“I don’t know. I hardly ever see her.”Confession time,Sabrina thought as she noticed Scrap was quietly sipping his coffee and listening. That was odd, as she expected him to rage at both her and Mary, but he was keeping to himself, at least for now. “She birthed me and took off. She wasn’t around much while I was growing up, just popped in whenever she saw fit.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. We were club wives at the same time, but we didn’t have much to do with the club or each other, so’s I can’t tell you much about her from back in the day.”
“It’s okay.” Sabrina lifted her own cup while the woman continued to chatter.
“We got six kids, Titus and me. All boys. Two of ’em are close by, and three others are scattered around the country. One is in the cemetery over in Washington.”
Sabrina didn’t have to see the woman to hear the sorrow in her voice. “Um… my condolences.”
“It happened a few years ago. He was shot while makin’ a delivery. Worked for UPS, you see. He wasn’t doing anything special, ya know? No cause for the greater good. Just dropping off a big box of T-shirts and got caught in some gang war thing. Shot in the neck. Here one day and gone the next.” Mary keptbustling around the kitchen, putting boxes in cupboards and wiping the counter.
Sabrina had no clue what to say to that. “I’m really sorry for your loss.”
Mary wiped a finger under one eye and dipped her head. “I appreciate you saying that. I really do. I still miss him, but he left behind a piece of himself with our daughter-in-law and our cute little grandson. Portia and Grayson are such a comfort to us. I don’t know what we’d do without family around, especially when times get tough.”
Sabrina had the notion that Mary’s conversation just dropped a lot of hints, but she wasn’t sure if the message was actually meant for her.
Scrap evidently thought the same thing. “Woman, if you’re trying to fucking say something, just spit it out and be done with it.”
Mary jerked open a cabinet door, making it smack loudly into its neighbor and causing Sabrina to jump. “You haven’t moved from that chair since I got here and I bet not since she got here either. Wanna tell us why?”
“Do not fucking go there.”
The words were supposed to be a threat, but Sabrina heard a note of desperation in his growling tone.
Mary ignored it. She shoved several canned goods into the cabinet and slammed it shut. “I lost my son years ago, and I feel that pain every damn day. You have a living, breathing daughter right here, and you’re wasting time you don’t have.”
“I’m warning you, Mary. Shut the fuck up.”
But Mary didn’t heed the barked order. “You want me to shut up? How ’bout you come over here and shut me up? You can’t, can you?”
“Ma-reeee!”
The woman ignored the drawn-out growl. “Because you’re afraid you pissed yourself again. Am I right?”
“Gawddammit, Mary!”
Sabrina’s brain took a minute to process. “What? Why? What’s going on?”
Mary’s mouth pressed into a grim line. “He’s had diabetes for decades and never paid attention or took care of himself very well. Now he’s got kidney disease and is too bullheaded to tell anyone.”
“That’s my fucking business!” Scrap snarled.
But Mary did not back down. “It’s not just your business. It’s my business. It’s Titus’s business. It’s the club’s business.” She pointed at Sabrina. “Most of all, it’sherbusiness. She needs something from you that will bring her peace. I do not understand how you, of all people, can’t see that.”
Scrap spluttered. “How do you know all this shit?”
“I’ve been married to Titus for fifty-three years. Yinz know we talk to each other. He’s really worried about you and the club. Mostly about you.” She moved to stand over Scrap and put her hands on her generous hips. “You are so alone, Walter. You rattle around this house or that damn bar like a zombie just waiting to die. Now you have a chance to regain some family, and you’re pissing it away. Take the damn DNA test and confirm what we already know.”
“No!”
“Why not?”
“I fucking said no!”
“And I fucking asked why not?”
Scrap lost it. “Because, if Iamher father, that means I abandonedmy only gawddamn child!”
