“They love it. I got a note from Emily’s teacher today saying that she’s so well behaved and that she’s friends with everyone,” I gush.
“That’s our girl! What about Tanner?”
“Unfortunately, his teacher doesn’t send updates like Emily’s. From what I can tell so far, he’s made some friends, and his grades are good. I’m hoping I’ll find out more at parent-teacher conferences, if they do that here.”
“I’m sure they do. What about you?”
“What about me?”
“How are you? How’s work?” she asks.
I don’t have to see her to know she’s rolling her eyes at me.
“I’m good. I got paid today,” I tell her.
“That’s awesome! Congratulations.”
“Thanks. I’m just waiting for your brother to get home so I can pay him rent.”
“Has he been hounding you about it?” she asks, concern bleeding into her voice.
“No, not at all. I just want to give him the money before I do anything else.”
“Okay, good. Just making sure. What else?”
“Nothing really. It’s all the same. Home and work. Kids and bed. Same old.”
“Why don’t you hang out with some of the people from the club? They are good people.”
I chew on my lip. I’ve thought about asking Sloane to hang out or something, but who wants to hang out with a single mom? The kids and I are a package deal. I can’t leave them, and even if I could, I’m not sure I am ready to. Sending them off to school is hard enough.
“Hey, I think it’s a great idea. I think you’ll have a lot of fun.”
“I hope so,” I murmur. “Now tell me, where are you now, and what’s the latest gossip?”
Bertha jumps into telling me all about how she hates California traffic before she switches to the gossip that’s happening on the road. I never knew that some truckers have beef with each other or how cliquey they could be until I witnessed it firsthand.
Let me tell you, some of the things they squabble over are ridiculous. They are like kindergarteners fighting over the samedamn toy. But in this case, it’s who got the best parking spot or the best run.
It’s insane, and I love it.
Before I know it, the sound of a bike approaching catches my attention. I look over at the clock and see that more than twenty minutes have passed.
Shit, I was supposed to start dinner.
“Hey, Bertha, I’m sorry. I just realized the time. I need to get dinner started, and it sounds like your brother just got home.”
“No problem. I’ll catch up with you later. Tell my brother hi.”
“Will do. Bye.”
I hang up as I get off the bed. Moving to my purse, I pull out the cash I need. Folding it carefully, I put it in my back pocket and head out.
“Hey guys, I’m running next door for a second. Please stay inside, okay?” I tell the kids.
“Okay, Mommy,” they say in unison.
Fucking finally. It’s been a long ass day. I left the shop early today to do a quick run over to the Saint’s Outlaws chapter in Deadman’s Beach. Some dumbass at the distributor sent us some parts they needed for a project. Instead of sending them back and making them wait another three weeks to get them, I drove them over myself. Then I got lunch with their pres, Blood.
