Page 59 of Screamer
“Twins?” I breathe.
Rosie nods. “I’m hoping for a boy and a girl. It was great growing up with a brother, and I want that dynamic for my children.”
“Aw, sis,” Benji says, a teasing quality in his tone. “Love you.”
“Love you, too, big brother.”
My family of four settles into a hug, and cheers erupt in the room. For the next ten minutes, hugs, back slaps, and congratulatory fist bumps come from all around. Then a loud bang breaks up the commotion.
I look to my right where Fender, in all his grey-haired glory, is standing on the bar.
“I’d like to make a toast,” he says, and again, cheers erupt. He continues when it quiets down. “A wise man,” he begins, glancing at Royal, another retired brother from the mother chapter. “A wise man once told me something that’s stuck with me. They say your life flashes before your eyes at the moment just before death. But ya know what?” He takes a deep breath. “They fucking lied.”
Chuckles ripple through the crowd.
“They fucking lied,” Fender repeats. “For the most part. What they got right is this… Life does flash before your eyes. It passes in a blur, and before you know it, you’re reaching the end. Every flash makes up the memories of what I hope is a life well-lived. Royal’s old lady has always captured those flashes with her camera. I’ve seen the pictures here on the walls of the clubhouse with the flashes in Marble Falls. Some of us need those pictures to remind us of the best parts of our lives.”
He shifts his gaze to Rae, who stands with her hand in Mark’s. They married a few years after Saint’s death, and they have a son they named after her deceased husband. Little Saint isn’t so little anymore and is actually married to Rosie. Theymarried a few months after graduating high school because he was enlisting in the Army. It sucks that he’s not here tonight, as he’s finishing up his latest tour of duty, but I know he’ll make an incredible father to my grandchildren.
“And to remind us of the worst parts,” Fender continues solemnly. “Some of us have snapshots stored in our brains, forever in our grasp when we want to remember.”
“Here, here!” Ghost shouts, lifting his glass.
“But then there’s a third group of people, people like all the club members here. We don’t rely on pictures or the snapshot memories because we don’t dwell on the past. We live in the moment. We live in the wind as it whips past us while we ride. We live in the present because yesterday is gone, and tomorrow isn’t promised.” Fender smiles sadly. “Fuck, we’ve all learned that the hard way. So,” he jumps off the bar and walks to join me, Roxie, Rosie, and Benji. “Don’t wait until you’re about to die to let life flash before your eyes. Because whoever said that’s how it works… They fucking lied.”
