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He leaned against the wall and slid down to rest on the concrete slab. The kid needed to feel safe. Maybe he’d be less threatening on his ass. “Yes, I loved her.” He gently banged the back of his head twice against the drywall behind him. “I’ll probably always love her.”
Cautiously, Robby lowered himself to the ground and sat cross-legged a few feet away.
“We dated in college.”
The kid’s jaw dropped, but he quickly closed his mouth.
“Yes, Robby, I went to college. But I dropped out after we broke up. Not because of her, or at least, not entirely.” He sighed. “We were together about six months, and I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with her, get married, have kids, the whole bit.”
Robby squinted his eyes, but he didn’t say anything. The poor guy was probably afraid to speak.
“If you’ve got a question, it’s okay. I won’t bite your head off this time.”
“I thought bikers didn’t get married.”
He laughed, but there was no joy in it this time. “They don’t. I wasn’t in the club back then; I wasn’t gonna join. I never wanted my dad’s life.”
Robby inched closer. “Why not?”
To really answer his question would take hours…and several beers. His hand flexed, trying to conjure a longneck. “A hundred reasons.” None he should be discussing with an outsider, but he owed Robby some kind of answer. “It’s very insular. It’s got its own code, which isn’t always very evolved. Plus, as you said, it’s not much of a life for women and families.”
“Butyougrew up there,” Robby pressed.
“Exactly, kid.” He closed his eyes. “Exactly.”
***
15 years ago
December
The shelves at Wal-Mart were stocked haphazardly as shoppers pawed through the After-Christmas Sale items. Strings of lights spilled out of torn cardboard boxes next to footie-pajamas and tins of fruitcake, which apparently had no expiration date. Kane’s mom dug through the unsteady piles of almost-garbage, searching for bits of treasure beneath.
This trip was an annual event designed to find the perfect sale-priced gift for his dad. Malcolm’s birthday was December 26th, and Mama V prided herself on spoiling her man while keeping to a razor-sharp budget. They had no money for the family to exchange gifts, but she pulled five dollars from her budget every month to put in her man’s birthday fund. She didn’t do it for her sons, but they never knew any different.
She inspected a grooming kit, then put it back on the shelf. The same treatment followed for a three-pack of DVDs and a bundle of barbeque supplies that would have really made Kane’s attempts to cook for himself much easier. He knew better than to argue, though. It’s not like his father ever cooked a meal in his life.
Malcolm was a simple man. He liked beer, cigarettes, sex, and his bike. The problem was, there was nothing on an After-Christmas rack likely to support his hobbies. He would have been happiest with a carton of Marlboros and a case of Bud, but those things weren’tspecialenough for his old lady.
In the end, she settled for an American flag with slightly battered packaging and an insulated cup with a label promising to keep hot things hot and cold things cold. She used her remaining three dollars to buy a fancy cupcake at the store bakery because God forbid there be enough of a treat for everyone to share.
She intended this celebration for Malcolm and Malcolm alone.
When they got back to the clubhouse, which doubled as their home, she carefully wrapped the presents in the ninety-nine cent, shiny red paper with silver bells. Then, she sat down at the kitchen table and waited. And waited.
He made two grilled cheese sandwiches and set one down in front of her. As he scarfed down his dinner, hers grew cold on her plate. She was sitting vigil for her man. Of course, she wouldn’t eat.
Shortly after eight o’clock, the rumble of engines sounded outside. A handful of brothers trickled in. Case, Bender, Scott…but no sign of Malcolm.
“You gonna eat that, Mama?” Scott didn’t wait for an answer; he scooped the cold sandwich off her plate and stuffed it in his mouth.
Fifteen minutes later, a crash sounded from the carport out back. Mama V jumped to her feet to investigate, Kane trailing at her heels. He almost ran her over when she stopped short a few feet outside the door.
He craned his neck to see what caused her strangled cry.
Malcolm’s body draped over the back of a woman Kane had never seen before. Or maybegirlwould be more accurate. She couldn’t have been much older than he was. Her thin arms gripped the metal column supporting the structure, her exposed breasts bouncing over the top of her skin-tight tank-top.
His first thought was she must be cold, so close to nude on a winter night. Then, his father’s loud grunt shook him back to the bigger picture. Malcolm’s hand on her back forced her to bend over further as he drove into her from behind. The wet slap of his body against hers echoed into the awful silence.
