Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

Weatherman pulled up to Dragon’s Ink and entered Table’s establishment. He’d spent some time at the forestry department headquarters and had a long talk with the chief. The training he’d done during his high school years and college summers paid off, and as long as he passed the physical stamina test, he was assured of a job. It also helped that they were short-staffed.

The buzz of the tattoo gun mixed with classic AC/DC. Table bent over a client’s shoulder, coloring in an elaborate python coiling around the guy’s arm. The 3D effect was stunning and made Weatherman want something like it. The other piece Table had done for him was very simple, just the words of his college’s motto scripted on his forearm. Levo Oculos Meos In Montes— “I lift my eyes to the mountains.”

“Hey, Weatherman. Bring any rain with you?” Table called out as he dipped more ink. The sweating man in the chair took a breath and grimaced as the buzzing started up again. “It’s drier than a mummy’s ass out there.”

“Not this time. How’s life with Lori?”

Table grinned from ear to ear. “Gets better every day. God knew what he was doin’ when he sent her to me.”

Weatherman’s lips broke into a wide smile. “I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks. How’s your mama?”

“The doctor said the side effects could be mild or severe, few or many. From what she’s going through right now, they’re at the severe end.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, brother.”

Weatherman sighed. “Yeah, me too. It can’t be helped, though, and there aren’t a lot of alternatives. At least we have a chance of beating it.”

“Your mom’s always been a fighter. Wish there was better news, but I get it. The club will stand by you and her, whatever happens.”

A burn started in the back of Weatherman’s eyes. He’d lived most of his life with only one person he could count on for anything. Now, he had a whole family ready to have his back whenever he called and then some. “I understand Lori’s running a daycare kind of thing.”

Table huffed and wiped the man’s arm. “Ain’t no ‘kinda’ about it. My house is filled with so much kid shit that I have to camp out in the garage to keep my man card. She’s got two other mothers who trade off days. I’ve been out lookin’ for a place to make into a center for them.” He wiped again and shook his head. “God knows I love my woman and my kids, but I’m tired of steppin’ on plastic blocks and stacking cups.”

Weatherman laughed aloud. In the five years Lori and Table had been together, they had produced two boys in addition to Angel, Table’s daughter by his first wife. This was a surprise, as they didn’t believe Lori could get pregnant. Angel was now in first grade. Cameron was four, and Mitchell was two. Currently, Lori was pregnant again, and more than one remark had been made about Table and Stud being in competition to see who could produce the most children.

The client let out a bark of comradery. “My kid has a bazillion Legos. I swear the damn things breed overnight. Them little pieces are the perfect size and shape to dig into the soles of your feet when you’re not lookin’.” He groaned. “How much longer you thinkin’?”

“I can go all night, brother, but if you’re ready for a break, I am too.”

The client nodded. “Yeah, I think I’m done this round. Great job so far. Even my wife likes it.”

Table chuckled as he wiped the man’s arm with antiseptic. “That’s good. I’d hate it for you if she didn’t. I won’t go over aftercare this time. Been down this road a time or two, eh?”

The man laughed. “Yeah, I know the drill. Courtney’s thing is her hair. Gets it done up every few weeks over at the salon. My thing is my ink. Don’t know what I want after the snake is done, but I’ll figure something out.”

Table swiped the credit card, and the client left with his arm swathed in white gauze and plastic wrap. The tattoo artist turned to Weatherman. “Wanna go to the house and grab a bite?”

“Sure. I got time before I gotta hit the road.”

Table squirted sanitizer on his hands and rubbed them together. “Sucks that you got a two-hour commute ahead of you.”

“I’ll take the southern route back to Knoxville and ride the Tail. Only a few more broadcasts and I’ll be here permanently. Interviewed today with the forestry service. All I gotta do is pass the test and I’m in.”

“Can you handle it with all that’s going on?”

Weatherman took a deep breath. “Helps clear my head to have something else to focus on.”

Table nodded. “I get that, brother. Let’s get over to the house. Lori’s itchin’ to see you.”

They rode in tandem down the road, Table leading and Weatherman just behind him. Greenery flashed by as the bikes roared over the asphalt. Signs of the season changes were there despite the late-summer heat. The vibrant greens of the mountains had started to change to fall colors.

Table pulled off at a hidden spot next to a nondescript mailbox. The house was nestled deep in a forested area and wasn’t visible from the main road. Weatherman glanced up at the state-of-the-art security cameras that dotted the driveway. It opened to a mountain dream spot. A perfectly manicured lawn surrounded a gorgeous modern two-story home in the middle of a clearing. A separate four-car garage and storage shed sat next to it. Few people knew Lori’s past and that she’d inherited a very substantial amount of money. She and Table had this place built special for their growing family. It was a little slice of heaven, tucked away with one of the area’s many creeks running through the backyard.

Lori came out of the house with a baby nestled under her arm and partially on her pregnant belly. Weatherman smiled as a tiny blonde dynamo burst through the door past her and sprinted over the grass to him.

“Uncle Wedder!”

Weatherman winced at the moniker his mentor’s daughter gave him. She had trouble saying “Weatherman” and had dubbed him “Wedder” when she started learning how to speak. The name stuck. “Hey, pooh-bear. How’s my favorite girl?” He scooped her up, and she hugged his neck hard enough to choke him.

“I’m good. I started big school, and it’s a lot of fun.”

“School is a lot of fun. It can be hard sometimes, but learning new things is always a good time.”

He took note of the child on Lori’s hip. “Is there a new kid I don’t know about?”

Table walked up and leaned in to kiss his wife. “This little cuteness is a client’s kid. Pearl. Belongs to the new hairdresser over at Tambre’s place.” He slipped past Lori and entered the house.

So, Opal had a daughter. Weatherman looked at the baby. Her big blue eyes watched him with open curiosity. Her pale hair stood up in two wispy pigtails wrapped in pink ties. She had a sippy cup in one hand and a stuffed alligator with bulging eyes in the other. Weatherman could see the resemblance to her mother and knew when she grew up, she would be a knockout.

He wondered briefly about the father. Was he the reason the hairdresser was so prickly toward him? He didn’t recall a wedding band, but perhaps she didn’t wear one. Or Daddy wasn’t in the picture at all. He could relate, and it made sense. “Opal and Pearl. That’s cute.”

Lori blinked. “Oh, so you met Opal? I can’t imagine what that poor woman is dealing with. Single mother, moving so far away from everything she knew in her life. It’s a big step.”

So, she was a transplant, from the northern Midwest by her accent. Weatherman filed that bit of news away, his curiosity piqued.

Table came back out with two beers and handed one to Weatherman. “You did the same thing, baby girl. Left a whole other life behind and ended up here.”

“I was running from something.” She hitched the little girl higher and frowned. “Come to think of it, I bet Opal is too. I get the impression that she’s had a rough time.”

The adults moved through the house to the deck that overlooked the backyard. It was a preschooler’s fantasy land: a swing set, plastic dinosaur jungle gym, sandbox, and big kiddie pool filled the fenced area. Angel ran to the giant storage bin they used as an outdoor toy box and started rummaging through it. The two boys tumbled out of the house and joined her.

Weatherman burned to ask questions about Opal. Rough time from what? Abusive husband? Deadbeat father? What about her family?

The scant information he had told him she was essentially by herself. Just her and her daughter. He understood firsthand how hard that life could be. He also understood that she’d landed in the perfect place to start fresh, with a ready-made family. If she would allow it, of course. Dodge’s woman, Fauna, had been brought into the fold recently, and that had taken some effort. Some ongoing drama still lingered there, but everyone in the club supported them as a couple.

Table held out his beer. “To finding new places and new people.”

Weatherman clinked the neck of his bottle against Table’s before taking a long sip.

Lori asked Table about his day and then shared hers. “I ran into Burna Jones at Target this afternoon. She was tearing into a clerk over the price of composition notebooks and having a major fit about three-ring binder colors.” She shook her head and settled herself on a metal patio chair. “Hilda is a freshman this year, and the teachers have long lists of specific supplies they expect the students to have. Poor girl had to listen to her grandma rant about how much everything is costing her.”

Pearl dropped the sippy cup and examined the toy alligator’s eyes.

Table burped lightly. “Burna Jones is never happy. Told off Dillon Johnson after he mowed her lawn. Said he didn’t do it right ’cause the lines didn’t go in the direction she wanted ’em to. Now she’s having trouble finding someone to do her yardwork.”

“I almost feel sorry for her.” Lori settled Pearl in a webbed playpen and handed her the dropped cup.

“I feel sorrier for Hilda.”

Weatherman took a swallow and watched as Pearl pulled herself up to a wobbly stand. She gazed at him and pointed. “Bah-bah-bah-bah.” He smiled at the little girl and winked at her. She grinned back, then sat back down on her diapered rear end and started playing with her alligator.

He chuckled. At least this one liked him, unlike her mother.

They talked about random stuff. The club and its upcoming events, the extreme dry weather, the local high school football team and their Friday night games—anything and everything except his mother’s battle. It was nice to have a respite for a moment. Weatherman appreciated their efforts.

The kids came up for juice boxes, and Lori waddled into the house to get them snacks. Table put his beer aside as one of the boys crawled onto his lap and poked at the Dragon patch on his cut. Weatherman also put his half-finished beer down and noticed Pearl had grabbed onto the playpen edge again, standing steady while looking at him. She really was a cute kid.

She gave him a coquettish smile and dropped her head to hide her eyes, only to pop back up and giggle. Weatherman covered his own eyes and flipped his hand open, and she let out huge belly laughs. He played peekaboo with her until Lori came out with several plastic bowls of Goldfish crackers and Teddy Grahams. Pearl plopped back onto her rear and munched the treats.

“Your mama is on her way to get you, pretty girl. Can you say ‘mama’?”

“A-mah,” Pearl agreed.

Weatherman decided that was his cue to leave, although he was tempted to stick around to see how Opal would react to him being there. What would she think about the innocent game he’d just played with her daughter? He bet she would get huffy and might even blow a gasket. That held some entertaining curiosity, but he did need to get on the road.

“I gotta get going.”

Table stood up and flipped his oldest boy upside down to dangle him by his feet. Cameron squealed with delight, and Mitchell jumped up and down, shouting, “Me too! Me too!”

“You okay to ride?” the big man inquired as he descended the back steps with his boys into the thick grass of the yard.

Weatherman nodded. “Half a beer won’t be a problem.”

“I meant the other sh… stuff in your head. You clear enough?”

Weatherman understood the implied invitation to crash overnight if needed. More beers, more small talk, more distraction. It meant a hell of a lot to have that kind of support from the person who acted more like a big brother than a friend. “I’m good. I’d feel better getting back tonight rather than dashing tomorrow morning. Thanks for everything. I’ll see you soon.”

He gave Lori and Angel a quick hug. The boys continued wrestling with their dad and opted for waves from the yard.

As he walked to the driveway, he couldn’t help but play one more round of peekaboo with Pearl.