Page 21 of Kaya's King

I’m now in over my head and have no clue what to say, something my Pres must realize because he stoops down as well, tips up Noah’s chin so he’s looking directly into his eyes, and he says, “Buddy,anydaddy worth his salt would be proud to call you his son, sick hip or not. Since yours isn’t here, I think you’vegot one of the best men I know to stand in the gap and raise you to be a strong, independent young man. Right now, though, you’re a little boy, so what do you say we go fix you a hotdog?”

“Can I have a hamburger too?” Noah asks, his belly growling, breaking the tension as Poseidon adeptly wheels him over to the picnic tables.

Taking Kaya’s hand, I walk in the direction of the food tables with her. “You okay?” I question. “It got kind of intense there for a few minutes.”

“It did, but you guys handled it beautifully,” she replies, sniffling. When I glance at her, she waves away my concern. “I’ll be okay, Specks. Call it a delayed reaction, okay?”

With Micah and Noah’s plates now made, we wait for the old ladies to go through the line, Momma M, Mary, and Kaya’s granny serving everyone. “You ladies fix yours now,” Poseidon orders.

“Now, Jesse,” Mary admonishes, “that’s our job. There’s plenty, you boys go on and get what you want.”

“You won’t win against her,” Brooks warns, grabbing a plate. “I’ve given up, hell, I think Shamus has as well.”

“That I have, Brooks,” Shamus cheerfully admits. “Mary has a mind of her own so y’all best be minding her or she’ll come up with something as a punishment.”

“She does realize we’re all in our thirties, doesn’t she?” Loki whispers to our small group.

“She doesn’t care,” Shamus retorts, piling his plate high with an assortment of delicious-looking food. “Make her happy, she likes to feed people.”

“Shamus, are you feeding these boys a line?”

“Would I do that, love?” he questions, grinning at her.

“All day long and twice on Sunday,” she snarks, causing all of us who are within hearing distance to burst into hysterical laughter. I truly enjoy seeing their interaction and bantering with each other. Their marriage hasn’t been without its trials, yet they still support each other, and their love shines through everything they say and do. We all strive to have a love like they have. It may not be a traditional, utopian storybook romance, but it’s idolized by us all, nonetheless.

“Goodness, I’m so stuffed I can’t eat another thing,” Kaya says, leaning back and patting her inflated belly. “If I keep eating like this, I’m going to be in trouble.”

“Don’tnoteat on my account, babe,” I reply. “You’re perfect.”

“Pfft,” she retorts, her lips thin. “I don’t need to add too much to my body, Specks. Lugging Noah already has me huffing and puffing.” Her giggle at the end makes me see she’s not completely serious which is good because whether she stays the same or gains weight, I don’t particularly care. She’s always going to be faultless to me.

“Ready to return to the bump and grind tomorrow, Kaya?” Loki questions.

“It’ll be good to be dropping some ink again,” she replies. “Although I’m not sure if I’ve got anyone currently on the books or not.”

“I scheduled a consult for nine for you,” Canyon advises. He’s one of our newer prospects, although newer is somewhat subjective since he’s a former Navy SEAL like the rest of my brothers, just a few years younger than we are. He’s got the same level of maturity, as well as the ghosts we all carry showing on his face. The shadows are just as deep, and he’ll have a high mountain to climb before he reaches the other side and sees the clear skies. I’ve noticed he seems to be underfoot whenever Chelsea is around, but I will mind my own business simply because if he wanted my input, he’d ask me for it. I mind my own business and expect others to mind theirs.

“Thanks, Canyon,” she conveys, smiling over at him. “How’s it going building your clientele?” Loki hired him to do piercings, as well as tattoos since he was getting a lot of requests from our customers to add that service to his docket.

Personally, I can live with or without them, unlike the countless tattoos that decorate my body. Each tattoo has a story of its own to tell; I have memorial tats for both my brother and my mother, several from when I served in the military as a Navy SEAL, and of course, my pride and joy, the logo for the club which takes up most of my left shoulder and upper back. I need to talk to Loki about creating one specifically for Kaya that I’ll ink over my heart. I’m thinking about a crown with each gemstone denoting the birthstone of the children we’ll hopefully have, starting with Noah’s of course.

“I swear to God some of the young teen girls who come in have no clue what getting their belly buttons pierced involves,” he grumbles, causing both Loki and Kaya to start laughing. “I mean, I go over what to expect, how to keep things clean and disinfected and Istillhave some of them calling to tell me it gotinfected, and I must have done something wrong. One actually called to tell me she was planning to sue me.”

Loki grows serious as he states, “You let me know if you get served by anyone, Canyon.”

“I will,” Canyon promises. “Y’all have seen me go through the spiel, am I missing anything?”

Kaya’s eyes close and I can see her mentally going through what she’s witnessed of Canyon’s process. “I mean, you literally take their phones and record a video with the steps as you talk them through doing it right in front of the mirror, then you give them small sample-sized bottles of the antiseptic solution to use after they’ve bathed, plus give them the pamphlet Loki designed of what to avoid while it’s healing. What more can you do?” she queries, looking puzzled.

“No fucking clue,” Canyon spits out, his palpable anger at his customers growing. “We use the best available grade items on the market, we don’t chintz out on anything, so what the hell are they doing wrong?”

“If you get another call from one, have them come into the shop so I can look it over,” Loki advises, his hands gripped into balled fists. “They’re doing something wrong on their end because our shop is hands-down one of the best when it comes to the whole sanitization and disinfection process. Our autoclave is regularly inspected, we have no issues with the state licensing board, and I refuse to allow someone who isn’t doing what they’re supposed to do at home ruin our well-earned reputation.”

“Got it, Loki. Other than a few of those minor issues, everyone else is satisfied. Kaya, do you have any more small pieced designs you’re able to put in the books for flash art sales?”

Kaya blushes when all attention turns to her. “I’ve got a few things I’ll bring in tomorrow for you guys to look over and see what you think.”

“Looking forward to it,” both Loki and Canyon state in unison.

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