Chapter 44
Nothing
“Am I late?” I asked, pulling my phone out of my cut and checking the time. I frowned, I was on time, but the guys were already gathered around the table, Hope leaning against the Captain’s throne and it looked like they’d all been here a minute.
“No man, you’re not late,” Cutter said, “We just had to put something to a vote.”
I started to sweat a little, “Yeah, what’s that?” I asked.
“C’mere,” Cutter said, standing and I swallowed hard, and did what I was told.
“What’s up, Captain?” I asked nervously.
He put an arm around my shoulders and flicked open one of his knives. In fact, the one he opened up was that fancy switchblade Reaver, the guy from up north, had given him.
“We’ve decided, this has got to go,” he said and he started to slice one of the flash patches off the front of my cut. I held still, my heart dropping that he was taking my treasurer’s flash but when I looked he’d taken my name flash. Relief flooded my system.
“Pyro, do your thing, Man.” Cutter tossed the flash that read ‘Nothing’ to our Road Captain who pulled a bottle of lighter fluid from somewhere and his zippo out of his cut. He dropped the flash into an ashtray and soaked it, flicked his zippo and torched it. I watched it burn.
“Get this on your cut before we conclude this meeting,” he said, handing me a name flash slightly less worn than the one burning. I took it, and looked down at it, ‘Galahad’ emblazoned across it.
“Why?” I asked and it was Hope that answered.
“Because my sister is gonna look dumb as hell wearing this if you don’t make the change,” she said tossing a shopping bag at me. I caught it against my chest and opened it up, pulling out a leather vest, fitted for Charity’s slim form.
‘Property of Galahad’ was emblazoned on the back, and where there was supposed to be nothing, a white knight on a white horse, lance and all was embroidered. It was what was on the shield that caught my attention though. The caduceus, the widely known symbol of medical knowledge, the staff wrapped with snakes, bold and in red on the shield’s gray background.
“Holy shit,” I uttered.
“Yeah, that was me,” Radar said, grinning.
“You designed this?” I asked.
“Yup, and you better get busy,” he said sliding a sewing kit down the table at me. I took my seat, setting my rag for Charity aside and slipped out of my cut, making good on my Captain’s order.
“I don’t know what to say, guys, except thank you,” I said, choking up with emotion.
“It’s cool, bro,” Cutter said, retaking his seat, “Next order of business,” he said and it was business as usual while I hand sewed my name flash onto my cut. I glanced down into the bag, and had to smile. On the front of Charity’s vest, the name flash read ‘Trouble’ and I wasn’t sure the Captain was ready to fully reap the benefits of that name, although I was feeling pretty blessed that I had.
I tuned back into the conversation, “I say we all just go for a fuckin’ ride tomorrow man, I mean fuck, when was the last time we went anywhere for the sake of the ride, versus having a destination in mind?” Stoker was saying.
“I say that’s a fine, idea. I second that motion,” Beast said.
“Not that it needs it, but I third,” I put in. A ride with my brothers just for the sake of it sounded fantastic.
“What say you? A ride down to Roy’s Crab Shack, lunch and ride back?” Cutter said.
“Sounds good to me,” Pyro put in.
“All in favor?”
A round of rowdy yeah’s went up and it passed, good thing, too. I think we all could use some wind therapy.
“You’re riding with me tomorrow,” Cutter told Hope.
“No argument here,” she murmured.
“Good deal, anything else?”
“Yeah, what’re we doing tonight?”
“Barbecue at my place?”
“Shit, yeah!” Radar said, there were more noises of agreement.
Cutter looked over at me, “How you doing over there? Looks like this is wrapping up sooner than expected.”
“Man will you stop busting my balls like I’m some kind of fuckin’ prospect?” I demanded.
“Depends, you gonna stop actin’ like a fuckin’ prospect?” Marlin shot back, teasing.
I paused in my work long enough to give him the finger, “Keep it up I’m gonna rush and sew this thing on crooked, plus when was the last time any of you fuckers sewed anything on to one of your cuts by hand?” Silence. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
Guys started laughing, and Pyro called me a pussy. He got the finger next and Hope called out, “Girls, girls, girls! I think you’re both pretty, now let the man do his thing so I can get out of this sweatbox? The beach is callin’ my name.”
A round of cheers went up at that, and I think all of us were ready to relax and party. I know I was looking forward to seeing Char. I missed her. I’d woken up to a text back from her that afternoon and it’d changed my whole outlook for the day. Energized me in a way I couldn’t really begin to describe and allowed me to get those towel racks up and the rest of the bathroom odds and ends wrapped up. It’d felt good to have it finished and looking solid, and it was ready to use as early as tonight if need be.
I finished sewing on my name flash and shrugged back into my cut to a round of cheers. Cutter called the meeting and everyone started to filter out. I pulled the property cut meant for Charity out of the bag and looked it over again.
“You don’t have to give it to her unless you’re sure, but we all see the way she’s changed you, and I guess it’s just our way of telling you that not only do we approve, that you’d be stupid to let her go.” Cutter said. I looked up and over at him and Hope.
“I’m not letting her go,” I said and looked to Hope, “I’m going to work on being the best thing that’s ever happened to her, same as she’s been for me. I really do regret how I treated her at first.”
“I know,” Hope said and sighed.
“Now if you don’t mind, I gotta run home and make myself presentable before tonight’s shindig,” Hope and Cutter mock groaned and laughed and I took my leave. I really did need to run home, but not to shine myself up any. I wanted to swing by the store and grab a couple bottles of wine, a white and a red, because I didn’t know what Charity liked. I also wanted to stash the cut my brothers had given me for her. I honestly didn’t know if I was ready to ask for such a monumental commitment, but I had to admit, it was nice having the option at the ready. I mean, I was going to have one made, had every intention of asking her at some point, but my brothers’ had saved me the trouble of figuring out sizes and what to put in the middle so she’d look as rockin’ as her other two sisters. It was nice to have my brothers’ know me almost better than I knew myself sometimes, and this was definitely one of those times.
I left The Plank and did my thing; stopping at the store and heading home. I put the wine in the fridge, taking a quick second to stash Charity’s property cut. When I went to leave the house, I paused in front of the refinished bathroom. I stared into it for a long time and sighed, scrubbing my face with my hands. Who was I fucking kidding? I loved this woman enough to completely rip out and redo a bathroom just so she could be more comfortable being in my house. How could I then hesitate to make her my Ol’ Lady? What did I want her to do? Find someone else? Fuck no. I thought. The real question was, how was I going to ask her?
I shut the door to the bathroom and left the house, riding over to Cutter’s and thought about it the whole way there. I wanted it to be just me and Charity tonight, so that meant bringing her to my place. I figured a fire out back in the fire pit, a cold glass of wine and then if things went right, I could ask her.
When I got to the Captain’s place, I backed my bike into line, I was a little nervous, my palms sweating. I wiped them off on my jeans and took a deep breath to steady myself. I went into the house and found Charity in the kitchen, making salad.
“Hey, Baby,” I said going up to her. The smile she turned on me liked to have my heart doing somersaults in my chest. She lit up, from the inside out, and immediately raised her lips to mine, standing on tiptoe to kiss me enthusiastically.
How could I be so lucky?
“Hi! I missed you,” she said and a bunch of the guys all went “Aww!”
“Shut it, you ass goblins!” I barked, and was met by a bunch of laughter.
“Why is it when you get a group of men together they always revert to a bunch of thirteen year old boys?” Hope asked. Charity rolled her eyes and went back to her salad prep.
“Is this a rhetorical question, or do you really want to know?” Marlin asked.
“Totally rhetorical,” Hope confirmed. It set the tone for the rest of the meal and light hearted antagonistic banter just kept on rolling out.
I was helping Charity with the dishes when I brought up the rest of my evening plans.
“How about you and I get out of here?” I asked. “I figure we can go back to my place, lounge in the backyard, maybe a fire and a glass of wine… what do you say?” Charity stopped, drying her hands and wrapped her arms around my neck. My hands found her waist and we simply stood together, soaking in each other’s presence for the time being.
“I thought you’d never ask,” she said rolling her eyes at a couple of the guys getting rowdy out on the back patio. Her fingers slipped down to my chest, the tips caressing my name flash. She smiled and said, “I like this,” and I kissed her.
“I’m glad on both counts; I’ll be right back,” I spun her back to the sink and I kissed the back of her shoulder, heading off to find Faith.
“Hey,” I said and she looked up, shading her eyes in the sunset. “Do you have a spare set of riding gear here at the house that Charity can borrow for tomorrow?” I asked.
“Might be a little bit tight on her, but yeah,” she answered.
“Can you grab it for me? We’re going to head on over to my place.”
Faith smiled and nodded and got up from Marlin’s lap, she went upstairs, still wraithlike, moving through the crowd out here and up the stairs as unobtrusive as possible. The girl, for as beautiful as she was, did invisible well. It was a damn shame how she’d acquired the skills.
“You gonna ask her?” Marlin asked me.
“Gonna try,” I affirmed.
“I think it’s a good move. You two are made for each other.”
“You think so?” I asked.
“I know so, brother, I know so.”
I smiled and we knocked fists, Faith came back downstairs with a bundle of leather, and I took it from her, “Thanks, Babes.”
“You’re welcome.”
I slipped around the house and stashed the bundle in my saddlebags, then went and found Charity. She was up in her room, packing an overnight bag.
“Ready to go?” I asked.
“Almost,” she smiled and sighed, a happy sound.
“What was that for?”
“Honestly? I feel like I get zero privacy around here, it’ll be nice having it be just you and me tonight.”
I smiled, “Yeah it will,” I agreed.
We rode to my place, and I have to say every time she got on the bike in just denim, I got nervous, hence why I’d asked Faith for some tougher leather for the long ride the next day. Dress for the slide, not for the ride, played out in my head for like the thousandth time as I pulled us into the garage when we got to the house. I breathed a sigh of relief when Charity got off the bike, whole and in one piece. I shut it down and heeled down the kickstand. I needed to get her into her own gear so I could stop worrying and enjoy the ride more.
I told her, “Go ahead and stash your bag in the bedroom, I’ll get the fire going out back. There’s a couple bottles of wine in the fridge, pick which one you’d like and meet me out there?”
“Absolutely,” she said and we went into the house. She hesitated outside the bathroom door, but didn’t open it, I smiled to myself secretly. She was going to have to eventually. I had the lid off the back of the toilet in the half bath off my bedroom, in a bid to make it look like it was out of order.
She slipped into the bedroom, and that’s where we parted ways. I headed straight out back to the fire pit, which sat in the grass at the foot of the two lounge chairs. I picked up some wood from the stack along the house by the back slider and set to work, glancing back and watching Charity move through the kitchen.
This was going to be nice.