Lexi

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It’d been nearly Thanksgiving when I’d packed my shit and moved out of Mama’s apartment. Etta had Thanksgiving dinner with me instead of Mama, but by the time Christmas came around, she spent Christmas Eve with Mama and Christmas Day with me.

Bubbles took Matty to the mall and had him help pick out clothes for me. It felt like I opened boxes for hours Christmas morning — he must’ve spent over a thousand dollars on clothes and shoes for me, and I loved everything he bought me.

I had a shirt made for him that says, “MY OL’LADY LOVES TO BLOW BUBBLES,” and I got him a couple of new pairs of jeans in the same size and style as his old ones, a video game I knew he wanted, and the biggest tub of coconut oil Costco carries, which was kind of a joke because it’s what he uses as lube when he takes my ass.

Etta spent the night with us, so she was there to open gifts the next morning, too. I got my sister new makeup and makeup brushes, a PopSocket that says, “Best Sister EVER,” a copper-colored warm winter coat, and a supersoft blanket I knew would match her living room perfectly.

She got me new makeup and makeup brushes, a case for my Chromebook with Anna and Elsa that said, “Sisters Forever,” a mega-cool purple leather biker-chick type jacket, and a supersoft blanket in all the colors of my hair.

Bubbles looked at our gifts and shook his head. “It’s almost like ya’ll are related or something. You really didn’t check in with each other?”

Etta laughed and threw some wadded up wrapping paper at him. “Nope. Just the way it worked out. Open your gift from me.”

I hadn’t expected them to get gifts for each other, and I worried Etta would get her feelings hurt because Bubbles hadn’t, but he said, “No, you first. Your present’s in the garage.”

We all trouped out to the garage to see a huge round, tall, circular column wrapped in paper with Santa Clause bent over and shooting us a moon all over it. Turned out, it was four tires, stacked on top of each other, and her present was the tires and installation.

Her eyes got all watery, and he flicked her ear. “Noticed yours are startin’ to wear. You get in a wreck in the rain, Lexi’ll be upset.”

Etta shook her head. “No, don’t try to be badass. This is incredibly thoughtful. I’m not used to being taken care of. Thank you.”

They hugged, we all hugged, and then we went back to the mancave so Bubbles could open his last present.

And what did my sister get my boyfriend? A quarter-inch-thick leather paddle with the word BRAT across it.

We all got ready for the day, Bubbles played his video game some, Etta helped me with the side dishes we were taking to Duke’s house for Christmas dinner, and we finally walked through the neighborhood to Duke and Gen’s mansion — in no one’s universe can you call it a house, which meant I’d been caught by surprise the first time I’d been inside and discovered how much of a home it is.

Most of the MC showed up — the women in the kitchen, the men playing video games, pool, and darts. Etta was fully accepted by this time, even by Gen. Just as Micca came with Matty, and Bethany showed up with her men, and Gen’s brother was there with his little family, Etta was there with me.

I hadn’t talked to Mama since I’d moved out, but she hadn’t really been a mother to me. Etta was both mom and sister, and the MC had become the family I’d never known I needed.

You never know what the weather will be in The South during Christmas. It might be fifteen degrees or forty-five degrees. This year, we had a beautiful, sunshiny thirty-five degrees. So, when Gen and Harmony tried to sneak me and Etta out the back door, I understandably went for my coat, but they pulled me out without it. Thirty yards to the back of the yard, and we went into Duke’s garage.

“Zeke made arrangements so Bubbles’ end-of-parole letter went to his attorney of record in Atlanta instead of going straight to Bubbles,” said Harmony. “The attorney got it and is sending it second day to Zeke. We’re gonna throw him a huge surprise party Friday, and give him the letter.”

He’d known his check-in two weeks earlier had probably been his last, but Zeke had told him to assume he was still on parole and subject to search without a reason until he had the letter in hand.

“No, Thursday night,” I told them. “One of ya’ll will want me to fix your hair for a party or something, so I have an excuse to leave the house and help decorate and shit.” Bubbles had taken off work three full weeks while I was out of school, and we’d been together something like ten or eleven days straight so far — except for the time I was at work. I loved him, and I was used to his cock by this time, but I was still sore as fuck.

Gen nodded. “Perfect. He won’t expect it on a Thursday. The men can call him to the clubhouse for an emergency meeting or something, and we can be ready with the party when he walks in.”

“A freedom party?” I asked. “What do we call it?”

“It’s a fly-the-coop party,” said Gen. “The cake has the Jailbird Joey thing from Back to the Future, and we put messages inside it — it’s a tradition they brought up from Atlanta. If he was single, they’d make all the sweetbutts bend over the pool table, and he’d stick his dick in all of’em, going down the line, taking as much time as he wanted with each. Guys with ol’ladies are…”

Gen’s face went bright red, and Harmony said, “They’ll want him to take you behind the bar and do you. They won’t see you, but his head’ll be upright so they can see him while he does you. Sometimes, the brother spanks his ol’lady first, and we hear that, too.”

I shook my head, and Gen said, “I wouldn’t do it. Duke ever gets his butt thrown in jail, he isn’t gonna be rewarded by public intercourse. You don’t have to if you don’t want.”

I was silently freaking out, and Etta touched my back. “Bubbles will know what to do. He isn’t going to do anything he knows mortifies you.”

I blew out a breath. She was right. I just needed to trust he’d handle it.