Page 66 of Dodge

He moved like he was ready to bolt at any moment. “You Fauna?” he asked.

I answered in the affirmative, wondering who he was and why he was there.

“I’m Boyer Plott. Dodge is my son.”

“Okay.”Fuck me, what do I say now?“Nice to meet you.”

He mumbled something back, then fell silent. Awkward didn’t come close to describing how uncomfortable that was.

“Umm… can I help you with something, Mr. Plott?”

“I understand you have a restaurant.”

“Yes, the Smoky Mountain Bistro is mine. I’ll treat you to meal if you come sometime.”

“That chicken parm stuff you sent me was real good.” The man wouldn’t look me in the eye. His gaze darted from the floor to the wall and back.

“Thank you. I’m glad you liked it.”

Quiet ensued again. I racked my brain to find something to say, some sort of common ground, but nothing came to my mind.

“Take care of my boy.” He turned and left.

I told Dodge about the strange encounter, and to my surprise, my beautiful biker teared up.

“My dad doesn’t leave the property for anything other than work. For him to come here means something, sweetness. It means a lot.”

I pondered my life now as I placed a big platter of spanakopita triangles in the middle of a huge spread of food. The Dragon Runners’ big Halloween barbecue was in full swing at their campground, and Betsey definitely ruled this roost. The walls of a big blue bouncy house flopped around, people were playing games, music boomed from Stud’s band, and craft vendors hawked their wares. It was one big-ass block party, and I loved it.

Dodge was giving people rides on the Tail. He told me the final run would happen this evening, with all the club colors waving and all the bikers’ old ladies at their backs.

I smiled. “I suppose that includes me.”

He grinned and popped a triangle in his mouth. Brick had already eaten six or seven of them before he realized the stuff in the middle was spinach. “Yup. But you need something before we go.”

“What’s that?”

He pulled a box from his bike saddlebag. “Your own cut.”

In the box was a black leather vest with a newly stitched Dragon Runners logo on the back along with “Property of Dodge” and my name on the front. The wordpropertydidn’t sit well with me, but I’d learned the meaning from Betsey and the other old ladies. It was the committed form of marriage in their world. An unbreakable bond for life. Many of them still had official marriages and licenses, but as long as I had the kind of love I saw between Brick and Betsey, Mute and Kat, Stud and Eva, and all the rest, I had no complaints.

I slipped on the cut and posed for Dodge’s approval. “How does it look?”

He placed a hand over his chin as he inspected me. “Hmmm. Something is still missing.” He snapped his fingers as his face lit up. “I got it.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. My heart thumped.

“How ’bout spending a lifetime with me?”

I burst into laughter so I wouldn’t cry. “I’m gonna need some wine to go with that cheese, baby. Put a ring on it and let’s go for a ride.”

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