“Hey honey! What a surprise.” She looked around me. “Where’s Daisy?”
“In the hospital,” I sighed.
Dad came out of the house in time to catch the conversation. “Is everything okay? Is the baby okay?”
I flopped myself down onto one of the chairs on the porch.
“No,” I admitted.
Mom sat next to me. “What happened?” she asked softly. I sighed, tears tickling my eyes as I tried to find the words.
“He was born last night,” I said.
Mom gripped Dad’s hand. “A boy. Tinker, we have a grandson,” she hummed to Dad.
I gulped and forced the rest of the news out. “He didn’t make it,” I admitted.
Dad looked hard at me. His face turned into a fantastic impression of granite.
“What else are you not telling us?” he asked.
“I wasn’t there for the birth. I found out this morning.”
“Where were you?” he growled suspiciously.
“Busy.”
“Goddamn it boy!” Dad stomped off, then turned around. “Itoldyou to knock it off. How do you expect to raise a family when you’re living like a college brat? Gah, you disappoint me.” He stormed off and climbed into his truck, slamming the door before reversing out to head to the garage, where he worked. I flinched at the treatment of his truck. Dad had a temper, but he never mistreated Mom, and rarely a vehicle.
“How is Daisy?” Mom asked, tears thickening her voice as she sank into the chair beside me.
“I don’t know, she wouldn’t talk to me.” I wiped my eyes wearily.
“Do you blame her? She had to give birth to the baby alone.” Mom snorted angrily.
“She wasn’t alone. Bull sent a prospect to be with her,” I countered.
“Aprospect.” Mom’s voice was filled with derision. I shrugged, not seeing her point. Daisy had someone with her. Mom spoke again, sounding more frustrated. “So, a stranger, a kid who is working on belonging to the club, who traditionally is allocated the shittiest of the shit jobs, supportedyour wifethrough one of the most vulnerable times in her life…do you have any idea how wrong that is? What that looks like?”
I rubbed my eyes. “I’ll do better. When she comes home, I’ll shut it all down,” I conceded, just to stop her lecturing.
“You may have to do more than that. You could lose her, no matter what Matchstick says.” Mom sighed.
“Mom, it’s Daisy…she’s my forever, my ride or die. She’ll forgive me. She always has. We’ll try again and have another baby.”
Mom sighed then rubbed her face. She looked out toward the street, watching the neighbor’s curtains twitch. She pressed her lips together.
“What’s his name?” she eventually asked.
I smiled. “James Paul Lovelace,” I said proudly.
“Get out,” Mom snapped, standing up and walking back inside. I stood in shock as she slammed the door.
“Mom?” She didn’t respond. I tried the door handle. It was locked. I knocked. There was no answer. What the fuck? What did I do this time?
I went home. There was nothing else to do.
* * *
