“Correct.”
“What time do we have to be there?”
“Since it’s going on four in the afternoon, the sooner the better,” Dr. Knight handed them a folder. “They’re expecting you. Just ask for the oncology floor and they’ll help you. Give them your name and tell them Dr. Knight is your admitting doctor. I have a few things to finish up here and I’ll meet you over there.”
Lincoln helped Addison to her feet and they made their way out to the SUV. They drove in silence to the hospital, but before they got out of the truck, Lincoln took her hand in his. “We’ll get through this together, Addison. I’ll be there every step of the way. Right now, my goal is to get you checked in, go to wherever you’re staying, pack a bag and go to my house and pack a bag. I’ll be staying with you. So, while you’re getting your blood work done, I’ll go get some clothes for us.”
“Don’t forget your meeting tonight. Go to that, and if you still want to be with me, come afterward. You can’t miss that vote. Not that it’s any of my business, but what’s it for?”
“We’re voting for the officers for the next year.” Lincoln did some heavy thinking, then knowing his wife, he lifted the console between the seats and found paper and pen. “Writedown your address and I’ll swing by and pack a bag for you on the way to the clubhouse. Then stop and get a bag for me. I’ll come to you as soon as the meeting is over. I should be back at the hospital by eleven. But I’m going to stay with you until you’re settled and wait for the blood work.”
“You don’t have to.”
“Yes, I do,” he said, and they went in to begin the nightmare.
CHAPTER TWELVE
At nine that night, Lincoln “Abe” Murphy walked into the patch holders’ room of their biker clubhouse and took a seat. The meeting was called to order and they went through everything until it came to the voting of the officers. Someone made a motion to keep the officers the same and it was seconded, however Burt had to ask each and every officer a question. When he got to Abe, Burt asked, “Abe, do you accept the position of Sargeant at Arms for the club to enforce the bylaws and protect your brothers to the best of your ability?”
Abe looked up, and said, “Before I answer that, can I have the floor?”
“Sure.” Burt scowled, looked at the others, then shrugged. He was just as confused as the others seemed to be.
“I want everyone here. Prospects, women, strikers. I know they’re not allowed in the room, but I have something important to say and I’m only going to say it once and I don’t want a he said, she said situation going on. This shit will be said directly from the horse’s mouth. And I’m going to need Addison’s vest.” At the look on Burt’s face, he held up his hand. “Not to keep, but there’s something on it I need.”
Burt looked around the room and when he spotted Greaser he gave a nod. Greaser had arrived before everyone else and told Burt what had happened earlier. “I’ll be right back,” Burt said, and left the room. Downstairs he went to his office, opened the safe and removed Addy’s vest and her wedding rings. Then out in the main room he whistled. When he had everyone’s attention, he said, “Special circumstances. Everyone, women, strikers and prospects to the patch room now.” He held up his hands to stop the questions. “Abe’s request.”
Once they were in and settled, Burt just pushed the vest in front of Abe, who stood and removed his own vest, then he withdrew his pocket knife and studied the front of them and began to work on them.
“Most of you have been here awhile.” He began as he worked and didn’t look up. Everyone looked around and Mary held up her left hand and pointed to her wedding rings and then at Abe. Everyone saw that he was wearing his. He never wore it, said it got in the way with his work.
“We have,” Burt said, trying to encourage him to continue talking.
“For the two years Addison and I dated, she was on almost all our runs we took. During that time they were only day runs, here and there. But after we were married for almost a year, we all took that trip for six days up to Lake George. That last day we were late leaving because Addison wasn’t around. When she showed up an hour later, I yelled at her and everyone, both men and women made snide barbs either to her face or behind her back. I never defended her, hell, I think I led the charge.” He finished with his vest and pulled Addy’s to him and continued to talk as he was bent over, and worked on it with his knife.
“I think that was the first fight we had. When we got home, I continued to ask where she was. She put her hand on my face and said trust me. I did and the subject was dropped.” He looked up and grinned. Then he folded Addy’s vest and laid it over the top of his.
“Three months later was our first wedding anniversary. This is what she gave me.” He laid the four pins he’d removed from both vests in the center of the table. “We put them on our vests. My anniversary gift to her was this patch.” He ran his hand over the ‘Property of Abe’ patch that was in the center of the back of the vest. “These four pins were her gift to me. She was late that day, because the first day we arrived at Lake George we allwent down to see the sights. No one, not even me walked around with Addison. She found a vendor that did pins. She had these commissioned and picked them up that day we were leaving. The vendor was late getting there so she was late getting back.”
“What are they?” Mary asked when he remained silent.
“Addison wore a heart with an ‘A’ on it, I had a heart with an ‘L’. Next to our hearts were keys. Mine had an ‘A’ Addison’s had an ‘L’. She said that they were keys to our hearts. See.” He picked up a key and heart and inserted it and the heart actually opened. “We had pictures of each other in the heart.” He passed them around and everyone played with them. When he got them back he kept them in his clenched fist.
“Shortly after that, Addison’s business took off. That’s why she wasn’t around as much as she was in the beginning. I never really paid attention to what she’d talk about, so we kept it that she had a thing. After several months, it became a joke between us. It wasn’t until your daughters asked us to sit in on the planning of your anniversary that I actually understood what she did for a living.” He looked at Burt and Mary.
“I know you guys are talking behind my back that I’m stupid for not signing the divorce papers. But I love my wife. I married her for love, for richer or poorer and in sickness or health. Well, after today I will be by her side twenty-four seven until further notice.” Abe couldn’t handle it. He tried to keep a stiff upper lip, but he put his head on the table and burst into tears. He felt several hands on his back and arms, but no one said a word, for which he was grateful. When he finally got himself under control he looked up, blew his nose on his bandana and wiped his eyes.
“Sorry about that. But before I got here tonight, I left Addison in the hospital. At seven o’clock tomorrow morning, she’s going in to have biopsies on two masses that were found during a mammogram. One on each breast. She has to stay in the hospital until the results are in, within twenty-four to forty-eighthours. If they come back cancerous, she’ll be in surgery within hours to remove the masses, and possibly the breasts. Then she’ll have to start chemo. If they come back non-cancerous, then they’ll either remove the lumps or give her medication to dissolve them. I read the doctor’s expression as he explained everything. My bet is on worst case. She’ll be having a double mastectomy and then chemo to beat the cancer.”
He looked around the table and quickly looked down at the wedding band on his hand. “What you guys don’t know about Addison is this. Her entire life, her father cheated on her mother. Openly. Her mother always took him back. But when Addison was fifteen, her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and her father packed his bags, left, and divorced her mother. She told me once that she asked him why he left after he cheated on her so much. His response was that he couldn’t handle being around a broken woman. He needed someone strong because he was weak, and he needed someone to be strong for him to forgive him his sins. She lost all respect for him, and went no contact with him. Addison was her mother’s entire support system. Her mother died of breast cancer when Addison was eighteen. She never heard from her father again.
“As I said earlier, I married Addison for love. It’s time for me to step up and be there for her during this. I can’t not do this. So, Burt, to answer your earlier question, no, I can’t continue to be the Sergeant at Arms for another year. I know we can retire after being in the club for ten years. My ten-year anniversary comes in seven months. But I can’t wait that long. I’m handing in my colors.” He pushed the two vests across the table to Burt and you could hear a pin drop in that room. No one even dared breathe.
It took several times for Burt to clear his throat before he could get a coherent word out. “Normally I’d talk you out of it, but after your speech, I’ll accept these on the condition that you understand that you’re taking a break. I will accept these as longas you say you’re on a break. If you say you’re quitting the club, then I can’t accept these. But I also want you to understand that if you need anything, and I mean anything, even if it’s a gallon of milk, or a package of toilet paper, you will call one of us to help you.”
“If you need any food, your house cleaned, or someone to sit with Addy, you’ll call too,” Mary spoke up then. When Burt and Mary saw his expression, they said firmly, “If we find out you’re not asking, there will be hell to pay. My mother died of breast cancer, so I know what you’re about to go through, and you’re going to want to call on your friends every once in a while, just to get out and clear your head. Even if it’s for an hour, you’ll feel better. I’m not saying that Addy will do what my mother did, as soon as she found out she had cancer, she gave up. Addy doesn’t seem like that type of person to me.”
“She’s not. She’s going to fight me on this, but as soon as I leave here, I’m going to pack up her apartment and move her stuff back to the house.”
