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Brick? Snake? Ginger and Doreen?
Leah smiles gently at me, obviously seeing my confusion. “Come on.” She tugs my hand.
I look at Wolf and he nods, telling me it’s okay. It’s going to have to be, because Leah’s pulling me along while Stephanie targets my mom. The women sweep around us and ferry us toward the house while behind us, the men get to work.
I watch over my shoulder while my feet take me inside, observing how they all move like ants, like a coordinated team, swarming around my car. Steel seems to be doling out jobs while the man with the snake tattoo, who I can only assume is the one named Snake, has acquired a broom and is sweeping the glass.
Jokes are already flying in gruff voices. The way they move and talk and interact with each other gives me a strong feeling of family, a feeling that I have been sorely lacking for my whole life. They make me want to join in and be one of them even though I don’t belong.
“Mommy!” Artie hops up into my arms. As I hold him close, he gapes around at all the new people in his house. “Who are they?”
Leah bends forward a little to be level with him and holds out her hand. “We’re new friends. It’s nice to meet you, Artie.”
My son takes her hand, as he’s been taught to shake hands because it’s polite, while gawking at her. He’s clearly fascinated by her, and she glances at me with a smile of amusement. Then he notices Stephanie and his eyes get enormous. “A princess?”
“How sweet.” Stephanie touches her heart and laughs, a wonderful sound that seems to brighten the entire room. “No, sweetheart, just a normal person. A friend.”
“I feel like the princess here,” I murmur, and Stephanie turns her gaze to me. “Having to be rescued,” I clarify.
“It’s not your fault that you’re having a hard run of things.” Her sweet, musical voice turns firm. “We’re not rescuing you. We’re helping, because you deserve it.”
Tears burn and I look away, blinking. I’m still not sure what to think of Wolf, but the fact he’s arranged all this for us shows me he’s a good man. Maybe his time in jail straightened him out? Artie wriggles down from my arms. Mom stands at my shoulder, looking uncertain. The house is crowded with all these women and their different varieties of beauty. “Does anyone… want anything to drink?” she says, her tone uncertain.
Leah holds up her hands, shaking her head. “We’re here to take care of you. I think some tea is called for, don’t you? And those men out there will be coming in here for snacks at some point. Harley, do you want to go on a grocery run? Otherwise, they’ll eat these cupboards bare.”
Harley?
The vampiric beauty answers, which means that Harley is Steel’s daughter. “Sure, I’ll go. Anyone riding along?” She speaks in a very enunciated manner.
Another answers, a short, curvy woman who looks like she has just stepped out of the average man’s wet dream fantasy. “Me. I’ll go with you.”
They coordinate in the exact same way as the men outside, quieter, less rough, yet no weaker. Their strength is their kindness as some of them head out to get groceries, and others take to the kitchen, and another ushers me, Mom, and Artie into the living room to settle us. Mom looks even more baffled than I feel, and I realize that as little as I know, she knows even less. She doesn’t even know any names.
But that’s the thing, isn’t it?
They don’t need us to know their names. They probably don’t know Mom’s name, and there have to be a few who don’t know mine. Still, they take care of us. They bring us mugs of hot tea from the kitchen, and the jar of honey, the sugar, and carton of milk, so we don’t have to get up for anything. They give Artie a glass of milk and turn off the TV to engage with him directly. When Harley and the other one come back with groceries, they busy themselves with making snacks. Just in time too, because the first of the men walks inside seeking a cold drink and something salty to munch on.
They are not separate, the men and women. They definitely have formed their own connections and communities, but they intermingle. They can’t get by without the other.
And now we’re in the middle of that.
I feel my horizons expanding, a sensation like discovery and realization, like grasping a concept previously baffling. Whether or not it was intended, whether or not it was wanted, we are part of that community now. It’s probably going to be a brief stay, but that doesn’t matter because, for the time being, we belong.
My heart quivers. I’ve spent so much time not really belonging anywhere that I know I won’t ever forget this, however brief it winds up being.
Chapter 11
Wolf
Aday of work on Julia’s car transformed it from a wreck to something better than before. We had all the tools to fill in the keyed scratches and paint over them, and we were able to pop out the worst of the dents. We rotated the tires and replaced the slashed one. Once the body work was done, we moved inward. We vacuumed out all the broken pieces and scrubbed every inch to get the piss out. What could be salvaged of her personal belongings, we gathered up and set aside for her.
Then, I had convinced her to hand her key over so we could take the car to a shop to get the window and other irreparable bits replaced. We all use the same shop for our vehicles, bikes and otherwise, because they don’t ask questions about the damage. We do what we can on our own, in our own garages and at the clubhouse, but sometimes, even we need outside assistance.
Finally, we gave the exterior a quick wash and polish and left it gleaming in the sun.
The women provided snacks and drinks and filled in all the other gaps necessary while also keeping Julia and her family company.
Though the circumstances were shitty, it was a good time. Really made me feel like I was finally, properly back. I didn’t get the chance to speak with her alone to see if she’s still mad I didn’t tell her about prison. But the fact that I was the first person she called when she was scared has to mean something, right?
