Page 96 of Roses Are Dead
“Oh. Whoa. I’m happy for…uh not wrecking Mom’s car?”
“Ditto,” Kate smiled from her perch on the couch. Then added, “I’m happy my husband is back from his trip. Too bad I can’t be there, but…”
“It’s my turn.” Harry dropped Zoe’s hand to shoot his complaint at Kate.
“Sorry.”
Appeased, Harry thought hard. Finally, he said, “I’m happy Nana bought the new Lego Xbox for me.”
Arthur shushed him. “We’re supposed to be happy about people. Not toys.”
“Well, I did include Nana.”
I interceded quickly, “I’m very happy Nana spoils all of you. And I’m also happy you have the opportunity to share her presents.”
To redirect things, I made sure all the children were properly introduced to Zoe and Kate, but Hammer got the greatest scrutiny. Mostly his tattoos. The boys wanted me to draw some on their arms. I handed a pen off to Hammer and told him to go for it.
He shot me a panicked look.
“What? It’ll wash off. Like you never pretended to have tattoos when you were little?”
After a moment of introspection, he grinned. “Who’s my first victim?”
Soon, he was the center of a mayhem sandwich, which freed me up to apologize to Kate and Zoe. “If you need to leave, I got this.” I knew Hammer couldn’t leave because of his direct order from Bear.
“No, I think we’ll stick around. This should be enlightening.”
Whatever had Kate grinning was not lost on Zoe. “Dad’s going to freak.”
“Bear’s the one I need to watch.”
And just like that, I had two willing accomplices.
An hour later, the roar of motorcycles sent Harry, Hammer, and Arthur to the windows.
To not leave the girls out, I pulled both of them to the door so we could watch the spectacle of Bear, Jackson, Sprout, and two others line their bikes up against John’s suburban curb.
Kate laughed silently. Her crossed arms tapping against my back as she tried to keep a straight face. Zoe quietly laid odds. “Over and under on Bear freaking out first.”
“No contest. He’s going to go quiet. Sprout’s going to say something stupid.”
“That’s not a bet, Mom, that’s a given. Dad?”
“Five bucks he growls.”
“Ten, he tosses you over his shoulder.”
“Shit.” Kate dug in her pocket readying for her inevitable loss.
Before any of the predictions came true, Sprout reached over and hit Bear with the back of his hand. “She looks hot with a kid on her hip, doesn’t she?”
That made Bear hop off his bike abruptly. His face was angrier than it had been when I told him I wanted to find Carl. He stormed up to the house, towering over me and June. Gwen hugged my leg tighter.
“Hi, Bear. This is Guinevere, and this is June. Beth’s daughters. And over there with Hammer are Arthur and Harry, her sons.”
Bear’s beard shifted. “Where’s John?”
“With Beth, at the hospital.” I tried to keep my tone as light as possible for the children’s sake.
