Page 38 of Sour Brew Face

“What? Why would you say such a thing?” As if things can’t get any worse, now she’s withholding pussy? I didn’t tell my mom to drive her car into the house, how is this my fault?

“Every time we mambo horizontally, this fucking woman ruins the afterglow. And now she’s ruined my couch. I liked that couch; I had just gotten the chaise to conform around my butt just right for optimal viewing pleasure. Now I have to start all over again.”

The police show up and I vaguely register them yelling at my mom to calm down and step outside. I turn to Mo and thank God that she isn’t kicking me out or breaking up with me, I’ve never been so happy to hear someone bitch about furniture in my life.

“If it helps, until we find the perfect replacement couch, I’ll let you sit on my face.”

Mo 35.

Langston is cutting off the circulation to my hand, but I refuse to say anything. Being in court today is obviously stressful enough, not to mention we’re here to testify against his mother.

Eugenia was hauled away the night she went allDemolition Manand was denied bail at her arraignment. That set our minds at ease, knowing she wasn’t freely walking around anymore. The damage to my house was fairly extensive and its going to take a while to repair. Luckily, Langston still had his apartment, even though he’d basically been living with me until that fateful night.

Don’t worry, despite my words, we’ve had sex many, many,manytimes since then. And I’m happy to report nothing catastrophic has happened as a result…at least not to us anyway, I can’t speak for the rest of the world.

A warm hand presses to my shoulder from behind me and I turn to smile at Sister Nadine. The gangs all here to support us. Langston’s dad and stepmom, brother, sister-in-law (who seems moments away from giving birth), the Ordinary Guys and the staff from the bar. Some have had to testify as well, but mostly everyone here is to remind Langston that he’s not alone.

Despite how things have gone, I know he still loves his mother…deep, deep, deep down. I also know, that for as long as he lives, this will probably be the hardest thing he’s ever had to do.

The death grip on my hand eases as the judge releases the jury for deliberation. Everything about her case has been fast. I’m not sure why she went to court at all, considering the mountain of evidence and testimony against her. She was offered several plea deals and refused them all. The district attorney mentioned that he will recommend in-patient treatment for her. As Mike said, she’s whackadoodle and a prison might not be the best place for her.

En masse, we exit the courtroom and loiter in the hallway. I glance up and see a sign with arrows indicating where certain offices are in the building. The one for marriage licenses flashes like a neon sign in my mind.

I grab Langston’s elbow and apologize to Rob and V for interrupting their conversation.

“Let’s get married.” I blurt out, our group quiets down immediately and I realize I said that louder than I intended.

“What?” Langston asks in disbelief.

I point to the sign, “Let’s get married, right now. Everyone is here. Why wait? Why delay our happily ever after any longer?”

“Ummm…because my mom is on trial for a whole bunch of shit and this day kind of sucks?” I smile at him and lean up on my toes to kiss his lips.

“I know, totally sucks. So why don’t we make it better?”

“By getting married?” I nod emphatically, doing my best impression of a bobblehead.

“Son.” Rob places a hand on Lang’s shoulder and smiles at the two of us. “There’s no waiting period in the state, and she’s right, we are all here, why not? Afterwards, we’ll go out to eat and celebrate, maybe head back to the bar.”

V snuggles under her husband’s arm and places her hand on Langston’s forearm. “Give the date a better reason to be remembered.”

Langston looks down at me, his lips twitching with the urge to smile, his eyes softening the longer we stare at each other. “Are you sure you don’t want a big church wedding with a fancy dress that hasn’t seen the witness stand in a courtroom?”

I shake my head, “No, I just need you.”

“You’ve got me, Mo, you’ve always got me.” He glances around our gathered friends and family, pulling me into his side and pressing a kiss into my hair. “Alright, everybody, time for a wedding!”

Epilogue – Mo

12 years later

“Mama, I want that kitty that looks like a unicorn.” Our middle son points to a high shelf on the wall behind the counter.

“Are you sure?” I ask.

“Yup, that’s what I want.” He’s so serious. Too bad, he’s always serious about wanting another toy. The last three days have been a test of Langston’s and my patience regarding our three boys.

We’ve been staying at an indoor water park several hours from home. However, my husband seems to have an affinity for arcade games, and we’ve spent every night here winning copious amounts of tickets to be spent on prizes…like a cat in a unicorn costume.

---