“Thank you, Buddy, that was kind of you,” I reply, grinning at him.
If nothing else, his interruption lightened up the somber mood, and when I see Marge softly smiling at him, it dawns on me that she needed the break as well. “Buddy, can you walk over to pick up our food order from the diner for me?” Marge asks. Then, shelooks at me and adds, “We always get the special, so I got one for you as well.”
Well, alrighty then, I guess I’m eating lunch with them. “Thanks.”
“Not a problem, thank the Kings since they cover it,” Marge says, laughing. When I raise my brow, she states, “We have an account at the diner and one of the brothers settles it up every month.”
“That’s very kind of them.”
“We’re their family,” Buddy emphatically says. “Okay, Marge, I’ll go now. Y’all be careful if you walk over there because the floor’s still wet. I put the thing out but sometimes, people don’t read.”
I look around and realize there are no other customers aside from me. “They seem like good men.”
“Do you know their motto?” Marge asks. Before I can answer she continues. “Nobody fucks with the Kings. So, if you’re part of their family, you’ve got their protection.”
“That’s… that’s beautiful,” I reply. I mean, I’m not the type of person who needs someone else to throw down for them, but still, knowing that if there’s a problem, I could tell Abyss and he and his brothers would handle it? Yeah, color me impressed.
“Now that Buddy’s gone, wanna tell me what that means?” Marge asks, pointing at my tattoo.
Sorrow washes over me, but I press on and slowly, with a few tears, I tell her my story of love and loss. I finish with, “I didn’t get to hold her while she was breathing, but she meant everything to me, Marge. If she had lived, she would’ve started kindergarten this year because of when her birthday fell. Instead, I talk to her urn.”
Marge’s arms wrap around me and for the first time in a very long time, I feel a sense of comfort course through my body. “You’ll always miss her, she was your first-born baby, Shelly,” she whispers. “I ain’t gonna offer you any of those empty platitudes, either. Because there will be more milestones that’ll break your heart, but timewillsoften the sharp edge of pain, that I can promise you.”
As I weep in her arms, I’m suddenly engulfed in strong ones then turned so my face is planted in a chest. A hard, muscular chest.Hischest.
Abyss.
CHAPTER
TWELVE
Abyss
I was walkingby the laundromat on my way to the diner when I saw Shelly inside. Even though the tattoo shop is closed today, I came in to catch up with all the paperwork so I could give Nerd the spreadsheets he needs for quarterly tax reporting. When I saw Marge hug her, I couldn’t wait outside any longer and had to be there for her.
“It’s okay, sunshine, get it out,” I whisper as she sobs in my arms. “I’ve got you.”
“Did she fall?” Buddy asks worriedly, walking up to us with a bag from the diner. “I told her the floor was wet.”
She pulls back slightly, wiping at the tears that are freely falling and says, “No, Buddy, I’m just sad.”
“I can tell you a joke if that would help,” Buddy offers.
“Buddy, she was telling me about her little girl,” Marge says, her voice soft.
Since she comes across as brash and slightly abrasive, in both her manner and tone of voice, this surprises me quite a bit. Still, I noticed how she treated him, almost like a mother would, and I realize there are a lot of facets to her personality.
“What’s her name?” Buddy asks.
“Her name was Amberlea,” Shelly whispers. “She was born sleeping, Buddy.”
I don’t know if he understands what that means, but Marge fills in the blanks and suddenly, Buddy wraps his arms around Shelly’s back and says, “I’m sorry, Shelly. I bet she was beautiful.”
“She was the most beautiful baby I’ve ever seen,” Shelly says, her voice sounding stronger.
I swipe my finger across her tattoo and ask, “Is that why you have this?”
“Yeah, she is my reason why I chose not to join her and her daddy,” Shelly replies. “I could’ve, it would have been so easy, but I wasn’t willing to do that to Uncle Mack and Marcella. I couldn’t put them through that, not after they had to see me in a medically induced coma for a few days, with them not knowing if I’d even survive. It would’ve broken the strongest man I’ve ever known, Abyss. The semi-colon is to remind me that life can change on a dime and at every turn, we have a choice. To give up or keep going. I choose to keep going, even though it’s the most difficult thing I’ve ever done.”
