Page 12 of Honor Me (Men of Inked 6)
“You dumbass. You almost blew it.” Thomas elbowed James in the ribs.
James scrubbed his hand across his face. “Fuck, I didn’t hear her come up behind me.”
“No more talking about it. Just come when we call.” Thomas’s eyes scanned the room as he waited for silent acknowledgment of his statement from each of us. “I’ll give Morgan a heads-up since he couldn’t make it tonight.”
“How’s Morgan anyway?” I asked because I hadn’t seen him in weeks.
“Good, just busy with Race and the new business. Their weekends are sucked up with the track and getting everything working like a well-oiled machine.”
“Good for them,” Anthony finally joined the conversation after putting his phone down. “Max is going to have my balls when we meet for leaving her at night with the kids.”
“Want me to talk to her? You know she has a thing for me.” Mike laughed and flexed his muscles, kissing each bicep.
“Dinner!” Mia yelled from the kitchen and saved Mike from getting a punch in the face from Anthony.
“Lucky son of a bitch,” Anthony grumbled when he walked past Mike and headed toward the dining room.
Just as I was about to follow, I heard Lu start to wail from the den. Turning on my heels, I went to grab her before taking my seat.
“Hey, princess,” I said when I reached down into the carrier and scooped her into my arms. “Couldn’t wait ten more minutes for Daddy to have dinner?” She cooed and lifted her leg, her hands finding her feet and playing with her toes.
Suzy walked in, carrying a sleeping Ro in her arms. “We can swap them out. Let me just put her down and I’ll grab Lu from you.”
“Babe, I got her. You just relax at dinner and eat. I’ll hold her in my lap.”
Suzy gave me a lazy smile after she set the baby in the carrier. “Have I told you lately how much I love you?”
“Every day.” Moving to her side, I grabbed her hand and gave it a little squeeze before leading us into the dining room.
“Sal, we’re going to need a bigger house.” Mom gave Pop the eyes, which usually earned her anything she wanted, but typically, her requests were small.
“Someday, Mar. If these kids keep having babies like they’re trying to repopulate the world, we’ll have no choice but to get a bigger place.” Pop laughed before he scooped the biggest heap of pasta onto his plate.
Mom glanced around the table. “I think it needs to happen soon, because I think there’s going to be more Gallos.”
“Don’t look at me.” Izzy waved her hands wildly. “I’m getting fixed. Three boys are enough for me.”
“But you need a girl,” Ma replied.
“Nope.”
“We’re done too,” Max added and elbowed Anthony.
“Yep. No more.”
“Oh, there’s always room for more babies. More kids means more love.”
“You’ve been saying that forever, Ma. But more kids means more dirty diapers, sleepless nights, and sexless days.” Mike chuckled and gave Mia a side glance as she was cutting Lily’s meatball into tiny pieces.
“You’re a jerk.” Izzy smacked him in the arm. “Like you have ever changed a poopy diaper.”
I loved my brother, but the simple fact that changing a diaper made him weak in the knees made me question his manhood. You couldn’t legitimately call yourself a father unless you stepped up to the plate and took part in everything.
“Don’t listen to him. He’s so full of it. Literally,” Mia said and rolled her eyes. “The man has changed more than his share of diapers. He just likes to pretend like he’s too big of a man for that, but he’s been covered in crap.”
“We are trying to eat.” James gagged. “I have enough baby crap to wade through on a daily basis.”
“Ma seems to forget all the bad parts of being a mother since she wants us to have more babies.” Thomas pulled the bowl of meatballs in front of him, but he didn’t dare look at Ma. “She wants more, but she gets to pop in and out of their lives while we’re stuck with baby puke and volcanic poop.”
“You kids act like I didn’t go through this with all of you. I did, and it’s part of being a parent. I never complained when I would play with you and you’d puke on me. I didn’t whine when you crapped the bed.”
“That was Mike.” Thomas laughed and pointed at him.
“Eff you. I was sick.”
“Sure,” Anthony teased him, and Mike looked like he was about to jump over the table.
“It’s just what we do. If I didn’t go through all of the bad things, I wouldn’t be sitting here today with a table full of you and all the love I have in my life. I love your father, but if it were just him and me, I’d go crazy.”
“True,” Pop said and leaned over, kissing her cheek.
“When you’re older and your kids are grown, you’ll forget all the sleepless nights, dirty diapers, and other things that make most people cringe. You’ll be thankful to be surrounded by your kids and loved ones. So stop your complaining and eat.”
My head jerked back. Ma was a little tougher on us than she usually was, but I think it was only because she wanted more grandkids. If she had her way, we’d have double the amount than sat in this house.
I glanced over at Gigi and thought about Ma’s words. There wasn’t a day, no matter how rough it had been, that I ever regretted having her in my life. She meant the world to me. She was forever a tiny piece of Suzy and me walking this earth. We’d never be forgotten as long as she was around.
Change is in the Air
Suzy
Gigi took after her aunt Izzy more than me. Sometimes I looked at her and knew that the Gallo genes won out in my womb when she was created. She had their dark skin, warm brown hair, and attitude.
Ro and Lu, the twins, were an even mix of both of our families. They had sandy blond hair, light eyes, and ivory skin. I prayed every day they wouldn’t have the Gallo attitude, which often led to trouble.
“Mrs. Gallo, sorry I had to call you to the office today.” Sitting in the principal’s office, even as an adult, made me weak in the knees.
Even when I was a teacher, the very mention of a meeting in the principal’s office brought back memories of my childhood and being scolded for m
y behavior.
“I completely understand, Ms. Wisen. What did Gigi do to warrant this meeting?”
“Would you like to wait for your husband?” she asked.
The woman looked like she’d be a hard-nosed principal, but I didn’t think that could be the case for any elementary school administrator. You couldn’t surround yourself with the smallest, innocent creatures and not have a warm heart. Even though she was dressed in a dark suit, she had on colorful rubber bracelets for various school fundraisers from the school year.
“He couldn’t get away from work. It’s just me today.” I’d been here before. Gigi had been in trouble on other occasions, typically for using profanity she learned from the Gallos. They had loose tongues, and kids were quick to mimic the language of those around them.
“Ahh, he’s a tattoo artist, right?” Her nose wrinkled.
“He’s a business owner, yes.” I glared at her, feeling disgust at her presumption about him based on his artistic profession.
“Well, there was an incident this morning that has many teachers concerned here at Spring Elementary.”
I fidgeted with my hands and tried to remain calm. I’d been in this office for more nonsense than I ever imagined possible. “What kind of incident?”
Gigi was a good kid. She did have some of her aunt in her personality, but she was never malicious or cruel. It was starting to feel like a witch-hunt and Gigi was the target.
“She told a boy that he was only hers and then tried to kiss him.”
I smiled, unable to hide it, because she sounded like her father and me. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree. Actually, she sounded like every Gallo with those words. She’d heard them many times growing up.
“Is this funny, Mrs. Gallo?” Ms. Wisen sneered at me with disgust.
“She’s just a kid. It’s cute that she has a crush.”
Wisen needed to lighten up. She probably hadn’t been laid since Bill Clinton was in the White House. Kids did stuff like this all the time. I remember cornering my first crush and giving him a kiss, probably against his will since boys often thought girls were gross until puberty kicked in.
She clasped her hands on the desk in front of her. “It borders on sexual harassment.”
My mouth fell open at the ridiculousness of it all. “You can’t be serious. They’re children.”
“This is how it starts. It’s a slippery slope from here.”
I rolled my eyes. “Ms. Wisen, I’ll speak with Gigi about not touching others, especially kissing them. She won’t do it again, but in no way is it sexual harassment.”
“We have a very strict no-touching policy here at Spring.”
