Oscar moved quickly, his dinner knife in his hand, coming to Helen’s side.The doors of the conference room opened, ushering in a man and two women.The man, she recognized, the women, she’d invited; however, her attempt to move forward to welcome her three guests were halted by the kids surrounding her legs.
Micah stepped out front, recognizing all three bodies.He moved to almost a martial arts stance, towering above the children as if he were the leader ofThe Lord of the Flies.His lip snarled as he looked at the woman overdressed for the occasion.The sour perfume filling the room reminded Helen of a ladies’ locker room after a heavy-duty aerobics class.
“Señoras, you might be in the wrong place; to get to her, you shall have to come through me,” Micah announced loudly.He recognized the two women as well as the man, a man, he didn’t understand why his father hadn’t killed.He would have no issue taking his life if he came near Helen.He’d seen photos of the women, but didn’t know them by name, but recognized them as bad news.
Apple, also recognizing Swallowtail, rose from his table, moving to stand in front of Micah.At his side appeared Cherry, Passion Fruit, Lemon, Sour Grapes, who had come without Bella, and Jared.Ricky stood at the end of the line, holding a hammer.Why he’d brought a hammer to a wedding was for a later conversation as Apple announced, “To get to him, you must first get through us.”
Slow rose from the table, standing in front of Apple, making a fourth line of defense.Joined at his side were Zeke on the left and Yield on the right.Stop stood, joining the line, gnawing on a chicken leg, followed by Falling Rocks, One Way, Wrong Way, Merge and Mrs.Hump, who seemed bored by it all.The Mann joined the line at the end, opting to be far away from Mrs.Hump.
Slow, in his leisurely manner, proclaimed, “You’ll never get to them because you will be dead before you make it through us.”
Mark Neary wanted in, jumping to the end of the line and proudly proclaiming, “And me!I’m Slippery When Wet.”
“Daddy, you don’t have a handle, please sit down,” Slow said.
Joe Neary, shocked his brother was in on it and not him, got to his feet as well.“I’m the Dead End.The buck stops with me, and nobody is getting through me!”
“Slow your roll, Daddy,” Gabriel Neary said, rising to stand front and center of The Directions.He was flanked by Azrael, Belial, Ariel, and Moloch.“The Archangels are present, and the last thing you want is to take on us.”
A loud, maniacal, Spaghetti Western Bad Guy laugh came from a corner as Jesús de la Marta came forward.“Cousin, are you aware of this infraction upon a family fun event?”He asked of Eduardo.
“I have sanctioned no moves.As a matter of fact, I did the opposite, and I know none of these people would dare defy me!”Eduardo announced boldly.
Kurtzwilde threw up his hands.“Whoa, whoa, whoa!I have an invite.I came to eat dinner with my kids, wish the newlyweds well, and play with my grandsons.No trouble from me,” he said, waving his invite.“I even brought a gift.”
Helen, in the rear of the room, clapped her hands.“Enough.Stand down everyone.Everyone stand down.I invited them all,” she said, separating herself from the kids.
She patted Micah’s shoulder, offering him a wink as a thank you.The Fruits parted the line, allowing her to walk down the middle.The skirt of the open-faced panted dress swaying as she walked.The Directions created an opening as she stepped through, and Gabriel offered a slight bow as she passed.
“Stephen, Jeffrey, please come escort the ladies to their table,” Helen called out.“Michael, it is good to see you again.Mama Ruth, can we have the servers bring him a chicken dinner?You can join your kids at Table Two.DJ, let’s get the music going again.Ladies, please take a seat and enjoy a meal, and I shall join you momentarily.”
She said the last part as Mustang walked into the room with a look of confusion on his face.The vibe of the room had changed.In the center of the maelstrom was of course his wife.“I was gone ten minutes!Ten minutes!What in the hell happened?”
“Swallowtail, Hornwood, and Imperial have arrived,” she said, pointing at the ladies.
“Hornworm,” he gently corrected, looking at his father who was in a protective stance as well as Uncle Joe.The look on his brother Slow’s face said some shit went down, and a young man with entirely too much machismo was giving him the stink eye.“Who is that kid looking at me like he wants to fight me?”
“The Bushmaster,” she told him, “However, you might have to fight Naomi to get to him.”
“Just tell me later,” he said as Ruth pulled them both by the arm to cut the cake.He looked over the crowd, noticing that Jesús had actually come to their wedding.He spotted Naomi trying to get to the one his wife called The Bushmaster, and his brother Slow trying to prevent her from doing so, and finally, Mustang noticed Eduardo Delgado.“Wait, is that?”
“Yes, it is,” she called out to the Fer de Lance, “Señor, wave hi to The Mustang.”
The Fer de Lance scowled at her, making Helen smile.“He likes me a lot.A bitch made a friend,” she said, laughing.
Hand-in-hand, they sliced through the cake, gently feeding each other a bit of lemony goodness.The servers arrived, passing out plates to everyone else as Helen whispered to her husband, “I’ll join you at the table in a few.”First, she needed a conversation with two shrinking caterpillars.She made her way to the table as if she had all the time in the world.Chicken dinners were served before the women with glasses of white wine to accompany the meal.
“Ladies, I’m glad you could make it,” Helen said, taking a seat.
“Did we have a choice?”Swallowtail asked, her heavy voice filled with bitterness.“You came to my home.How dare you come to my home!”
“You’re lucky I didn’t take your life, you disgusting pedophile,” Helen said in a lowered voice, smiling at her.“I am offering this olive branch to you both.You see my face.You see the team behind me.Cease your operations of preying on children, and you’ll be allowed to live.”
Hornworm spoke, “And if we don’t?”
“Let’s see what happens,” Helen said, offering a smile.The red aura surrounding Hornworm stated loudly how unapologetic she was for anything.“You’re entirely too old to be this nasty.Take up a craft, travel, find another way to pass your time before time passes you by.Look around this room; look at these families.Even Imperial has a family, well, several.Those children of his are very accomplished people.You have given nothing back to this world.”
Swallowtail’s black aura darkened as she spoke “In all honestly, you don’t know what the fuck I’ve given to this world.”
