I just sleep with a guy who does.”

  “Once we’re married, you’ll be part owner of a bike shop.”

  Joci leaned back and looked at Jeremiah with her brows furrowed. “Jeremiah, I don’t want to take anything away from JT and Ryder. They are the rightful owners after you.”

  “It’s my business. They’re fine. But, while we’re on the subject, what do you think of my adopting Gunnar? He would legally be my son. He could change his name if he wanted, and for all intents and purposes, be entitled to anything JT and Ryder were entitled to. I want us all to be a family, with the same last name. What do you think?”

  Joci was speechless. Adopt Gunnar? She had never thought about it. Can you adopt an adult?

  “I think it’s amazing and fantastic and awesome. I don’t know what he’ll say. You’ll have to ask him. But, since he called you ‘Dad,’ I would bet he’ll jump at the chance.” Joci wrapped her arms around Jeremiah’s shoulders. “Thank you, Jeremiah.”

  Jeremiah squeezed Joci tight. “No need to thank me. I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but the other night, when he called me ‘Dad,’ it cemented the whole idea.”

  The remainder of the week was a whirlwind of activity around the upcoming staff party. Joci wanted to run through the video one more time before she showed it to Jeremiah and the employees. She was really happy with it.

  The two songs she chose to add to the slide show were Roll Me Away by Bob Seger and Let’s Ride by Kid Rock. Her slide show was amazing. Joci had tried to get pictures of everyone who had participated in the Veteran’s Ride, especially the men and women who worked at Rolling Thunder. She was stunned at the number of pictures of her and Jeremiah. She wasn’t even aware of the photographers around them. There were a few pictures of LuAnn, most of them crude, with her sticking her tongue out or holding up her breasts or pulling her shirt down to show maximum cleavage. She really had zero class.

  Nevertheless, there were two pictures of LuAnn had been taken when she wasn’t aware of the photographer and they were actually nice photos of her, so Joci used them. One of the two was a picture of LuAnn looking over the crowd at Jeremiah with longing in her eyes. Joci cropped out Jeremiah and just showed LuAnn looking off into space over the crowd. She didn’t want Jeremiah and LuAnn in the same picture if she could help it. Yes, it was immature, but so what?

  There were great pictures of the boys and Jeremiah’s family. There was a cool picture of all of them standing at Rolling Thunder together before the ride. Her favorite picture, though, was the one she used to end the video. It was of Joci leaning against a wall at The Barn. Jeremiah had his left forearm leaning against the wall above Joci’s head. His right hand was on Joci’s chin, holding her chin up to look at him and they were staring into each other’s eyes. Both had a soft smiles on their faces. It was a beautiful, sweet picture of them. When she looked back at it now, she could see that she had love in her eyes for him, and Jeremiah’s for her. She couldn’t wait for him to see it.

  She finished the video, saved it onto a thumb drive, and called Sandi.

  “Hey, there. I’m leaving for the restaurant now. Do you need directions?”

  “No, I looked it up on the Internet. I’ll be walking out the door in five. See you then.”

  When they got to the restaurant, Joci put the thumb drive into the computer they would be using to show the video on a large screen in the back party room.

  “I want you to be honest with me, Sandi. I haven’t shown this to anyone yet. I’m so nervous. I want it to be perfect for him.”

  “Okay. Start it up, I’m ready to critique.”

  They sat drinking iced tea as the video played. When it was over, Sandi’s eyes were bright with moisture. “Wow, Joci…that’s beautiful.”

  Joci smiled at her and grabbed her hand.

  “It’s going to be a surprise for tomorrow night. He doesn’t even know I have the pictures.”

  Sandi’s eyes got big and she raised her eyebrows, “Oh. My. God. I would love to see the look on his face when he sees this. He’s going to flip. It’s really fantastic, Joci. You’re great at all this stuff. Now let’s talk about the wedding.”

  T
hey planned and talked all through lunch. Just four weeks away now. According to the Farmer’s Almanac, the trees were going to turn colors early this year because there had been a drought last year. Jackie and Sandi were standing up for Joci, and they were going to need to go dress shopping in the next week or so.

  “After lunch, I’m going shopping for a dress for tomorrow night. Do you want to join me? We can do some preliminary wedding shopping, too.”

  Joci found a hot dress to wear and bought Jeremiah a shirt and tie to match her dress. They would look fabulous together.

  That evening, Joci and Jeremiah stayed home. During the summer months, they didn’t have the opportunity to stay in very often and they needed to make some arrangements for two family birthday parties next weekend and the wedding.

  Lying on the sofa, wrapped up in each other, listening to music, they heard someone in the garage around eight o’clock, and Jeremiah jumped up. “Stay put until I know what’s going on.”

  As he walked into the kitchen, JT, Ryder, and Gunnar strolled in from the garage, laughing and chuckling. Apparently, they had been drinking.

  “You boys scared the shit out of us.” He reached out and hugged each of them. “Come on in. Mom’s in the living room.”

  They sat around for the remainder of the evening, talking and enjoying each other. Jeremiah and Joci made the boys stay there overnight, because they didn’t want them driving when they had been drinking.

  As Joci slipped into bed, she smiled at Jeremiah, “You know, they’re all cute together. I can see why the girls were paying attention to them in Milwaukee. What a handsome group of boys we have.”

  Jeremiah smiled, “Yeah. Good boys, too. They work hard, they’re polite, smart, and loving. We’re lucky, yeah?”