Page 52 of Jane
Always being the caretaker, that gets her immediately out of her hiding and she checks on my brother who is still coughing a bit.
“Are you okay? I’m so sorry! I usually don’t have to worry about what comes out of my mouth, only what goes in it.”
The pain of the beer going back up through my nose is not fun.
“Oh God.” I cough as half my beer went down the wrong tube and places beer has no business being. Rory is half-coughing and half-laughing at me.
“Fuccckkk! That’s it, no more tequila for me. It’s the only thing that does this to me.”
Ma offers her a coffee. “Ain’t got any tequila in it, just some good ol’ whiskey.”
Rubbing her back as she takes the mug from Ma, Ry throws his two cents into things.
“Sister, don’t be embarrassed. We’ve all got stories about each other like that. Just means now you’re one of us.”
Max adds while pointing at me, “You should’ve seen this one the first few times he got drunk. One time, he professed his undying love for the water cooler.”
“That wasn’t me, little brother. I was the one who proclaimed my love for gas station hot dogs. The water cooler lover was Jon.”
Everyone looks over at my brother. Jane asks between giggles, “Why the water cooler?”
Jon
“What he’s not telling you, babygirl, is that we were all of sixteen and had snuck some beer and a bottle of Pa’s whiskey out back and were all three sheets to the wind. I said the water cooler was the love of my life at that moment ’cause she gave water and didn’t ask for nothin’ in return.”
Ry chuckles.
“His girlfriend at the time had just broken up with him and he was wallowing in his drunken state. Pa read them all the riot act the next day.”
“I sure as shit did. They not only took without asking, they took my good sipping whiskey and drank a whole bottle of it. The beer they took serves them right.”
Jane being the only one who hasn’t heard this story a million times asks Pa, “What was with the beer?”
“They were Heinekens. That piss was only brought here by some gal Grant was seeing for a minute. No one here can stand that swill.”
“My dad always called that piss water. He said if I ever met a guy who liked it, I should run the other way. Seeing how my ex drinks it, I think he was right. Wait, do you three still drink it?”
“Fuck no. The hangover the next day cured us of ever drinking that shit again.”
Looking into the eyes of my woman, I can see she’s feeling no pain. After all that happened today, I’m happy to see she feels comfortable enough to let go and relax around my family and club. I’ve honestly never had the urge to hit a woman before, but today I felt that, twice. That Vicky chick better never show her face around us again, ’cause the look of hurt on Jane’s face was enough for me to want to find a sinkhole to put that bitch in.
We spend the next couple of hours sharing stories and laughs all around.
Somehow, we get to birthdays and our favorite parties that Ma’s thrown us over the years.
Barely above a whisper, I think I make out Jane saying she’s never had a birthday party since the last one her dad threw her. I can tell my brothers heard it too.
Juan asks quietly, or as quietly as he can do anything, “You haven’t had a birthday party since you turned five? You mean your mom never threw one for you?”
“No, she didn’t ever make a cake or have any gifts either. My stepdad when he was married to her did buy a cake or cupcakes and always had some gifts for me. He and my dad were the only ones to ever do that. I know my grandma would’ve but Mom rarely let me go over there, claiming she spoiled me and would give me food my fat ass didn’t need.”
I look over and see anger on her uncle Ben’s face.
“I know my sister is a horrible person, but you better believe your grandma would have thrown you a party if she’d been allowed to. Your mom is an angry, bitter woman whose heart is black and will never be happy with anything or anyone.”
“Wait, your sister? Mom’s your sister? How did I not know that? She only ever talked about a brother who died, but I never knew his name.” Jane looks confused as she tries to process what Ben just said.
“When I decided to join an MC, Linda was still in high school. She decided she no longer had a brother, as I was beneath her, and she had plans to marry rich and get out of town. I met your dad shortly after they found out you were on your way. He was no longer tutoring her and they were only together that one time. That’s the last time I saw your mom, in fact. She was angry at the world. Well, you know the story Janey. Once your dad joined, we agreed to keep the fact that we were in the same MC from her ’cause I knew it would only cause problems for your dad. Once you started talking, we realized that your good-natured personality would inevitably slip, like most kids, and mention me to your mom. Ben’s my middle name, so your mom never caught on. Now, well, frankly, I don’t care if she finds out since I know you rarely speak to her. I would enjoy being in the background when she finds out about your gentleman.”
