She’s clearly missed my point because she replies, “One day isn’t enough. I think it should be three.”
I feel my soul shriveling up and dying. “Overnight? You want me to keep her overnight?”
“Three nights.”
“I gotta fuckin’ work. She’ll be at the clubhouse. The brothers are not exactly role models.”
“I gotta work too, so figure it out, Brody. It’ll be good for them to experience the other side of the coin. A little more empathy all around and we’ll have this problem in the bag.”
“Or we’ll all fuckin’ destroy each other.”
She cocks her head. “Well that’ll solve the problem too.”
I realize that I’m not gonna win this one and I don’t have a better fuckin’ idea. And I’m hungry, so when Henri yells, “Are we gonna go eat or what?” I throw my hands in the air and stalk back to the truck.
Selkie catches up and stops me with her hand on my arm. My eyes involuntary jerk down to her warm strong grip but she mistakes my lust for anger and quickly lets me go. The hurt on her face is fleeting as she hides it behind a mask of indifference. “Let’s tell them the plan over breakfast. So they realize we’re a united front.”
My whole body goes cold at the thought. “In a public place?”
“I’m guessing they’re civilized enough to not want to embarrass themselves in a public place.”
But are we? I think, but don’t say. Instead, I change the subject. “Where’re we gonna meet?”
“Myrtle’s Breakfast Buffet,” she replies without hesitation. “You know it?”
“Yeah,” I reply as I head to my truck. Some of my brothers treat it like a second home. Like Trigger says, you can eat as much as you want, shit it out, and eat some more.
Once Oscar and I are back on the road, I swallow my pride. “I’m sorry.”
He mistakes the meaning behind my apology. “Puttin’ me in the backseat was pretty lame."
“Not for puttin’ you in the backseat. I should’ve done that the first time.”
“Then what?”
He’s already forgotten my loss of temper, which almost makes me sorry I apologized, but I’ve already stepped in the shit. “For shouting at you in front of those two.”
He crosses his arms and looks out the window. “I shoulda just did as you told. Got it over with. I don’t know why I argued with you.”
I sigh. “Same reason I lost my temper. Those two women are driving us nuts.”
Chapter Nine
Selkie
When I arrive at Myrtle’s Breakfast Buffet, Brody and Oscar are already there, standing side by side, leaning against the truck, sunglasses on, arms crossed, not talking. These two are reflections of each other running on parallel tracks.
Almost anyone else would be talking to each other, waving at us as we parked. Henri and I never not engage with each other. Even when we’re not talking, we know how the other is feeling through our facial expression or posture.
I didn’t exactly have a postcard childhood, and neither has Henri, but along with mom, we’re a solid family. Oscar and Brody seem lost. Not sure how to interact with life or each other. They need understanding not derision. I make a vow to be a better person towards them in the future.
“Hey,” I say as I get out of the car. “Hope you haven’t been waiting long.”
“Thirty minutes,” Brody replies blandly. “You need to replace that piece of shit.”
And just like that, my vow is broken. “Sure, Brody. Maybe you could help me round up a few of your criminal friends so I’ve got enough to pay for a new one.”
His mouth tightens as he pushes away from the truck. “Let’s get this over with.”
