“I figured you’d be up early. Here,” she said as she forced adifferent glass in my hand. I drank it down and winced before passing it back to her.
She always made me some kind of electrolyte drink after a heavy drinking night, but it tasted like ass and didn’t mix well with black coffee. Still, the days I didn’t have it after a lot of booze definitely were more of a struggle to push through.
Taking a few big swigs of the hot coffee and burning the roof of my mouth, I hissed then said, “Going to shower. I’ll be back.”
“When you’re part of the living, come see me,” she answered before heading back to the kitchen.
It wasn’t uncommon for Ma to be up early to get the day started. But she didn’t normally tell me to come see her. I saw her all the time.
Sipping my coffee, wondering if Shiv had a way to directly inject caffeine into my veins, I stepped out into the crisp morning air and headed to my house. The sun was starting to peek over the tall pines and strokes of orange and pink painted the sky. As I pulled a smoke from my pocket and lit it, the tingle of the first hit rushing through me, I pondered why she wanted me to find her.
She had something to talk about…but what?
Taking long strides to my house, I took heavy drags off the cigarette and blew the plume into a cloud that followed me. Days were still mostly mild in October here with the exception of false fall, but the evenings and mornings were chilly now.
Before I made it to the porch of my house, a modest ranch that sat atop a basement with grey siding and whiteshutters, I took one last drag of my smoke then flicked it away. The porch was low to the ground with just one step and wasn’t covered. The front door faced the clubhouse. The first VP that had it built put a canopy on the back that faced the woods. It was a nice spot for solitude, regardless of the weather once I had the screens put up to keep mosquitos out. And it made sense to not do much with the front. If I wanted to see the clubhouse I’d go to the clubhouse. Plenty of places to sit in the yard out front.
After keying my code to the door, I stepped inside. It wasn’t a full on bachelor pad but it lacked the touch of a woman. The only pictures were that of my family and my brothers. The living room held a grey oversized chair and ottoman with a matching couch that faced the stone fireplace and black side tables and coffee table. My TV was hung above the mantle that was also devoid of any decorations.
Heading to the kitchen, I pulled another mug down and brewed from my one-cup coffee pot as I finished the cup Ma sent with me. The coffee maker was all that sat on the marbled countertops in the black and grey kitchen.
Just as I downed the last sip of coffee in the first cup, the one-cup was finished so I swapped mugs and headed to my weights.
After a quick workout and shower, shaving my short facial hair, and combing my dark hair into place, I headed back to the clubhouse for breakfast and to find Ma. My hair was short on the sides, but the top fell to my ears if I didn’t mess with it. But I liked a nice, clean look. I used some fancy hair balm and always combed it back. It held most of the time, but if I took my helmet on and off a few times, or had to chase anyone,sometimes it got out of place.
As I got closer, there was movement in the yard. Heading toward the garages, I lit up another smoke.
“Hey Prez,” Knox said. The president of the Bristol chapter was around my age, tall and bulky with short dark hair. One of his officers, Linx, was loading up. Linx had dark hair pulled back and was covered in tattoos, even the whites of his eyes had been blacked out. While he looked like a demonic bear, he was one of the nicest brothers I’d met.
“Morning fellas,” I answered. “Headin’ out?”
Knox secured his saddlebag then pulled out a cigarette and fired it up. “Yeah, few hours back. Can’t leave all them fuckers running around the clubhouse too long without adult supervision,” he joked.
The officers of the other chapters came for the vote, but not a lot of members of other clubs had made the ride. Just like here, someone always had to stay behind to ensure the clubhouse was protected.
“Appreciate you coming down, brothers. I’m sure we’ll see each other soon,” I said as I held my fist up.
“Congrats, my friend,” Knox said as he bumped my fist then took a drag off his cigarette before flicking it away.
Nodding, I gave Linx a pat on the shoulder before turning to go speak to the others that were loading up.
After I finished the string of goodbyes and thanks that they made the trip and voted me in, I finally wandered back into the clubhouse.
My stomach was growling but I wanted to know what the fuck was going on with Ma. A few guys strolled in looking for food, taking seats at the tables that were scattered around the bar area.
A few good mornings and comments about being president flew at me as I bypassed them all, making a beeline for the kitchen.
Ma was there at the industrial grade stove flipping bacon and piles and piles of pancakes were on the counter. “I’ll bring you a plate soon. Go sit down.”
Lacy was flipping more pancakes on the griddle and her blue eyes flicked up, but only for a moment.
“What do you need to talk about, Ma?” I asked, crossing my arms.
Lacy turned off the griddle and wiped her hands on her apron that said Property of Eagle. “I’ll go check on the guys.”
Ma rolled her eyes as she walked out. “You need to eat, son. And she and I gotta get all this food out there,” she said, waving her tongs toward the door.
Uncrossing my arms, I stepped closer and put my hand on the counter. “Ma, tell me now.”
